Capitole de Toulouse, 30/06/2022

Debussy : Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune

Ravel : Daphnis et Chloé

Choreography : Thierry Malandrin

Ballet de l'Opéra National  du Capitole

Choeur de l'Opéra National du Capitole

Orchestre National du Capitole

Maxime Pascal

I've not seen much of Thierry Malandain's work - one piece live, and one on DVD - but what I have seen was appealing, and coupled with these two glorious scores, it was too tempting to miss.  What was a problem was my choice of seat, because I hadn't properly registered exactly where the performances were being held, and even if I had, I still don't think I'd have been able to make a wise choice.  In the end, though I was close to the stage, I was far too far to the side, and while there wasn't much in the way of decor, what there was, for Daphnis, was two large pillars, on either side, one of which completely blocked part of the centre stage, with the result that there were significant chunks of choreography that I simply couldn't see at all.  

The damage wasn't so bad for Faune, which Malandrin has set as a number for solo male dancer.  This wasn't exactly Mallarmé's Faun, but a young man, half-dreaming, half-awake, body vibrant with pleasure. His movements were sometimes distinctly reminiscent of a cat, pouncing on a huge bundle of tissues, stretching sensually, and there were also some very clear recalls of Nijinsky's celebrated choreography - the profile pose with the carefully positioned hands, and even the veil was referenced - but it's merely a homage, a nod to the past while building something new.  Philippe Solano was the soloist, powerful and playful, imposing in his physicality.

Ravel's extraordinary score for Daphnis et Chloé poses huge problems for any choreographer, right from its first version back in 1912, because Ravel had little real communication with the original choreographer, Mikhail Fokine (who did not speak much French, and Ravel spoke no Russian), so he simply wrote as his inspiration flowed.  To be honest, I'm inclined to say it's not danceable, this is the third version I've seen, and while it has its moments, in the long run, I'm more likely to remember the outstanding musical contribution of the Capitole Chorus and Orchestra.  Malandain has stayed close to the original story, with the antagonistic pair of Lycéion and Dorcon, and the Pirates, but the god Pan has a very central and very visible role throughout, rather than just showing up as a deux ex machina. Malandain also lightly expanded the roles of Lycéion and Dorcon, by giving them a pas de deux of their own towards the end, which had faint overtones of A Midsummer Night's Dream, creating a second couple of lovers coming together almost inspite themselves, and under the aegis of a mysterious, nature-inspired being.  

As mentioned at the start, I did miss a good deal of the pas de deux - notably Daphnis/Lycéion and the reunion duet for Daphnis and Chloé, which was a pity.  The corps numbers, however, were sufficiently visible, and sufficiently symmetric that what I couldn't see, I could guess from what the others were doing.  The piece is a new creation - the premiere was 24th June - and for this company of the Capitole rather than Malandain's own Ballet Biarritz, but they're both small companies, perhaps two dozen dancers on stage, including the soloists.  Malandain's choreography for the corps is fluid, lines bending into curves which break up into lines again in a constant swirl of movement.  The Pirates contrasted with solid blocks of movement, strong and aggressive, and I unfortunately couldn't identify the lead Pirate dancer, or I would name him, he made a good impression.

Of the other soloists, the one that really stood out was Alexandre de Oliveira Ferreira as Pan, imposing, authoritative, a real presence whenever he was on stage, which was a good deal of the time.  Of the four lovers, I felt Rouslan Savdenov's Dorcon was the most interesting, with an excellent solo in his 'dance-off', manipulating the humour of the off-balance movements very deftly, and coming across initially, as he should, as a little thuggish.  In the second part, though, when he and Lycéion get together, there was a touching vulnerability to his movement that I thought Savdenov transmitted perfectly.

It was a good evening's dancing - but it's the music that stole the show.

[Next : 17th July]