Watching the Bolshoi's Sleeping Beauty from the prompter's box

That's what it seemed like at today's satellite transmission of the Bolshoi Ballet's new production of Sleeping Beauty.  Thanks to Ballet in Cinema and Emerging Pictures, more than 500 cinema theaters in the U.S. received a live-stream transmission of the brand new Yuri Grigorovich production which premiered last week in Moscow. 

It really seemed like a camera was positioned in the opera singer prompter's box near the foot of the stage which resulted in much of the performance being viewed with the cinema audience's sight line angled upward starting at the dancers' feet.  It was great to be able to see the individual sequins on the tutus, but as the camera whipped from left to right and right to left following each soloist, it all became dizzying and sometimes blurry.  The few shots from the back of the upper tiers of the Bolshoi Theater that captured the corps work revealed beautiful formations of perfect symmetry. 

The ultra-close camera work also captured and magnified the dancers' physical stress which is usually masked with a smile that the audience sees instead of the stress.  Worse, it did not allow the cinema viewers to watch the soloists in the context of what the other dancers on stage were doing.  We got to see a lot of production details that we don't normally see (thank you) but we missed huge aspects of the performance.

But what a production!  Is there anyone on the planet who does ballet spectacle bigger and better than Yuri Grigorovich?  It's doubtful.

As Sleeping Beauties go, Grigorovich's effort is stunning in terms of production values, fine in terms of staging, but was somewhat dully danced - except for the new tall guy.  The new tall guy, ABT's David Hallberg, performed with an elegance and refinement that probably hasn't been seen much at the Bolshoi in recent history.  His dancing was big, too.  Big, space-devouring jumps that were impressive in both their horizontal and vertical measures were a major part of Hallberg's soloist choreography.  As usual, as expected, as treasured, he finished his variations as if he were the conductor's baton bringing the orchestra to a stop.  However, the close camera shots didn't always bring complimentary images.  Often Hallberg could be seen struggling to convey appropriate facial expressions and he appeared acutely aware of the cameras.  But his dancing was fabulous.  His few overhead lifts of Aurora were successful but the close-camera caught the strain of his effort and made them look slightly scary.

Svetlana Zakharova as Aurora was not exactly in her element.  Right off the bat in Act I she made some unfortunate artistic choices which those who are familiar with her dancing guessed she would make.  Every time she executed a  developpe to the ecarte position, she chose a nearly 180 degree extension that completely destroyed any possibility of harmony with the arm on the opposite side of the body.  The leg was high and turned out and the foot was strongly pointed, but what was the point of it if the position lacked harmony?  Maybe total body harmony isn't important in Forsythe, Balanchine or Ratmansky choreography, but it is imperative in Petipa.  [Witness harmony here.]

In the Rose Adagio, Zakharova did not raise both arms on the balances, and thus, really didn't do any balancing at all, and she did not engage the princes who were trying to impress her.  This was a Bolshoi principal, a former Kirov principal and someone who the American Ballet Theatre has touted as a guest star?  Haglund doesn't want to give the impression that Zakharova gave a bad performance.  She gave a serviceable but undistinguished performance.  Acting is not her strong suit, so we really didn't see a transformation of Aurora in Act I to Aurora in Act III.  However, Zakharova is lovely physically and was perfectly beautiful in the costume.  Her face had the glow of a beautiful woman who was beautiful on the inside as well.  She gave Hallberg a fairly easy time in the partnering because she was securely on her leg during pirouettes and steady in the promenades. 

Maria Allash is not Haglund's favorite type of Lilac Fairy – that being the Veronika Part/Stella Abrera/Christina Fagundes variety – but she  gave a credible interpretation.  Her port de bras lines are not long and can sometimes appear lumpy if she over-extends the elbows and hands.  But the main objection is the lack of shape in her feet.  Her face is elegant and her expression was one of benevolence and confidence.  There are lots of different interpretations of the Lilac Fairy's demeanor that are completely valid, and Maria's was one of them.

The Bluebird and Princess Florine (Ovcharenko and Kaptsova) and all of the Fairies of Kindness and Jewels were a joy to watch –  that doesn't mean they should be brought here to be guest artists – and all of the character roles, especially Carabosse (Loparevich right? not Savin as listed in the program), were portrayed with the degree of importance that you expect from the greatest of the Bolshoi generations.  Try as some Western companies may, you cannot have an artistically successful Petipa story ballet without giving the character roles the respect and importance they deserve.

