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Susy
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20-12-02, 06:11 PM (GMT) |
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"Guests from RB shine at the Nureyev Gala in Milan"
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Frédéric Olivieri has been the first ballet AD engaged in organizing a tribute to Rudolf Nureyev ten years after the great dancer’s death. He will soon be followed by Renato Zanella in Vienna, Brigitte Lefèvre in Paris and later by Monica Mason in London. The gala evening took place at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi on Thursday the 19th of December and was the closing event after the “Nutcracker” on Tuesday followed by the presentation of the book “Rudolf Nureyev alla Scala” on Wednesday.
The magic, the spell connected with Nureyev produced a little miracle, in a town where opera usually leaves ballet in the shadow: the audience and the media gathered for La Scala Ballet and its guests with the same attraction and enthusiasm they had for Nureyev himself in his lifetime. The structure of the gala was carefully conceived so that the sequence of extraits from Nureyev’s greatest roles, divided in three sections, represented both a memorial for those who saw him on stage and a footpath for the youngest generation. And last but not least the orchestra was playing in the pit and each ballet had its own scenery.
The first section opened with the pupils of La Scala Ballet School dancing on the Polonaise from “Sleeping beauty”. Then we saw Nureyev’s images on screen, first the final shot of Patricia Foy’s documentary, then black and white pictures where he was younger and younger and, from “Sleeping beauty”, the Florimund’s variation filmed for “I am a dancer”. The extraits that followed were three pas de deux from 19th century masterpieces whose choreography wasn’t signed by Nureyev: “Black swan” with Tamara Rojo and Maximiliano Guerra, “Giselle” with Svetlana Zakharova and Nikolaj Tsiskaridze and “Corsaire” with Lorna Feijòo and José Manuel Carreno. For different reasons this part of the gala was the weakest one. Only Tamara Rojo was outstanding, Guerra being an unbearable sight, Zakharova indulging in ugly overextensions, Tsiskaridze in dropped elbow and bent knees, Carreno starting superbly and finishing so-so.
The second section was composed by ballets and extraits dating from the beginning of the 20th century: “Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune” starring Eric Vu An and the nymphs led by Sabrina Brazzo, an excerpt from “Petrushka” with an ailing Massimo Murru, the pas de deux from “Balanchine’s “Apollo” with Marta Romagna and Robert Tewsley and “Le spectre de la rose” with Anita Magyari and Vladimir Malakhov. The last two couples set the theatre on fire with their display of pure style.
The third section was devoted to Nureyev the choreographer. Unluckily we missed the excerpt from “Romeo and Juliet” because the French couple didn’t join the gala due to Benjamin Pech’s injury and Isabel Seabra and Massimo Murru could dance only the final steps from “Cinderella” again due to Murru’s injury. The pas de deux from “Don Quixote” was danced with sheer virtuosism by Alina Cojocaru and Inaki Urlezaga. The gala ended with three extraits from the second act of “Nutcracker”, offering at last the chance to admire Nureyev’s ability in forgetting the previous versions of the ballet, transforming music and movement in dance and nevertheless being faithful to the academic style. The corps de ballet danced the Waltz of the flowers, followed by Lisa-Maree Cullum and Roberto Bolle in the pas de deux and then the soloists joined them for the final waltz. Being on stage after Cojocaru and Urlezaga wasn’t an easy challenge for Cullum and Bolle, but their style was immaculate and their rendering of the steps and passages a hymn to the God of dance. |
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Amelia
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21-12-02, 11:38 PM (GMT) |
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1. "RE: Guests from RB shine at the Nureyev Gala in Milan"
In response to message #0
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Well, may be it is polite to praise dancers on their theatre's website. But is it polite to use a deteriorative language for description of others? I saw this concert with different eyes than Susy and I saw A LOT of mistakes made by those whom Susy admired and which she, for some reasons, did not want to see. I am afraid that this is also a question of what we look for in ballet.
I agree that the Black Swan showed beautiful feet and excellent technique, especially in tours. But where was the Swan? I missed the Swan. Her partner whom I saw for the first time in my life did not look as a Prince to me but to use the word "unwatchable" as Susy did would be disrespectful.
