|
|
|
|
Bolshoi Ballet 'Don Quixote'
February 24, 2010 -- Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, California They came to impress and they succeeded. Bolshoi Ballet brought its company to the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California, for an exclusive, six-performance engagement of "Don Quixote," February 24 to February 28, 2010. The Russian troupe last visited the Southern California venue five years ago. Alexei Fadeyechev choreographed the three-act story ballet set to Ludwig Minkus' score based on Petipa and Gorsky's work. The company first performed it in 1869, and it has remained in the repertoire ever since. Originally, prima ballerina Svetlana Zakharova was scheduled to dance Kitri in Costa Mesa, but she injured her hip and could not travel with the company. In her place, leading soloist Natalia Osipova, 24, danced her performances. The younger dancer first performed the role in 2005. Partnering Osipova as Basil was first soloist Ivan Vasiliev, 21. Vasiliev burst onto the ballet scene in 2007, exciting critics with his fearless moves. In this performance, Vasiliev definitely went for the most in all the tricks given to male danseurs. He spun twice on a grand assemblé. He defied gravity during leaps. He bounded across the stage with split grand jetés. He beat a tour jeté twice before landing. During the grand pas de deux, which is used frequently in contests, Vasiliev tossed Osipova at the top of the lifts. He held her in the one-arm overhead lift, then raised one leg into a low arabesque. It was exhibition dancing at its finest. Equally determined was Osipova. From her explosive leap onto the stage to the final pose, she poured herself into the part. With her strong, sure pointe work, Osipova revealed flexible extensions and a supple back. Her soaring ballon was spectacular. During an Act 2 pas de deux, she flung herself into Vasiliev's arms -- twice. Osipova displayed joy and the positive emotions well with her entrancing smile. However, her disdain could use some work. When she rejected nobleman Gamache's advances, she still had a smile on her face, which gave her character an evil twinge. Denis Savin played the nobleman who fancies Kitri. His portrayal made the man quite the dandy and worthy of her scorn. His costume, however, looked beautiful. During a divertissement, Kitri and two girlfriends (Victoria Osipova and Olga Stebletsova) pounded their pointes into the stage like tap shoes, about as Spanish as toe shoes can get. Alexey Loparevich played Don Quixote, with Alexander Petukhov as his squire, Sancho Panza. Both amused with comedic timing and actions. When the pair entered during a crowd scene, they almost hit the villagers with the don's lance swinging around. En masse, the villagers leaned away from the weapon. Loparevich towered over the other dancers, a perfect pick to play the don. Petukhov wore a fat suit, but he failed to waddle as a heavy person would. He emphasized his slapstick role with enthusiasm. Almost every female soloist and corps member held a hand fan. Their constant flipping, swishing and fanning distracted a bit from the story, which had a weak plot taken from Cervantes' novel. In the Act 2 tavern scene, Kristina Karaseva danced the role of Mercedes, who flirted with toreador Espada (Andrey Merkuriev). She bent backward so low, she easily swept up the hem of her long skirt before straightening. However, her finger snaps weren't together, giving a syncopated sound. Merkuriev displayed flash and machismo in his moves. He ruled his cape, making it whirl where he wanted. The flamenco-styled dance ended with him on his knees. Not once during any of his pieces did he sag or lose the erect Spanish posture. Gamache accompanied Kitri's father, Lorenzo (Roman Simachev), after the young couple left the earlier festivities to avoid Kitri's engagement to the nobleman. The nobleman carried a hand-held mirror in which he constantly looked. When confronted by her father and Gamache, Kitri stomped on the latter's foot, and he hopped in pain. Vasiliev played the fake suicide scene with much humor. He deliberately laid his cape down before he fell onto it. When Kitri needed a handkerchief, he handed her one from his supine position. He moved his hand to her breasts while she wailed over him in grief. Kitri pleaded with her father to grant Basil's dying wish to marry her. When Don Quixote threatened Lorenzo with his lance, Lorenzo agreed. Then Basil jumped up, miraculously alive again. The don and his squire left the tavern and came upon a gypsy camp, where the older man attacked a puppet show and tackled a windmill. The pair limped across the stage in front of the curtain. After Sancho went for help, Don Quixote fought an imaginary foe, then fell asleep to dream of dryads and his ideal lady, Dulcinea. Osipova danced the Dulcinea role dressed in a white tutu. Anna Nikulina led the other dryads as their queen. Nina Kaptsova was Cupid in a short Grecian-style tunic. Kaptsova performed the presto well, and Nikulina used her arms to great effect. Osipova's solo included hitch kicks, hops en pointe and sissones. All she did with high extensions. After a fast piqué turn en manège, she ended in a secure relevé arabesque. The choreography was purely classical during the dream scene, whereas the rest of the show was heavily influenced by folk and Spanish dancing. The last act occurred in the home of a duke (Alexander Fadeechev) and duchess (Nino Asatiani) who brought the injured don there to recover. From Sancho, they'd heard about Kitri and Basil and offered to host the wedding at their home. All the matadors paraded before the hosts and Don Quixote, along with village ladies in their finery. Merkuriev and Karaseva reprised their pas de deux, she hitting the ground with her fan on her renversés. Ksenia Kern danced the first variation, with Chinara Alizade performing the second one. But the main couple stole the act. After each section of the grand pas de deux, they bowed to the exuberant crowd. Vasiliev's charisma was reminiscent of a young Rudolf Nureyev. However, something happened between Osipova and Vasiliev during the show. At the final bows, she did not give him a rose from a post-performance bouquet. Tradition dictates that the ballerina honor her partner with a single bloom from her bouquet. All the costumes, based on Vassily Dyachkov's sketches, were bright and colorful. Tatyana Artamonova and Yelena Merkurova based the current ones on the originals. Pavel Klinichev conducted the live orchestra with sensitivity to the dancers.
|
|
about us • writers' guidelines • faq • privacy policy • copyright notice • advertising • contact us |
by Kathy Lee Scott