© Paul Kolnik Pennsylvania 'Messiah' reviews 'Messiah' reviews recent Pennsylvania reviews more Lewis Whittington reviews

Weiss is tackling two mountains with a work like Messiah - visually depicting the monumental score by Georg Frederick Handel, one of the classics for the ages and choreographing dance scenes that avoid being a paint-by-dance numbers passion play. He has stated that this is both a narrative and plotless ballet based on his emotional response to the music. This was a good way to go.

Like many choreographers, Weiss realizes how dancey baroque music is even within the framed gravitas of Messiah. Weiss separates 50 scenes, some of them with effective flash religious tableaux described in libretto and, for the most part, doesn’t attempt dance-decorate sacred and beloved music. Not a small accomplishment for a rare full - evening ballet at almost 3 hours. Robust reading of the score by conductor Beatrice Jona Affron and ballet orchestra. Elizabeth Braden conducts the Philadelphia Kantorei, with four leads and a chorale who sings it with sustained muscle.

Weiss heads a choreographic collective for Messiah with supplemental choreography by Timour Bourtasenkov, Amy Seiwert and Tyler Walters and off the record George Balanchine.

Minimal stagecraft designs by Jeff A. R. Jones effectively conjure images, a tree branch cross for instance, is dramatically effective. A dark hued Renaissance painting color template of props, backdrops and fabrics convey the religiosity as narrative markers to introduce extended segments full company onstage in many scenes and key duets and trios that reflect the abstract ecclesiasticism.

The corps de ballet processionals, with flowy canon lines are equally effective in theme. At one point, everyone locks together in line that spans the stage and drops their heads on each shoulder with Jesus in the center is a lush communal stage picture. James Ady and Arantxa Ochoa dance a luminous duet as Mary and Joseph figures. Martha Chamberlain is simply luminous as the archangel announcing the coming of Christ. She is manipulated in and out of 30-foot metallic wingspan by other dancers.

There are some choreographic constructs that would make even Cecil B. deMille blush, like the prurient group bacchanalia featuring dance mayhem. In the ‘refiner fire’ scene dancers represent flames taunting Martha Chamberlain and Alexander Iziliaev who succumb, plays like a hellish outtake from the camp movie Showgirls. Weiss cut a few yards of limb entwining choreography from the Balanchine bolt, but since George is a deity unto himself by now, maybe that’s not sacrilege.

In contrast, strong unison work throughout from both the men and women’s corps de ballet. A sequence toward the end with the dancers seated onstage was executed with uniform steely precision was reminiscent of Graham‘s prone yoga congregation in ‘Acts of Light.’ Weiss depicts warring nations by soldiers fighting with flag staffs from different countries, including a torn US flag, which drew an audible reaction.

Any choreographic misfires hardly matter because so much of this ballet rises and falls on the Messiah himself and the audience couldn’t get enough of principal Sergio Torrado in the role. Torrado has been stalking the stage in smaller roles for less than a year after leaving the San Francisco Ballet where he was a soloist. This is not your typical danseur noble role, there is more at play and at stake, and Weiss physically and mentally asks a lot of him.

Torrado explodes on stage at the Academy in this part. What impresses most is his stoic deportment, he doesn’t try to act it, instead he seems to give his entire body over to it. Technically Torrado continued to build physical transcendence in this part with soaring aerial work and diamond hard turns. One sequence of repeated pirouettes that have him dropped to the knee was executed with thrilling precision. Torrado and main man disciples Alexander Iziliaev, Ady had several double tours sequences and kept up their clarity and attack throughout.

Weiss could have been more inventive with the pyrotechnic leap variations in Torrado’s longer solos, relying on barrel rolls ala La Bayadère. And surprisingly, in a key scene, Weiss borrows some famous solo dance lines from both Apollo and Prodigal Son, two of Balanchine’s most famous ballets, which completely distracted. But the night belonged to Torrado and by the roar of approval at his curtain, a new dance god is born in Philly.