I saw Svetlana Zakharova and Nikolai Tsiskaridze as physically the most beautiful couple of the evening, very well suited to each other although this was their very first performance together. I don't like a six o'clock extension when done by others but Svetlana's body, arms, legs, feet are so beautiful that it doesn't look "ugly" as Susy implies. Many dancers came to see Zakharova rehearsing on stage the day before and you should have seen their eyes full of admiration for the sheer beauty of her lines. Name for me, please, anyone now who has such an incredibly beautiful body and an excellent technique in addition to that? Why only the word "ugly" was used?
Tsiskaridze does not have bent knees but softer knees in the "Giselle" 2nd act pas de deux. It is a lyrical duet in a graveyard where the dancer should not look as an Olympic gymnast scoring his points. Did the critic notice anything else worth noticing? His beautiful jetes, perfect partnering and, above all, their ability to create the right mood and the right atmosphere for this elegiac duet amidst the bravura pieces.
I agree that Malakhov was very good in La spectre de la rose, but while Apollo was well danced it lacked beautiful legs which I expect to see in Apollo. Therefore, "the house set on fire" did not impress me so much.
Susy, how didn't you see the mistakes in the Don Q pas de deux? I agree that it "wasn't an easy challenge to follow" because the partner was performing a circus act. With all respect, I saw neither line nor form nor ballet. And his charming, lovely lady partner whom so many, including me, adore did not convince me as Kitri on that night. I am sure she will convince me one day.
And the charming Bolle who performed so many days on that week looked tired sometimes and did not match his excellent performance two nights before.
HAVING SAID ALL THAT I repeat that I LOVED THAT EVENING, with the exception of probably two dancers. Everyone danced with enthusiasm and was trying to do his/her best. I am grateful to everyone who was on stage on that night. Mentioning their mistakes now is my attempt to reply to Susy's biased account of the evening.
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Susy
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23-12-02, 06:03 PM (GMT) |
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2. "RE: Guests from RB shine at the Nureyev Gala in Milan"
In response to message #1
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I’ve seen Nureyev dancing on stage 30 times, the first time when he was only 30. The memories I keep are of force, commitment, stylishness and above all great attention to every nuance and detail of the performance. It is no secret that he always required the same dedication from the people working with him because it was the only road to perfection. Even after his death I didn’t stop looking in young dancers not a mere copy of Nureyev, which is foolish, but at least a touch of greatness, an original character, a hint of Nureyev’s legacy. This is the spirit with which I was at the Nureyev gala in Milan, this and only this the path I followed when I wrote my review.
I was sitting in the first gallery and using binoculars. I had already seen most of the dancers before, only Lorna Feijòo, Tamara Rojo and Inaki Urlezaga being totally new for me. A gala is a very difficult kind of performance, both for the AD and the interpreters, who can bet on their virtuosism and/or on their style. On Thursday the quality was increasing at every excerpt, sorrowful at the beginning and glorious at the end.
Maybe we all expected tremendous things from the two dancers hailed as the greatest in the world, who are gifted with such talent that the perfection seems the only possible result of their dancing. We missed this, I’ve been the first in pointing out the deception felt after “Giselle” but later other people who attended the gala wrote similar impressions in other forums on the net. I found absurd the imitation of Guillem’s extensions, even if I can understand how frustrating must be for a ballerina not being able to raise the legs with the same fluency and elegance of the French star, so why distorting the line of the torso, why unbalancing the hips? All the poetry created by Zakharova with her body, with the use of the arms, was stained by a deplorable style downfall. Moreover I found unsettling the similarity between Tsiskaridze and Dupond’s Albrecht of 25 years ago, when he was filmed in “She dances alone”. I’ve been told that oriental roles such as the Golden Slave suit Tsiskaridze better and I’m looking forward the next opportunity to see him again. In the meanwhile I’ll go at the Nureyev gala which will take place in Paris on the 20th of January.
