"Le Corsaire"
Alina Cojocaru, Dimitri Gruzdyev, Vadim
Muntagirov, Erina Takahashi, Junor Souza
English National Ballet
Milton Keynes Theatre
London
17 -19 October, 2013
by Judith Cruickshank
copyright 2013 by Judith Cruikshank
Let there be no doubt about it; this is a
hugely enjoyable evening. Tamara Rojo
was taking a chance when she asked Anna-Marie Holmes to stage her production of
“Le Corsaire” for English National Ballet but the result as seen on stage can
certainly be counted a success. It is
greatly helped by Bob Ringwood’s designs which feature beautiful Orientalist
backcloths, brilliantly coloured costumes, lots of glitter and any number of
well-toned midriffs on view.
Holmes, who was one of the first western
dancers to study in what was then the Soviet Union, has staged “Le Corsaire”
for a number of companies, initially for the Boston Ballet where she was
artistic director and later for American Ballet Theatre. Her production, which is based on a
Soviet-era version, clips along at tremendous speed.
This has a number of advantages. It means that the ballet runs just two and a
half hours including intervals and that incidents tumble one upon each other so
fast that you don’t have time to notice the silliness of the plot. The disadvantage is that some charming aspects
of the original are lost, the heroine Medora’s delicious “petite corsaire”
variation for instance and there is scant opportunity for the dancers to hint
at motivation or to build a character other than in the barest outline.
Essentially the plot involves the attempts
of Conrad, the corsair, or pirate, of the title, to rescue his girlfriend
Medora from the attentions of Lankendem the slave dealer and the elderly Pasha
who has purchased her. In this the
lovers are aided by the pirate crew, a somewhat ambivalent character in
turquoise trousers called Ali and Medora’s friend Gulnara. The important thing about the story such as
it is is that it provides plenty of opportunity for all kinds of dancing and a
spectacular shipwreck at the end.
The first night Medora was ENB’s newest
ballerina Alina Cojocaru who departed from the Royal Ballet this summer in a
blaze of publicity and speculation. In the first act variation where she flirts
with Conrad and the Pasha she was enchanting, and her dancing throughout was
everything her flocks of admirers could wish for. But it has to be said that ENB’s own Erina
Takahashi, dancing exquisitely as Gulnara, was in no way overshadowed.
Conrad was Vadim Muntagirov, almost
unrecognisable in beard and mustachios, except for the beauty of his
dancing. Swagger doesn’t seem to come
naturally to him, but he was clearly having fun with the role and further
performances will surely heighten the braggadocio. At well over 6ft tall he’s
not an ideal partner for the tiny Cojocaru, but it was wonderful to see how
smoothly and easily the couple handled the Soviet-style lifts and throws in
their duet in Ringwood’s handsome pirate cave.
Junor Souza danced impressively as Ali,
soaring elegantly through the variation which Nureyev made so famous (that
entire sequence which first made the ballet known to Western audiences is, as
we now discover, a much later interpolation).
The three lovely odalisques were Shiori Kase, Alison McWhinney and
Laurretta Summerscales, all deserving of praise.
The pace of the production gives the audience
little chance to understand just why Conrad’s s lieutenant Birbanto chooses to
betray him, and unlike in Pyotr Gusev’s production for the Mariinsky he has no
opportunity to fire his pistols. But
Yonah Acosta scowled with a will. And
there were brilliant performances from the Dimitri Gruzdyev as the ingratiating
slave dealer Lankendem – a far cry from his usual princely roles and from
Michael Coleman, who really made something of the part of the Pasha – often a
rather cardboard figure. How he managed
to stand upright given the weight of gold and jewels with which his costume is
adorned remains something of a mystery.
All the company, villagers, pirates, slave
girls and the flowers in the Jardin Anime sequence danced wholeheartedly and
the company’s orchestra conducted by Paul Sutherland gave a rousing
interpretation of the patchwork score.
The production continues on tour with a
number of different casts until December when ENB will open at the London
Coliseum with its traditional Nutcracker season. Given the current state of funding for the
arts in the UK Rojo must be hoping that audiences around the country will have
read the enthusiastic opening night notices and will flock to see something
new. She can certainly promise them an
enjoyable evening.
Photos, all by Ash. From top:
The pirate's ship.
Alina Cojocaru and Vadim Muntagirov.
Cojacaru and company in the Jardin Animee.