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Battling Self-Doubt

“Cyrano de Bergerac”
Ballet NdB (Národní divadlo Brno)
National Theatre Brno
Brno, Czech Republic
October 27, 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB Ten years ago, I watched one of Jiří Bubeníček’s early ballets—The Picture of Dorian Gray—which he created and danced with his twin brother, Otto. Since then, the Bubeníčeks regularly cooperated on many productions, with Jiří usually contributing the choreography and Otto the design. Their latest ballet, Cyrano de Bergerac for the Ballet of the National Theatre Brno in the Czech Republic, is also a product of family cooperation, especially given that Jiří’s wife and longstanding artistic collaborator, Nadina Cojocaru, joined the team as costume designer.

Cyrano de Bergerac is based on the eponymous 1897 romantic-comedy verse drama by the French dramatist Edmond Rostand (1868-1918). Rostand modeled the hero after Hector-Savinien de Cyrano (1619-1655), nicknamed Cyrano de Bergerac. A fabulously heroic swordsman, he served in various regiments before quitting the cadet’s life and dedicating himself exclusively to writing prose and love poetry. The prominent nose that affected the love life of his literary representative also graced the real de Cyrano, though it was more moderately sized.
3. J.Svojanovský (Montfleury) and ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB 2. Ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB Bubeníček’s Cyrano de Bergerac (Shoma Ogasawara) has a huge nose indeed. But it is false, and its size is blown out of proportion by self-doubts and mockery. Worn with grudging determination, the nose hinders neither his spunky swordplay nor his impudence when defending his ideals. But it made him feel ugly and therefore prevented him from avowing his love for his beautiful, young cousin Roxane (Anna Yeh). However, once he was sure that she requited his passion, the false nose was gone, and Cyrano was unabashedly himself. Brimming over with self-confidence and bliss, he was stopped by nothing—not even an assault by a horde of brawlers that Roxane’s admirer, Count de Guiche (Ilia Mironov), sicced on him. One stroke each and the nasty lot was done.
4. S.Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB 5. S.Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac) and M.R.de Haro (Viscount Valvert), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB But, alas!—it was all a misunderstanding. Roxane had fallen not for Cyrano but for the handsome Christian (João Gomes), which poured icy water on Cyrano’s hopes. An intellectual woman, Roxane expected to be courted. His lack of poetic talent put Christian in a quandary. Devastated but utterly in love, Cyrano offered to ghostwrite the love letters for Roxane and thereby acquired a secret outlet for his passion. The ravishing correspondence that ensued was facilitated by Roxane’s smart duenna (Adéla Kulíšek). Though Cyrano’s soul squirmed as he witnessed the blossoming romance and hasty marriage of Roxane and Christian, his support was unwavering. Cyrano became the actual source of love and Christian merely its channel.

7. I.Mironov (Count de Guiche), A.Yeh (Roxane), and ensemble; “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB 6. R.Kružíková (Singer), I.Mironov (Count de Guiche), and A.Yeh (Roxane), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdBThe Franco-Spanish war was raging when Christian finally decided to bust the bogus but he was fatally wounded on the battlefield just before clearing things up. Fifteen years later, Roxane had retreated into a convent outside Paris where Cyrano regularly visited her. On his last visit, he asked Roxane for Christian’s farewell letter. Mortally wounded, he read the opening sentence “Roxane, I’m gonna die…” then the letter slipped from his fingers. As Cyrano recited the remaining lines by heart, Roxane realized that he had been the author of Christian’s letters all along and that she had actually loved him. Shortly before his death, both finally became a couple.
8. R.Kružíková (Singer) and S.Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB 9. S.Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB The audience would have left heartbroken if the protagonists hadn’t assembled for a chummy epilogue. When bidding each other “Ciao!” all sadness evaporated. Cyrano was the last to leave. He put on the false nose again but this time strode off with his head held high.

Bubeníček’s choreography was stunningly complex, and, at the break, the storytelling already felt so rich that I couldn’t believe that Act I had lasted only one hour. Blessed with a knack for conveying character traits and emotions through movement, Bubeníček’s narrative grip was inescapable. His at times quick paced choreography appeared spontaneously in reaction to the goings-on. The resulting 10. Ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB intensity was breathtaking but softened by Baroque music by Bach, Lully, Scarlatti, and Handel, among others (played live by the Orchestra of the National Theatre Brno under the baton of Jakub Klecker), which spread calm and a sense of order and serenity. It made what happened on stage seem like the unwinding of an inevitable fate.

