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Roberto Bolle and FriendsMilan, Piazza Duomo by Susy |
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As posted on our Postings pages... On Sunday a covered stage had been built against the main entrance of the Duomo, the 14th century Cathedral in Milan, and 5500 stools placed in front of it. The area had been closed with barriers and a huge screen placed on the left side of the stage. The lower part of the screen was filled with a picture of Roberto Bolle while on the upper part a short video shot by Fabrizio Ferri with Bolle dancing in the Caserta Royal Palace was continuously screened. The ticket holders gathered against the barriers 3 hours and half before the due time as the stools weren’t numbered (tickets were free). Unluckily the wait wasn’t smooth: black clouds covered the sky and rain poured, but nobody left. We were offered colored plastic cloack and a leaflet with the program of the gala (not up-to-date). When at last we were let in the rain had stopped but the stools were filled with water. Cameras were going to film the show and screen it for those sitting or standing too far away from the stage. The gala began with Zanella’s “Ave Verum” danced by Bolle for the 2nd time (the first time was in Rome in April 2004 in front of Pope John Paul II). The solo created by the Italian former AD at the Wiener Staatsoper Ballet with music by Mozart uses a very classic vocabulary and with its airy mood well represents the religious theme. The thunderous applauses that greeted Bolle were matched by the thundering and lightening in the sky above. The second choreography wasn’t announced and it was a big surprise: Uljana Lopatkina as the Ballerina and Ivan Kozlov as Petipa in Neumeier’s “Nutcracker”, a fascinating pdd created in 1971 with music from the violin solo of “The Sleeping Beauty”. It was followed by a thrilling rendering of the final pdd from “In the middle somewhat elevated” danced by Alicia Amatriain from the Stuttgart Ballet and Roberto Bolle. Uljana Lopatkina came again on stage and danced Fokine’s “The Dying Swan” with her usual aloft movements. This was the oldest choreography proposed in the gala. Then Natasha Novotna and Vaclav Kunes from L’Aja danced Kylian’s “Bella Figura”, an appetizer for the whole ballet due to enter in La Scala Ballet repertory next May. The choreography has many cross-references to “Petite Mort”, the ballet that ended the gala, and was rather appreciated by the audience. The gala went on without interval. The scenery representing Frédéri’s window was mounted and Petit’s “L’Arlesienne” followed, danced by Sabrina Brazzo from LSB as Vivette with Bolle as Frédéri. This was the longest pdd in the gala and applauses grew with the development of the drama. But soon comedy took the stage together with Alicia Amatriain and Jason Reilly in Spuck’s “Grand Pas de Deux”. If the gags are no longer a surprise nevertheless the choreography keeps the memory busy in finding the cross-references to the most famous pdd of the ballet masterpieces. After solos and pdds the gala offered a trio, Jiri Bubenicek’s “Le souffle de l’esprit”. Bolle danced it together with Vahe Martirosyan and Arman Grigoryan, the extraordinary Gold Medallist in Varna IBC 2004, both from the Zuercher Ballett. Created less than 1 year ago, it was danced by Bolle for the 2nd time and at the beginning he was still a little bit tentative, growing soon more confident.
Another rarity was Ventriglia’s “Contraddizioni”, created for Lopatkina and seen only in St Petersburg before. The Italian Francesco Ventriglia, LSB dancer and choreographer, succeeded in offering her and her partner an intriguing pdd and now I’d like to see it danced by other couples in order to verify that it isn’t only a star vehicle. In the meanwhile the increasing thundering and lightening led to a shower of rain. Only a very few people left while on stage Novotna and Bolle started dancing “Petite mort”. The atmosphere was stunning: the dancers created a spell, holding still the audience while the rhythm of the music by Mozart was enhaced by the rain drops. After 1 hour and a half of great dance we left soaked but with many memories to cherish.
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