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Susy
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22-01-03, 09:30 PM (GMT) |
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""Hommage à Nureyev" in Paris"
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In the book “Rudolf Noureev à Paris” published for the gala of January 20th at the Palais Garnier, at page 6 there is the following sentence: “Tant qu’on dansera mes ballets, je resterai vivant (Rudolf Noureev)”. Brigitte Lefèvre, AD of the Paris Opera Ballet, regularly inserts his choreographies in every season, so the project of a gala must have been a great puzzle for her: which extraits should be chosen, especially when other companies are busy with the same aim, in order to honour Nureyev on the stage where he was not only guest dancer, not only choreographer, but also AD? Titles have been added day after day so that the length of the gala started looking gruelling for the average audience. Injured dancers had to be replaced and, last but not least, three days before the gala Nicolas Le Riche injured his right foot while dancing in London so that Massimo Murru arrived from Milan to replace him in “Marguerite and Armand” for the dress rehearsal. All these facts caused unjustified complaints from some French ballet goers: the gala was outstanding and the success enormous.
The first item was the “Défilé”, presenting the company and the students of the School, the girls followed by the boys, ending with the front row composed by the étoiles: Osta, Pujol, Letestu, Maurin, Guérin, Loudières, Platel, Bart, Martinez, Le Riche, Belarbi, Legris, Hilaire. Giant stage (46 m from the Foyer de la Danse to the proscenium), pompous music (the March of the Troyans by Berlioz), 250 dancers, these are the numbers of the greatness displayed during 15 minutes. At the end a veiled curtain was dropped on the front, with a picture of Nureyev wearing Beaton’s costume for Armand.
A 10 minutes film showing documents on Nureyev’s career told us, through the texts written by the French dance critic René Sirvin and read by Laurent Hilaire, the legendary achievements of a Russian boy who defected and marked forever the ballet world. Then the dancing began.
The complete ballets were 2, the other items being extraits, some of them really short ones, none of them but one with its scenery. Some extraits were meant to show the latest étoiles and principals in POB’s hierarchy, who were very young ten years ago, tackling Nureyev’s choreography and they have still a lot of work to do. Some extraits were meant to show the apotheosis of Nureyev’s style and the interpreters were marvellous and moving. And then we had 4 male étoiles with the greatest challenge: honoring the dancer who danced everything, from baroque to tip tap, through choreographies especially created for him, and they brought us straight to Heaven.
The solo from the 3rd act of “Raymonda” was royally performed by Elisabeth Platel, the adagio from the 2nd act of “Nutcracker” was danced by Clairemarie Osta partnered by Laurent Hilaire, the adagio from the 3rd act of “Don Quixote” was danced by Laetitia Pujol partnered by Eric Vu An, the balcony pdd from the 1st act of “Romeo and Juliet” was poetically performed by Elisabeth Maurin partnered by Alessio Carbone, the pdd from the 2nd act of “Cinderella” was magically performed by Monique Loudières partnered by Jean-Guillaume Bart. The first part of the gala closed with the highest performance of the evening, Laurent Hilaire and Manuel Legris together in Béjart’s “Songs of a wayfarer”, both inspired by their master, so often casted in parallel roles (for example Bernard and Béranger in “Raymonda” or in the pas de six from “Napoli”), dancing with intensity and depth every step and every emotion contained in this revealing male pdd.
The second part of the gala was devoted to the full staging of “Marguerite and Armand” with Sylvie Guillem and Nicolas Le Riche in the title roles, together with Anthony Dowell, Christopher Saunders and dancers of the POB. Despite a bandaged, swollen right foot, Le Riche was a great Armand, with the beautiful Guillem looking like a cherished flower in his loving arms and a discarded object in his rage for the deception.
The third part of the gala opened with three baroque dances (sarabande, bourrée et gigue) with Bach’s music. Kader Belarbi was in charge of the development of the coreography suggested by Francine Lancelot and his artistry in the use of the arms in coordination with the brilliant tiny steps evoked a handsom Sun King. Then we had the all male Polonaise from the 1st act of “Swan lake” danced by soloists and members of the cdb, a real choreographic masterpiece. Agnès Letestu as Odile, José Martinez as Siegfried and Wilfried Romoli as Rothbart were engaged in the pas de trois of the Black Swan, matching clean virtuosism with wicked interpretation. The evening was closed by the 3rd act of “La bayadère”. The apparition of the 32 shades, the 3 solos and the pdd of Nikiya and Solor weren’t disturbed by the dark backcloth and they were folded by a dreaming and misterious atmosphere. Nathalie Aubin, Mélanie Hurel and Eleonora Abbagnato danced beautifully, Isabelle Guérin was the moved and moving spirit and Jean-Guillaume Bart her perfect lover.
It was nearly midnight when all the dancers came back together on stage and were joined by Paul Connelly, who conducted the orchestra, and the solo musicians (the bariton, the pianist and cellist). The guest étoiles were no longer standing near to their partners in the gala, but coupled as they used to be, so that Nicolas Le Riche was beside Elisabeth Platel and Sylvie Guillem beside Laurent Hilaire. They left the theatre only two hours later, with the arms burdened by the flowers.
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Hiromi M
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23-01-03, 05:34 AM (GMT) |
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1. "RE: "Hommage Nureyev" in Paris"
In response to message #0
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Susy ,
Thank you very much for your wonderful describing of the special night.The most interesting ballet of the gala for me was Bejart's "Songs of the wayfarer" because I saw the ballet when Nureyev himself and Charles Jude. Isn't it the one and only chance to see Hilaire and Legris dancing together this ballet ever? In Japan we will have a chance to see another "Nureyev" related gala in summer organised by Charles Jude, dancers including Ruzimatov, Hilaire, Loudiere, and more Pairis Opera Ballet dancers and Kirov Ballet. again, thanks for your posting, I could feel the whole atomosphere being at the Palais Garnier on the special night. Hiromi |
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