The clever set design enabled smooth transitions between the scenes. Low-hanging candlestick chandeliers in front of a purple curtain gave the place where Cyrano put on his false nose an ecclesiastical atmosphere. The facial blemish weighed on him, but he walked resolutely to attend a performance of the play La Clorise in the theater of the Hôtel de Bourgogne. It began when the purple curtain and the chandeliers rose. A backdrop of huge, painted putti against a blue, cotton-wool clouded sky promised a kitschy performance. Indeed, the pathos of the leading character (who, given his costume, was some sort of sun god), played by the actor Montfleury (Vojtěch Blahuta, an actor of NdB) was hard to bear. The same was the case for Cyrano who rushed on stage, retched ostentatiously, and forced Montfleury off stage.
11. J.Gomes (Christian) and ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB 12. S.Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), J.Gomes (Christian), and ensemble; “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB Blahuta and a singer (Romana Kružíková) joined the dancers on several occasions and in various roles. Reciting passages from Rostand’s verses, they padded the narrative thread but, in the case of Kružíková, also acted as a tool of fate. The shot that killed Christian was fired by her (a black beak mask marked her as a bird of death).
A simple table and chair decorated the room where Cyrano confided his love for Roxane to his buddy Le Bret (Arthur Abram). The setting reminded me of Romeo when swooning over Juliet to Mercutio only that Cyrano’s rapture was much more unbridled than Romeo’s (Ogasawara’s body seemed to melt into the table as if he were butter and the table, synonymous for Roxane’s body, a warm brioche).
15. J.Gomes (Christian), A.Yeh (Roxane), Z.B.Kaszab (Capuchin Friar), A.Kulíšek (Duenna), and ensemble; “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB 14. A.Yeh (Roxane), J.Gomes (Christian), and S.Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac); “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB 13. S.Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), J.Gomes (Christian), and A.Yeh (Roxane); “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB What Cyrano hoped was a date with Roxane took place at the patisserie of Ragueneau (Hugo Martinez García), where a cheerful bunch of bakers proclaimed “dolce vita” while handling piles of fresh bread. The wide swinging of their arms seemed inspired by the whipping of huge amounts of buttercream. The only one who had no fun was Ragueneau’s wife, Lisa (Rashmi Torres).
A balmy breeze stirred the curtains in front of Roxane’s balcony where her rendezvous with Christian took place. A winking reference to Romeo and Juliet’s balcony tête-à-tête, Christian (unlike Cranko’s Romeo, for example) didn’t attempt a pull-up to climb onto Roxane’s balcony but instead hefted her up. Besides, the tryst was a love triangle as Christian stood on Cyrano’s shoulders to reach Roxane for a kiss.
16. Ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB 17. A.Yeh (Roxane) and ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB 18. S.Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), J.Gomes (Christian), and A.Yeh (Roxane); “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB Stripped down to its skeleton, the arcade facade of Roxane’s neighborhood later enclosed the camp of the French Gascon cadets and was part of the convent walls that shielded Roxane from the outer world.

In Ogasawara’s Cyrano, a bold, expert fighter merged with a skilled poet whose heart brimmed with emotions. In her youth, Yeh’s Roxane was eager to soak up life with all her senses, and being widowed didn’t harden her. Rather, the way she opened her arms signaled that she still embraced life. Since she was surrounded by feisty convent nuns, singing the blues was out of the question anyway.
20. S.Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), A.Yeh (Roxane), and J.Svojanovský (Montfleury); “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB 19. A.Yeh (Roxane) and ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB Compared to Cyrano, Christian was a pale character, though he dared to mock Cyrano for his nose. Initially a stiff beau, Count de Guiche wasn’t shy to use evil practices to win Roxane’s heart. But she, being skilled in soft-soaping him, circumvented his advances. Years later and with a mature personality, he had the decency and courage to ask Roxane for reconciliation. As a mail carrier, Kulíšek’s duenna resembled a nimble letter pigeon who loved to tease the recipient (Juliet’s nurse is usually less agile). The friar (Manuel Romero de Haro), who secretly married Roxane and Christian, was a Capuchin, while in Romeo and Juliet, he’s a Franciscan. But that’s insignificant—neither brought the lovers any luck.
21. S.Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), I.Mironov (Count de Guiche), A.Trunečka (Guitarist), J.Svojanovský (Montfleury), A.Yeh (Roxane), and H.Martinez García (Ragueneau), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by J.Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024 © Ballet NdB

