 |
   |
Royal Ballet17th October 2003 London, Covent Garden by Lynette Halewood |
|||||||
|
First nights at the Royal are notoriously tricky. Too often in the past, the Royal’s first nights have looked under rehearsed in parts, with nerves all too apparent. And yet there is a pull about first nights, particularly this, the opening night of the season. It’s good to see the company again after a long break, and there is a sense of expectancy. This night seemed particularly significant: last season’s opener, a very nervy, tense unfocussed version of Nureyev’s Don Q which decidedly lacked oomph told a lot about the state of the company under the newly arrived artistic director Ross Stretton. Things could only improve compared to that. Monica Mason’s choice as the opening work for this season was La Bayadere, a work which has been in the Royal’s repertory for ten years or so. It is set an in opulent 19th century imaginary India, with Nikiya, the Bayadere or Temple dancer of the title abandoned by her lover the warrior Solor for Gamzatti, the Rajah’s daughter. Something familiar then, for the company to open with, before two triple bills before Christmas bring in some enterprising new commissions. It was refreshing to see this version (from Makarova) in contrast to the Kirov’s lengthy four hour restored version seen here this summer. By contrast this seems a tauter ballet which has been absorbed into the Royal’s tradition of narrative works, with the stress on strong portrayals of character and motivation as much as technical display. This was aided by a truly astonishing performance from Carlos Acosta as the hero Solor, caught between Tamara Rojo’s heartbroken Nikiya and Marianella Nunez’s spoilt, icy Gamzatti. It wasn’t quite free of some of those familiar first night headaches: the corps looked a shade under rehearsed at times, and the famous Kingdom of the Shades scene initially suffered from some notable differences of opinion on the correct height of the leg in arabesque. It’s a particularly demanding and exposing work for the coups and they did come together as the act progressed. The three shades in this act (Galeazzi, Chapman, Tapper) were individually impressive with Galeazzi in particular getting a warm response to here solo. But when dancing together there seemed to be very marked differences in response to the beat. Doubtless details like this can get ironed out over the course of the run. But the evening really belonged to Carlos Acosta. His solos were a stunning display of speed and technical power and the response might have lifted the roof off. Though it isn’t just about technical display, he provides a rounded portrayal of a man with a very uneasy conscience. But what is really interesting about Acosta is how like other great dancers (thinking of the example of Mukhamedov here) he seems to draw something extra out of his partners. Both Rojo and Nunez seemed spurred on by him. Rojo displayed luscious deep backbends in her solo before her murder in Act 1: and her look of despair and reproach was piercing. In Act 2 she crossed the stage in he fastest series of turns imaginable – she needed a lot more stage. Nunez dispatched Gamzatti’s wedding solo with a triumphant hauteur and flourish which remained completely in character.
The performance got off to a slightly tentative start, but warmed up considerably after Acosta’s solos part way though Act 1. The Kingdom of the shades scene has been done better by the Royal than this particular performance, but those girls descending the ramp in hypnotic sequence are still a fabulous sight. There were some strong performances in the minor roles: Alistair Marriott was a passionate High Brahmin, and Yohei Sasaki was well received as the Bronze Idol. The work should settle down in performance, and there are other interesting casts to come. Or you could go and see what Acosta does next…
|
||||||||
|
 |
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
