© Marc Haegeman Rome Opera 'Giselle' reviews 'Giselle' reviews Bouder in reviews Obraztsova in reviews Makhateli in reviews Tewsley in reviews recent Rome Opera reviews more Azulynn reviews Discuss this review (Open for at least 6 months) Marc Haegeman Rome photoshoot

How often today do you see a Giselle that is just right? Despite its strong structure and legendary status, it is not necessarily an easy ballet to present to 21st-century audiences. The mime in Act I may bother people who can't make sense of the action - Act II may just be slightly off, making the army of Wilis on stage look odd or ridiculous. The production Carla Fracci designed for the Balletto dell'Opera di Roma, which she has been heading since 2000, is a gift in many respects. It pleases the audience by adding short scenes to explain the structure and reactions of the court surrounding Albrecht, and provides balletomanes with the elusive experience that has become a myth by now - a Giselle in the true Romantic style, as restrained and moving as you hear it can be. The Italian corps de ballet surpassed itself in Act II, and if the company doesn't have any world-class principals, Carla Fracci had certainly picked the right guests to lead them. Ballerinas don't get much more different than Ashley Bouder, the Balanchine-trained American prodigy, and Evgenia Obraztsova, the delicate, lyrical pearl from the Mariinsky Ballet - but I hope Rome knows it was treated to two masterful interpretations, going far beyond technique, and greatly helped by Robert Tewsley and David Makhateli in the role of Albrecht.

The odds certainly seemed to be against the company in the Teatro dell'Opera, where the Opera di Roma dances most of its classical productions, as the venue was clearly never meant for ballet. Somewhere between an arena and a traditional horseshoe-shaped opera house, it has a blue stage, and I mean an unmistakable, deep blue, which no amount of lighting apparently helps. The stage floor is also made of a very odd material, and I pity the poor Wilis left to screech through their entrance and quite a few passages requiring pointe work. When the curtain rose on a specially added 'introduction' with Albrecht and the court, I started to fear the worse, but the story soon started to unfold with utter clarity. For a start, the sets and costumes are lovely, from the tasteful autumn tones of the painted backgrounds to the flowing Wilis costumes. Carla Fracci also adds scenes at the beginning and end of Act II, in which we witness Bathilde and the Court following Albrecht into the forest, trying to reason with him and finally leaving, distraught, when he decides to remain by Giselle's grave. The added music, mostly a repeat of Act I, is a slightly irritating intrusion, but it may indeed help make sense of Albrecht's story.

Carla Fracci apparently meant to present a historical version of Giselle, crediting at once Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa and Anton Dolin in the programme. She does restore bits and pieces that fit right into the ballet - Berthe's mime telling of the story of the Wilis in Act I, Olga Spessivtzeva's wonderful final diagonal of piqué turns in Giselle's variation, and a short, stately dance for Bathilde and her court in Giselle's village, contrasting the heroine's spontaneity. The production is not always convincing, however, when it tries to use all of the original music, with an added pas de deux (the rarely seen pas des vendanges) for Giselle and Albrecht at the end of Act I and a jolly Fugue for the corps de ballet in Act II. The choreography for these is better than Mary Skeaping's version for the English National Ballet, but the dramatic structure seems slightly upset when they are performed - or is it just a case of being used to them being cut? Some changes to the standard choreography are even more disputable. I am at a loss to understand why Fracci would change the mad scene to such an extent, adding unrelated music passages in the middle and disjointing at points music and choreography. She even has Giselle going back inside the cottage and coming out with a long wedding veil that she hands to Bathilde, which is taking the storytelling slightly too far.

These choreographic quibbles aside, this Giselle is one to treasure for its respectful sense of style. There were no high extensions to be seen anywhere in the corps de ballet, and if Carla Fracci may just be limited here by her dancers' technique, I am grateful for this vision of what Giselle may have been in different times. Act I was only just fine, with a few placement issues, but the Wilis who came out in Act II seemed like a different lot of dancers - musical, perfectly synchronized yet understated, bound together in a humble community. A low, long line seemed to unfold through their arms and legs, and without extensions, the choreography appeared to put no strain on the dancers at all, leaving behind an unforgettable sense of immateriality. Alessandra Amato, who danced Myrtha at both performances, was a ghostly, stately presence - she lacked the elevation to be entirely convincing, but beautifully blended in with her Wilis. In the roles of her attendants, Anjella Kouznetsova and Alessia Barberini were again a lesson in style, all restraint, delicate arms and floating arabesques. Carla Fracci can probably be credited for such impeccable coaching, and I have rarely been so moved by an ensemble - a devoted, unaffected, utterly moving reading of one of the great scenes in classical ballet.

