"La Bayadère"
Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
28 January, 2009
by Judith Cruickshank
copyright 2009 by Judith Cruickshank
Following a seemingly interminable run of 'The Nutcracker', the Royal Ballet embarked on Natalia Makarova's production of 'La Bayadère' with a seriously diminished roster of principals. Both Alina Cojocaru and Sarah Lamb are on the sick list with seemingly long-term injuries, Federico Bonelli has now joined them. David Makhatelli is also injured and Marianela Nuňez has cancelled her scheduled performances as Gamzatti and Nikiya. This resulted in continuous changes from the original cast list and saw the Royal Opera House debut of the Hamburg Ballet's Silvia Azzoni who was drafted in to dance Nikya to Ivan Putrov's Solor, which she did to considerable acclaim from the fans.
Probably the most awaited performance though was on 28 January when a trio of young hopefuls debuted in the leading roles; Yuhui Choe as Nikiya, Hikaru Kobayashi as Gamzatti and Sergei Polunin as Solor. Choe is listed as a first soloist while Kobayashi and Polunin are soloists; Kobayashi since 2006 while Polunin was promoted this year after his first season with the company.
Polunin is evidently regarded as the Royal Ballet's Great Hope – not necessarily an enviable position as many of his predecessors could probably testify. But there is no doubt that this is a very talented young man. He is Ukrainian by birth and trained in Kiev up to the age of 13 when he was invited to join the Royal Ballet School where he studied for four years. But the luxurious stretch of his soaring jump and the breadth of his movement are entirely Russian.
More striking still is the conviction that he brings to his playing of the role of Solor, so that when on his first entrance he gestures towards the stuffed animal being carried past you almost believe it's a real tiger rather than Pooh Bear's friend, the bouncing Tigger.
Solor is a pretty big challenge for your first-ever leading role, but I would say the two female leads present an even greater hurdle for a debutante – I don't count the Sugar Plum Fairy as in the Royal Ballet's productions the role consists of some kindly gestures and a classical pas de deux. Once upon a time promising dancers had the opportunity of taking a first leading role in a one act work, but the paucity of triple bills and the theoretical abundance of principals rule that out.
If I found Choe less impressive than her partner it is more a tribute to Polunin's charisma than to any fault on her part. She is a pretty dancer, with a crystalline technique and especially beautiful feet. She gave the impression of having been carefully coached and it is to be hoped that she won't have to wait too long for further performances and the opportunity to bring something more individual to the part.
Kobayashi possibly had the easier task in terms of characterisation, and she appeared to enjoy the opportunity of playing a first-class bitch. She coped admirably with the technical fireworks of the betrothal scene and, here again, further opportunities should help to develop the brilliance that this role demands.
Two other performances deserve a mention; Gary Avis was an impressive Rajah, restrained and dignified. And as the High Brahmin Eric Underwood gave a terrific portrayal, in no way handicapped by the fact that he looked quite stunning in the costume.
I wish I could be as enthusiastic about the corps de ballet, especially in the Shades Act. Makarova has adapted the choreography of their entrance so that each Shade alternates the arabesque between her right and left leg. While this may have made things easier for the dancers and reduced the number of wobbles, to my eye it interrupts the seamless, dreamlike flow of their entry. More than ever I missed the languorous tempos and luxurious stretch in the version Nureyev set on the Royal Ballet, and I would willingly exchange a few shaky moments for the collective vision and sense of style that he managed to instill in those dancers.
For some reason the order of the Shades variations has been changed, the solo with the cabrioles now coming last. None of these variations were danced with any distinction, although it has to be said that the tempi of what is traditionally the third variation would have been beyond even the most experienced dancer; ludicrously slow followed by excessively fast.
The company now moves on to one of its rare mixed bills. A revival of William Tuckett's “Seven Deadly Sins”, which was almost universally disliked on it's first showing; “DGV” (Dance à grande vitesse), Christopher Wheeldon in very run-of-the-mill mode; and Mats Ek's “Carmen”, originally mounted for Sylvie Guilleme who no longer appears with the Royal Ballet. A curious mix and it's hard to see any logic behind it except perhaps to illustrate Richard Buckle's description of a triple bill as “something for everyone to dislike”.
Photos of Yuhui Choe and Sergei Polunin, by Bill Cooper.
