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At the end of May I caught a single performance of “The Golden Age” again in the Bolshoi Theatre, led by Anna Antonicheva and Andrei Merkuriev. This two-act ballet is set in southern Russia in the 1920s during the period of New Economic Policy (NEP) which allowed private entereprise to flourish. The Golden Age restaurant with a nightly cabaret show is a popular place for the rich patrons. Boris, a young fisherman, falls in love with Rita, who with her partner Yashka (the leader of a gang of bandits) dance the leads in the show in The Golden Age restaurant. Yashka and Boris fight over Rita, who is finally reunited with Boris.

I am not a great admirer of Grigorovich’s choreography. I find “Spartacus” very thin choreographically. And “The Legend of Love” now looks extremely dated, though I was most impressed by Diana Vishneva’s debut in this ballet with the Kirov last autumn. Grigorovich’s choreography for this ballet “The Golden Age” is superior to his earlier ballets. Grigorovich’s formula for “The Golden Age” is predictable – two main couples as in “Spartacus”, almost non-stop dancing and practically no mime, making the ballet seem at times like a suite of dances. It certainly helps that Shostakovich’s score is so danceable.

The strength of this ballet lies in the four pas de deux for Rita and Boris (two in each act) which are intensely heart-touching. Grigorovich’s vocabulary consists of a lot of overhead lifts, which are emotionally resonant in this ballet. A frequently recurring motif sees Rita curled round her limbs when lifted on high. And Boris is a most rewarding role, which includes a lot of virtuosic dancing in a number of solos.

And the ensemble dances – for the fishermen in the town, the bandits, and the patrons of Golden Age restaurant – are extremely effective and exciting. Particularly sweet is the “Tea for Two” dance in the cabaret scene in the beginning of Act 2 in The Golden Age restaurant. The fighting scenes between the bandits and the fishermen who set to rescue Rita have a raw power and urgency. And the celebratory dances in the finale for the fishermen are joyful.

Anna Antonicheva, who has an ethereal figure, was expressive as Rita. Her dancing was luminous and had a warm glow and gracefulness. She was most lyrical in all the four duets.
 

Andrei Merkuriev was a splendid Boris, full of charm. This is another full-length role that suits his dramatic talent perfectly after he joined the Bolshoi in 2006, just like his Cinderella Prince in the current Bolshoi production by Yuri Possokhov, which I admired greatly last year. It was his second performance of the role of Boris, after making his debut in January 2007 at quite short notice.

Merkuriev was tender in the pas de deux. All his solos were done with panache and vigour, showing off his impressive virtuosity. He was particularly brilliant in the manege of temps de fleche in his solo as part of the divertissements of the fishermen’s dances in the beginning of Act 2. And it was breathtaking to see his diagonal of cabrioles and endless grands jetes at the end of Act 2.

The other main roles were also excellently danced. Pavel Dmitrichenko was an evil Yashka. Anna Nikulina was convincing as Lyuska, his accomplice. And Vyacheslav Lopatin was fleet and dazzling as the compere of The Golden Age cabaret.