Without a doubt, the costumes by designer Franca Squarciapino and the scenery by Ezio Frigerio are the major triumph of this production.  Bold, brilliant, complimentary, rich in color, sparkly without being gaudy, TASTEFUL – they enhanced all aspects of the choreography and never competed against it for attention.  While some may not have been pleased with the white wigs in Act III, they looked so good from the mid-house camera angles (but, of course, not so hot from the close-up camera).  From the camera near the middle of the house, Hallberg looked smashing in the wig and the rest of his costume.

The staging is not controversial - Haglund has no complaints whatsoever.  He does prefer seeing the fish dives in the Act III PdD that we are accustomed to seeing here, but their absence in the Bolshoi version didn't make it less enjoyable.  Haglund is grateful for Yuri Grigorovich and for the fact that he is still turning out these huge productions that are so full of fantasy and are respectful of the historical traditions of the art form.  This stunning Christian Louboutin Golden Ankle Pump Bump Award (just $910) is bestowed upon Mr. Grigorovich:

Comments

[LKR]

When did Zakharova guest with ABT?

[Haglund]

La Bayadere 2004 or so.

[Julie]

I am so excited to see this in two weeks!!!

[Haglund]

Julie, you'll love it.

[Angelica Smith]

I loved the ballet and agree with (almost) everything you said, Haglund. Remembering Hallberg's performance with Hee Seo in Giselle, I held my breath every time he lifted Zakharova. But he is simply a marvel. His "line" is so pure that just seeing him walk is a transcendent experience. I can't help but compare Allash's Lilac Fairy with the one that caused me to fall in love with Stella Abrera, and Allash does come up short in comparison. I totally agree that acting is not Zakharova's strong suit, but I did love her dancing in Act III. And actually, I can do without those balances in the Rose Adagio, which just seem to me to be an acrobatic feat causing unnecessary stress for certain of my favorite ballerinas who shine in other ways. Thank you for your comprehensive and informed review! You always bring out aspects of a performance that I had barely noticed, if I noticed them at all.

[Haglund]

Hi Angelica!

Had this been ABT, I think some of those big lifts would have been compromised away. I was glad to see Hallberg put to the test and I hope Grigorovich really goes to work on him. I think it'll be worth it when he comes back.

Yes, Zakharova was lovely in a lot of her solo work, especially in Act III. I'm not sure that she's such a good match up with Hallberg, though, since they are both long limbed and tall but he is the more refined dancer by a long shot.

[Angelica Smith]

I had an anxiety attack when they went for the one big fish dive (look ma, no hands). So relieved they made it!

[Brooks Jane]

You are so right, Haglund! You can't blame Hallberg for looking a teeny bit stressed during the pas de deux, having to dodge those wildly swinging développés and pénchées every 5 seconds. Perpetually grumpy Alastair Macaulay, too, noted the strange discord between La Zakharova's gymnastic lower body and serene (practically sedated) upper body, whereas the greatest Auroras allow the music to ripple joyfully through their entire bodies. The strong, pliant back that is the hallmark of Russian ballerinas was strangely absent from Svetlana's performance (though the Fairies and Princess Florine made up for it.)

Your choice of contrast was Viviana Durante but I think the gold standard for Aurora among living ballerinas must be Alina Cojocaru. Her maturing from innocent, lighthearted teen to wiser princess is so clear in both her technique and her face that it projects up to the nosebleed seats without the benefit of HD cameras. (Nina Kaptsova, who danced Princess Florine, makes a lovely Aurora too - I wish we'd seen her with Hallberg instead of the ice queen.)

I couldn't agree with you more about the strength of the character dancing. The Russians (and the British) take this very seriously; you cannot simply rely on the lead couple to carry the entire production.

And those production values - total bliss! Those Russians know how to tell a story. 'Flames of Paris' is just another example of how they get it so right. I'm guessing it costs a fraction of what it costs in America to put on these colossal productions, but costs aside you still have to have great taste, confidence and ambition, and this 'Beauty' shows that the Bolshoi does.

[Haglund]

Hi Jane! The production values of Grigorovich's Sleeping Beauty were awesome, but his Nutcracker is to die for. The live stream production that ran in movie theaters last year with Kaptsova as Marie was the best, most magical Nutcracker I've ever seen.

[Angelica Smith]

Now that we know about it, it makes me wonder whether David Hallberg's sprained ankle had something to do with his facial expressions--the tiny muscles of the face are a dead giveaway once you know what to look for. I still agree that his dancing was superb but I feel bad that he had to struggle with an injury at such a historical performance. How would he have danced at his physical best? He is nothing short of a miracle.

[Haglund]

Amen.