How wonderfully odd to be able to compare Ashley Bouder and Evgenia Obraztsova's readings of Giselle against that same background. The choreography they performed differed slightly - Ashley Bouder must have learnt the ballet mostly from Carla Fracci, dancing the exact Act I variation the Italian ballerina can be seen in on video, while Evgenia Obraztsova imported many details from the Mariinsky production - the Act I variation ending with a manège, and much deeper penches in Act II. Evgenia Obraztsova danced the opening night, bringing to the role every nuance of her Vaganova training, but in a sense Bouder blends in better with the company as a whole. Her wide-eyed wonder and the fantastic spring of her ballonnés when she comes out of the cottage set the scene - this Giselle is a real peasant, excited to be dancing, more flirtatious than shy in her interactions with Albrecht. Her low extensions by today's standards give way to firm, upright balances, complete with unaffected ports de bras, and she executed the Spessivtseva diagonal with dizzying confidence. I am not sure, however, she has quite got the hang of the mad scene yet. Carla Fracci's overly long version doesn't help, and Bouder went in and out of focus, losing us in some of the stiller moments, walking back to the cottage as if she was suddenly over that little episode. But then she and Robert Tewsley had not quite gone beyond the flirtation stage - not the perfect build-up to a tragic death.

What a contrast with Act II. Bouder's Giselle is a testament to the fact that dance is an art of illusion, ethereality being the supreme one. She may not be willowy compared to many of her contemporaries, but she was a vision on stage in Rome, a true marvel of stagecraft and sincerity. It goes without saying that her technique is impeccable, but her upper body came to shivering life in the pas de deux, her arms reaching beyond herself like a silent cry. Her face I can't forget - her wide eyes suddenly seemed to convey a hidden, hopeless despair longing to burst out - and almost doing so in her devilish turns and jumps. She creates a rare empathy in the audience, and the stark purity of her technique, never going to extremes here, allowed her to speak with an immediacy that few dancers achieve. Robert Tewsley was excellent by her side in this act, his technique light and feline, with impeccable entrechats, and if this Albrecht wasn't quite sure about Giselle while she was alive, they came together to deliver a moving, vibrant Act II.

Unlike Ashley Bouder, Evgenia Obraztsova has been dancing the title role with the Mariinsky since 2007, and it is obvious from the moment she enters the stage that this Giselle doesn't quite belong to the village - sensitive, delicate, unknowingly refined, she shyly allows herself to hope when she meets Albrecht. Obraztsova's mime is vivid, and the harmonious roundness of her dancing is a dream in Act I. Her musicality is less staccato then Bouder's, and the variations flow like birds' songs, full with fluttering arms and tiny surprises. She literally glowed in the added pas de deux for Giselle and Albrecht, which came to life as David Makhateli gently partnered her - slow and unshowy, it allows for subtle bending as well as still images of love which shine through in the hands of Vaganova training. A lesson of a mad scene followed. How Obraztsova so intimately integrates the Russian tradition and channels her personality into it without imposing herself on the choreography never ceases to amaze me. Every gesture rings true as she descends into the unknown - her neck suddenly stiffens, and in her agony she resembles a delicate, broken doll, her eyes literally carrying the scene, mesmerizing as she gazes into nothingness, glistening with tears that she doesn't seem to feel. She embodies tragedy as a crushing, ancient force, and in her internal collapse there is no rebellion apparent - only a supremely classic struggle of beauty of fate.

From a Russian point of view, the realm of the Wilis becomes the setting for a ballet blanc in which Giselle is beyond emotions already, and Obraztsova relied on the Romantic forms to tell the story of that night. Her entrance is textbook perfect, a will-o'-the-wisp-like whirlwind of steps, while her phrasing is constantly true to the music. Her Romantic line is wonderfully soft, and it is a shame the Mariinsky version goes for higher extensions than Ashley Bouder performed in many places. I longed at times for the stunning expressivity Obraztsova demonstrated in Act I, but hers is a classic interpretation, eerily beautiful - only showing a glimmer of pain as dawn breaks, her eyes misty and lost as she holds on to Albrecht's hand. David Makhateli did not go for the famous entrechats, but his interpretation is completely in tune with Obraztsova, and his very long lines complement her more compact frame. Makhateli stated on his Twitter page that he had been invited back to Rome for future productions, and hopefully this will also mean a steady partnership with Obraztsova, who is scheduled to dance Don Quixote with the company in April. Carla Fracci is building a fine network of guest artists - it will be up to the Balletto dell'Opera di Roma now to continue to raise its game.