Links: Website of the National Theatre Brno
“Cyrano de Bergerac” – Behind the Scenes
“Cyrano de Bergerac” – Trailer
Photos: (Some photos show a different cast from an earlier performance.)
1. Ensemble, Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
2. Ensemble, Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
3. Jakub Svojanovský (Montfleury) and ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
4. Shoma Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
5. Shoma Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac) and Manuel Romero de Haro (Viscount Valvert), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
6. Romana Kružíková (Singer), Ilia Mironov (Count de Guiche), and Anna Yeh (Roxane), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
7. Ilia Mironov (Count de Guiche), Anna Yeh (Roxane), and ensemble; “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
8. Romana Kružíková (Singer) and Shoma Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
9. Shoma Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
10. Ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
11. João Gomes (Christian) and ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
12. Shoma Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), João Gomes (Christian), and ensemble; “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
13. Shoma Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), João Gomes (Christian), and Anna Yeh (Roxane); “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
14. Anna Yeh (Roxane), João Gomes (Christian), and Shoma Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac); “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
15. João Gomes (Christian), Anna Yeh (Roxane), Zoltán Bence Kaszab (Capuchin Friar), Adéla Kulíšek (Duenna), and ensemble; “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
16. Ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
17. Anna Yeh (Roxane) and ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
18. Shoma Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), João Gomes (Christian), and Anna Yeh (Roxane); “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
19. Anna Yeh (Roxane) and ensemble, “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
20. Shoma Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), Anna Yeh (Roxane), and Jakub Svojanovský (Montfleury); “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
21. Shoma Ogasawara (Cyrano de Bergerac), Ilia Mironov (Count de Guiche), Adam Trunečka (Guitarist), Jakub Svojanovský (Montfleury), Anna Yeh (Roxane), and Hugo Martinez García (Ragueneau), “Cyrano de Bergerac” by Jiří Bubeníček, Ballet NdB 2024
all photos © Ballet NdB
Editing: Kayla Kauffman

The Abuse of Women

“Troja” (“Troy”)
State Ballet of the Gärtnerplatztheater, Munich
Forum Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg, Germany
October 12, 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Ensemble, “Troja” by A.Foniadakis, State Ballet of the Gärtnerplatztheater 2024 © M.-L.Briane As in previous years, the Forum Ludwigsburg has made an effort to invite a wide range of dance companies to Ludwigsburg (which is about seven and a half miles north of Stuttgart) during this season. Munich’s State Ballet of the Gärtnerplatztheater was the first troupe to pay a visit. They presented their recently premiered one-act piece Troja (Troy) by Andonis Foniadakis. The Greek-born Foniadakis danced with the Béjart Ballet and the Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon during which time he also began to choreograph. In 2003 he founded his own company, Apotosoma, and from 2016 to 2018 he was the artistic director of the Greek National Opera.
Troja is based on Euripides’s tragedy, The Trojan Women, the intricate plot of which Foniadakis distilled to two overarching themes: the aftermath of war in general and the fate of the women—on the loser’s side in particular. (more…)

Fighting Evil

“The Sun, the Moon and the Wind”
Czech National Ballet
The Estates Theatre
Prague, Czech Republic
October 10, 2024 (matinee)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. P.Holeček (Triglav), “The Sun, the Moon and the Wind” by V.Konvalinka and Š.Benyovszký, Czech National Ballet 2024 © S.Gherciu “It has been written that the shrewdest thing Evil can do is to trick us into believing that it does not exist,” warned Štěpán Benyovszký who, together with Viktor Konvalinka, wrote the libretto and directed the Czech National Ballet’s new ballet, The Sun, the Moon and the Wind. It is based on a fairy tale that was first recorded in 1845 in the Czech Collection National Tales and Legends by Božena Němcová who later incorporated elements of Slavik versions. Although the ballet is meant to attract a young audience, it is entertaining for adults as well.

Benyovszký’s and Konvalinka’s adaption tells of the star of creation that illuminated primeval darkness. It split into four parts from which the sun, the moon, the wind, and Zora, the dawn princess, arose. Yet Zora’s part was stolen by Triglav, the vicious Dragon Lord of Time, who kidnapped and bewitched her. Determined to get ahold of the other three quarters of the star and thereby seize world power, Triglav regularly had to suck the souls of young men to stay young and strong. He singled out Prince Jan as a victim, but Jan’s three sisters, Rufflette, Sparkette, and Pallidette set off to rescue their brother. (more…)

Deeper than Thought

“Land of Body”
Laterna magika
The New Stage
Prague, Czech Republic
October 05, 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. J.Kotěšovský (Old Dancer), “Land of Body” by R.Vizváry, Laterna magika 2024 © V.BrtnickýThe sharp sound of wind and a blaze of Arctic white on eleven video screens of various sizes scattered across the stage opened Laterna magika’s 2022 production, Land of Body. Radim Vizváry, artistic director of Laterna magika, was in charge of the theme, choreography, and staging. As the title suggests, Land of Body considers the body as a metaphor for landscapes. Artists of three generations and different genres portrayed a body’s formations and cycles of nature and life.
Some dancers lay motionless on the twilit ground when a senior dancer (Josef Kotěšovský), with an elderly, insecure gait, flipped a mobile phone camera open. Perhaps the solemn voiceover, which seemed to convey a mystical message, belonged to the video he watched on the small camera screen. In any case, a fog of dry ice suddenly wafted across the video screens and seemed to spread onto stage. Drum rolls followed by atmospheric sounds (music by Robert Jíša, sound design by Jan Brambůrek) accompanied a gray-haired man (Matěj Petrák) who moved on old fours like a primordial human. Brawny and nimble, he carried the lifeless bodies of a man and a woman onto the stage. (more…)