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annemarriott
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30-12-02, 09:27 AM (GMT) |
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3. "RE: Guests from RB shine at the Nureyev Gala in Milan"
In response to message #2
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Some British friends of mine who live and work in Milan attended the Nureyev Gala with an Italian friend. They are interested in most branches of the arts but are not frequent ballet-goers, the Italian friend never having been to a ballet before. They sent me the following impressions: Ballet notes from some amateurs (Tamara) Rojo and (Maximiliano) Guerra with Swan Lake Act III. Technically excellent but it didn't really take off. Perhaps Rojo had the wrong partner - gave the impression she wasn't really in the right mood. Same goes for the Giselle with Svetlana (Zhakarova) and Nikolai (Tsiskaridze) - excellent to examine but perhaps not to enjoy. The fun and games started with (Lorna) Feijoo and (Jose Manuel) Carreno in Le Corsaire. This was the bit which really started off the evening. Lorna was wonderful but one wished she had been a little more of an individual rather than following Jose all the time. Not familiar with the work but got the feeling that there is a lot more to Feijoo than we saw in this part on the evening. Would like to see her solo or with a less exuberant (but he was fantastic!) partner. There was such a sense of joy coming off this piece and that was very welcome.
L'Apres-midi d'un faune (Eric Vu An and Sabrina Brazzo) was, following the above, spectacular. Naughty and wonderfully done. This was one of the favourites of the evening perhaps because of Debussy.
Petrushka's Room was an exccellent technical achievement by (Massimo) Murru. The whole auditorium held its breath all through, but didn't particularly enjoy or understand it. Perhaps a wonderful piece but on the wrong occasion. But he certainly can dance, alone or maybe to a very important partner. Which is why Apollo, (Robert Tewsley and Marta Romagna) which followed, worked so well. Tewsley overflowed with stage presence and charisma and for the first time we saw two dancers dancing to each other and not only to the piece. Which may be the whole point of ballet and theatre. Each tried to outdo the other and both managed it magnificently (forgive the contradiction). They were perfect for this piece and perfect for the evening. It was heartstopping and wonderfully invigorating all at the same time. Spectre de la Rose (Anita Magyari/Vladimir Malakov) followed this in a more sepia mood and this is where Mr. Tuggle's direction started to work - the pieces seemed to go well together and Spectre was the perfect piece to follow the Apollo fireworks. The pas de deux from Cinderella ( Massimo Murru and Isabel Seabra), almost perfect technically. This was the favourite of one of the "amateurs". Then Don Quixote with Alina Cojocaru and Inaki Urlezaga. This was the pièce de resistance - the relationship between the dancers, the music, the choreography - the way it all came together. Their dancing in that piece on that occasion was the best Christmas present Milano could have had. Come back soon! The final setpiece (Nutcracker with Roberto Bolle, Lis-Maree Cullum and La Scala corps) was very fine but most of the audience was still delirious over Don Quixote. It was very good and a fitting end to what started as a rather disappointing evening of ballet but came through as a series of inspiring works of art interspersed with technically excellent works. During the first part of the programme the first-time ballet-goer liked Le Corsaire best and enjoyed Swan Lake. He didn't particularly enjoy L'apres-midi (too boring) or Petrushka as a piece, not because of the dancing. He found Spectre de la Rose quite funny and liked Apollo most during that part of the evening. He enjoyed Cinderella and the Nutcracker finale, not for the pas de deux but for the music. Don Quixote seems to have been the favourite piece of the evening: "it was incredible"!
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annemarriott
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30-12-02, 09:41 AM (GMT) |
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4. "RE: Guests from RB shine at the Nureyev Gala in Milan"
In response to message #1
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>Well, may be it is polite
>to praise dancers on
>their theatre's website. Amelie - may I just say that this site is nothing to do with the Royal Ballet in London? It is an independent site set up six years ago by a ballet lover and run by him and several friends, all of whom give their time and efforts for love of the art. The fact that many of the postings are about the Royal Ballet is because it is our premier ballet company and is based in London where (or near where) many contributors live. However many contributors live outside the South East of England and make the journey to see the Royal Ballet more or less frequently, according to their inclinations and their pockets. The Royal Ballet official website is found at www.royaloperahouse.org
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Bruce Marriott
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