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Thus was I watching Peter Wright’s glorious 1984 production in the Star-ship Enterprise, otherwise known as The Lowry Centre, Salford Quays. I confess to you all, here and now, that I was a virgin to this production, but other than Vikharev’s re-construction of the 1890 production for the Kirov, I would not hesitate to suggest that I have never seen a more splendid staging. Indeed, I think we can see in Wright’s production references to the Imperial Beauty. As in the 1890 staging, the Lilac Fairy is a mimed character role. Here, her variation in the Prologue (choreographed in 1914 by Lopukhov) is given to the Fairy of Joy. Dramatically, I find this works rather well because it postpones the presentation of the Lilac Fairy’s gift to the infant Aurora until after Carabosse has released her curse and thus solves any problems we might have (which other productions present) in wondering why the Lilac Fairy has been allowed to present two gifts. Peter Wright has re-choreographed the Garland Waltz, into which Act 1 swiftly opens (no naughty seamstresses here). It is clean and spare in its movement, only the women hold garlands and it looks so much less cluttered in its stage patterns, much more so the Macmillan’s fussy arrangement recently seen at ENB. Wright has also not fallen into the trap of allowing cutesy children to populate the Waltz and for this we must be grateful. The Waltz also serves as a means of allowing the four suitors to enter the stage – each one of them delightfully characterized as fops, each one clearly miffed at seeing the others there – beautiful little cameo roles.

I presume the reason to choreograph the Panorama was because of the need for this production to be easily tour-able, and so we see Prince Florimund running up and down passages of fairy spirits guiding him towards the castle of King Florestan, wherein he encounters sleeping courtiers whom he tries, unsuccessfully, to waken. As Wright allows for the complete Entr’acte music here there is time for a rather fascinating passage in which Florimund appears to be the subject of a battle of wills between Carabosse and the Lilac Fairy – the one luring him away, the other charming him further into the castle.
 

Philip Prowse’s magisterial designs and costumes are a wonder of historical invention and beauty. They evoke perfectly the Francophile sentiment which Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky intended to create and if you look carefully at the emblem encrusted on Catalabutte’s cloak in the final act you see a vision of the sun, Apollo and Louis XIV to whom this ballet was intended as a homage.

About the dancing I have certain reservations. The production has clearly been rehearsed well by Marion Tate and Desmond Kelly and the dancers dance the flesh and bones of the choreography most accurately, but (and it is quite a big but), there seems to me no soul to the dance: Petipa is not running through this company as its life blood. One does not get a sense of complete harmony in port de bras, of bodies as an organic whole, cloaked in music and dance, of legs and arms moving, undulating, in perfect proportion with each other. It looks rather like “work-in-progress”, and very worthy progress it is, but not altogether complete.

Elisha Willis could make a very good Aurora, but I would venture that she needs to be more sure of herself. In the Rose Adagio, she has all the technique and now she just needs to cool it and relax. She is on firmer ground once this Herculean feat is over and she is most touching in the Vision Scene. I would hope for a little more development in the character during the course of the ballet: the Bride Aurora should be more mature, more radiant, than the Princess Aurora.

Of course in all of the above, there is the venerable exception of Robert Parker (who it is always a pleasure and an honour to see). Here we see Classical dancing of the most noble kind. As the only British male Principal (in either of the Royal companies) capable of dancing Classical roles, he should be declared a National Institution. Here is dancing worthy of this fabulous production.