© Sebastien Mathe Paris 'Four Temperaments' reviews 'Four Temperaments' reviews Paris 'Raymonda' reviews 'Raymonda' reviews Paris 'Artifact Suite' reviews 'Artifact Suite' reviews Ganio in reviews Froustey in reviews recent Paris Opera reviews more Natasha Rogai reviews Discuss this review (Open for at least 6 months)

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Hadn't intended to review, but seeing this thread will just add a few notes to what Azulynn has said.

Personally I was struck by how little the company has changed in at least one respect, that is that they clearly love dancing Balanchine and very modern choreographers like Forsythe, but few of the dancers have much feeling for the classics - and the same goes to some extent for the Parisian audience.

The programme itself did not really add up. It was advertised as showing the progression from 19th century classical ballet to Balanchine's neo-classical work to Forsythe's contemporary 'de-construction' of classical ballet but this purpose was not served by either the running order or the selection of pieces.

Personally I enjoyed Four Temperaments most - it was danced with superb technique, elegance and precision by the whole cast, but the highlight was a stunning performance by Matthieu Ganio in the Phlegmatic section. I hadn't seen Ganio before and didn't know who the dancer was as I'd had no time to look at the cast list before the performance began. So I inadvertently gave myself the rare treat of that shiver down the spine when you know that you are watching not just a very good, but a great dancer. His balances were breathtaking, his fluidity of movement glorious and he brought a degree of expressiveness and feeling to the role which transformed it from the usual academic exercise that Mr B seems to inspire in all too many of his interpreters into something quite extraordinary.

Raymonda was extremely disappointing - instead of doing Act 3 as such, which is the usual divertissement (and a first-rate one), it was a hotch-potch of extracts and looked alarmingly under-rehearsed. A few dancers did well, but classical ballet requires dancing as an ensemble and this was not only uneven but at times downright untidy. I was truly taken aback that a company whose men are as exceptional as the Opera's was apparently unable to field a male pas de six where the repeated doubles tours en l'air were landed properly. I would agree with Azulynn that the company will have to do something pretty drastic if they are going to present a revival of the complete Raymonda in the coming months.

On a more positive note, Mathilde Froustey was delightful in a very French style in the Henriette variation. As Jean de Brienne, Karl Paquette danced extremely well but for some reason he is a dancer I do not warm to - to me he lacks personality on stage. Emilie Cozette was very much miscast as Raymonda, but is an attractive dancer with a strong technique - I would like to see her in a soubrette role, for instance.

In contrast, Forsythe's Artifact Suite was performed with exemplary passion and conviction. Whether it merits that kind of dedication is a matter of opinion - words like "dreary" "pretentious" and "way too long" came to my mind. The gimmick of lowering the curtain in mid-dance during the first section may have seemed effective the first time, but after several repetitions was just plain irritating and the lighting was so dim that by the end my eyes were hurting so much I found it hard to watch - this was from the sixth row and my distance vision is excellent :). However, the piece is hugely demanding physically and there is no doubt that the dancers love to dance it, while the audience received it with rapturous applause.