'Midsummer Night's Dream' reviews Ferri in reviews Murru in reviews recent La Scala reviews more Susy reviews

While in Europe people can easily see Neumeier’s “Midsummer night’s dream”, only a few people saw live the version choreographed by Balanchine. Moreover a very few people saw the three Inter-national stars of La Scala Ballet performing together. It happened in 1995 with a “Giselle” where Alessandra Ferri danced the title role, Massimo Murru was Albrecht and Roberto Bolle danced in the peasant pdd. It happened again only in 1998 with Petit’s “Notre-Dame de Paris”, starring Alessandra Ferri as Esmeralda, Massimo Murru as Quasimodo and Roberto Bolle as Phoebus. So the performances at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi from the 21th of May to the 3rd of June bear an enormous interest.

I saw the first cast on Friday evening and, in the afternoon, a younger cast. Both Alessandra Ferri and Marta Romagna were superb as Titania, the first catlike and temperamental, the second royal and commanding. More difficult for Alessandro Grillo was the comparison with Roberto Bolle as Oberon. Even if he danced at his best, he could not display the same quicksilver in jumps and polished tours, and his presence was less compelling and majestic. The role of Titania’s cavalier wasn’t an ideal one for Massimo Murru, easily matched by Mick Zeni. Both Riccardo Massimi and Antonino Sutera were gorgeous as Puck, joking through the ballet and closing it high on the stage, hovering from flowered ropes, while I was mesmerized by Spinatelli’s marvellous costumes and by Mendelssohn’s evoking music, played by the orchestra conducted by Paul Connelly.

This production will go on tour to Baden-Baden in July and St. Petersburg in October.