"Le Corsaire"
Bolshoi Ballet
Opera House
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
June 17, 2009
by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright 2009 by Alexandra Tomalonis
Like many of the few surviving 19th century ballets, "Le Corsaire" has had many lives. Inspired by a poem by Byron, born in France (1856) as a vehicle for Carolina Rosati with choreography by Joseph Mazilier and a score by Adolphe Adam, "Le Corsaire made its way to St. Petersburg shortly thereafter, where first Jules Perrot, then Marius Petipa, staged several versions. The production that the Bolshoi Ballet is presenting this week is based on Petipa's last version, from 1899. The sets (by Boris Kaminsky) and costumes (by Yelena Zaitseva), are based on the 1899 designs, and are gorgeous. The corsairs (pirates) are dressed in Greek costumes -- white shirts and skirts over dark red trousers and boots; the women's dresses in the character dances are not only beautifully designed but have flow, and their tutus, especially in the Jardin Animé scene, manage to look old-fashioned without being fussy, and eminently danceable. It's a beautiful production, and the company dances it with a zest and confidence that makes you love them.
The ballet, somewhat shortened for D.C., clocks in at three hours to the minute. It's amazing that the work holds together so
well, at that length, and with music by so many composers (chief among
them, in addition to Adam, Cesar Pugni, Leo Delibes, Ludwig Minkus, Ricardo Drigo, and Prince
Pyotr Oldenburg). Alexei Ratmansky, one of the hottest choreographers in ballet today and, until quite recently, director of the Bolshoi, and Yuri Burlaka, the company's current director, are responsible for the revival, some new dances and some others restored from notation. There's a charming solo for the heroine in the pirate cave, in which she dances with a trumpet, like a precursor of Fokine's ballerina doll in "Petrouchka," and, to show that she's ready and willing to become one of the gang, cheerily shouts "All aboard!" at the end. The story is complicated (pirates, slave markets, harem girls, mixed identities, rebellions, betrayals, poisoned flowers, maidenly dreams, many chances of escape that are ignored, and much, much more) but the company dances with such energy and conviction that the ballet lives.
There was a lot of good dancing opening night. The ballerina role is extremely challenging; its many solos may well contain every step in the classical lexicon, and there are character dances to boot. Maria Alexandrova (who has danced some dazzling Kitris over the years here) is a strong technician and not only seemed to have no difficulties but, at the end, looked ready for three more acts. Anastasia Stashkevich and Denis Medvedev were terrific in the first act's pas d'esclave; you wanted them to have their own ballet. Medvedev has an extraordinary plié -- low and plush and rich. There's a series of three pliés in the first solo of this pas de deux, each followed immediately by a jump, and here Medvedev was fast, powerful and simply stunning. Nina Kaptsova, as Gulnare, the ambitious, naughty slave girl whose goal is to be the Pasha's wife, was adorable, as both a dancer and a mime. The corps, squished into about half as much space as they're used to having, was beautifully musical in the Jardin Animé. The character dances were danced with as much energy as one could wish, though the women are so slender now that the dances don't have the weight they once did.
Despite all of its good qualities, one senses that the ballet doesn't have as much weight as it once did either. Petipa made ballets for star ballerinas (in 1899, it was Pierina Legnani, the first Odette/Odile and Raymonda), and a ballet like "Corsaire," especially, needs that kind of star power and authority. Neither Alexandrova nor her Conrad (hero and pirate), Nikolay Tsiskaridze quite had it opening night. Alexandrova is a beautiful dancer, and an appealing personality, but she didn't make me care about Medora and she didn't command the stage like a general. Without this, the ballet's silliness shows. There were some terrific character dancers -- tiny Gennady Yanin stole the show as Lanquedem, Medora's uncle who's all too happy to sell her into slavery for the right price, and Irina Zibrova stole it back as Zulmea, the Pasha's favorite sultana who works very hard to keep her position -- but too often the mime was merely a series of gestures and hard to read. The story is complex, but the libretto is very clear and it should be possible to stage it clearly, to direct the audience's eye.
There's certainly enough going on to entertain the eye, and enough good dancing (not to mention a shipwreck with what looks like real waves!) to make for a very good show, and on opening night, one had to salute the company for managing to put over a ballet so complicated so well. There are as many props in "Le Corsaire" as in an Ashton ballet, what looks to be about 1,257 people on stage at any given moment, and, for those who aren't up on their Greek/Turkish history or 19th century views of harem practices, it's a very foreign world we're asked to believe in. But the company danced as though it believed in the ballet and that's what matters. Thanks to Messrs. Ratmansky and Burlaka for seeing something in such an old work, and bringing it back to life.
Bolshoi Ballet’s Le Corsaire, photos by Damir Yusupov.
From top: Maria Alexandrova and Nikolay Tsiskaridze in the final scene.
The company in the first act's market place scene.
Nina Kaptsova, as Gulnare, in the Jardin Animé.
The company in the Jardin Animé.