Tangled

“Tales of Perrault”
Ural Opera Ballet
Ekaterinburg State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre
Ekaterinburg, Russia
April/September 2024 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. N.Shamshurina (Mushroom Fairy), “Tales of Perrault” by M.Petrov, K.Khlebnikov, and A.Merkushev; Ural Opera Ballet 2024 © Ural Opera BalletLast week, the Ural Opera Ballet’s joint production, Tales of Perrault, returned to the stage. It combines four fairy tales by Perrault—Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, and Little Thumb—that are newly interpreted by three choreographers. Two of them, Konstantin Khlebnikov and Alexandr Merkushev, are junior choreographers from the company’s ranks of dancers; the third, Maksim Petrov, choreographed for the Mariinsky Ballet before succeeding the Ural Opera Ballet’s then-artistic director, Vyacheslav Samodurov, in August 2023.
Perrault’s fairy tales are often dark and scary (which is why Tales of Perrault is reserved for an adult audience and children aged twelve and older) but with a poetic note. From their wide range of meanings, the choreographers distilled a core message that combines all four fairy tales: regardless of one’s physicality, conduct, and wit, everyone deserves love and sympathy. (more…)

An Opening Salute

“The Sleeping Beauty”
Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Theatre
Moscow, Russia
September 07, 2024 (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

 1. Y.Ostrovsky (Catalabutte) and ensemble, “The Sleeping Beauty” by Y.Grigorovich after M.Petipa, Bolshoi Ballet 2024 © Bolshoi Theatre/P.Rychkov The Bolshoi Ballet opened its 249th season with a revival of Yuri Grigorovich’s The Sleeping Beauty, which has been absent from the stage for four years. Because of the thorough change of décor, the production was announced as a premiere. It swapped the opulent (and often criticized) sets and costumes that Ezio Frigerio and Franca Squarciapino designed for the 2011 revival (celebrating the reopening of the theater’s Historic Stage after six years of refurbishment) for the restrained décor that Simon Virsaladze (1909–1989) created for Grigorovich’s second version of the ballet in 1973. The subdued hues and aquarelle-ish style of its courtly surroundings direct the gaze toward the colorful costumes (recalling French court fashion from King Louis XIII’s to the Sun King, Louis XIV’s, reign), beautiful flower garlands and bouquets at Aurora’s birthday party, and, most importantly, the dancers and their performances. Raising the curtain didn’t elicit oohs and aahs from the audience as, for example, Jürgen Rose’s décor for Marcia Haydée’s Sleeping Beauty regularly has done on Western stages. (more…)

Thank you.

George Jackson
Washington D.C., U.S.A.
August 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

George Jackson, photo by courtesy of Costas © Costas CacaroukasGeorge Jackson, Washington D.C.’s renowned dance reviewer, died on August 5th at the age of ninety-two. Born in Vienna in 1931, his parents put him on a train abroad when the Nazis invaded Austria in March 1938. The family later reunited and moved to Chicago. A microbiologist specializing in parasitology, George researched and taught at the University of Chicago and New York’s Rockefeller University and for many years worked for the FDA in Washington on food safety. “I enjoyed my work as a biologist in itself and also because it sent me traveling around the world so that I saw a lot of dance that otherwise I never would have,” he once wrote to me, but, as earning a living as a dance critic was not a practical option in the U.S.A. (except during the dance boom from the 1960s to 1980s), writing was his “moonlighting and weekend occupation.” His output was enormous, ranging from dance reviews to historical pieces for U.S. and international outlets, among them The Washington Post, The Washington Star, and The Times of London. Although George officially terminated his career as a dance critic in 2012, he continued to contribute reviews to danceviewtimes.com until 2022. Yet his writing focus shifted to fiction, which he published under his birth name, Hans Georg Jakobowicz. (more…)

Reassuring

Sochi Olympics 2014
Sochi, Russia
August 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

Given the nauseating freak show at the opening of the Paris Olympics last week, re-watching the ceremony held ten years ago at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi helps to restore belief in culture. It included the mini-ballet Natasha Rostov’s First Ball (choreographed by Radu Poklitaru, Andriy Musorin, and Oleksandr Leshchenko), which was based on Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Russia’s finest dancers were featured next to the two hundred couples waltzing to Eugen Doga’s film music for A Hunting Accident (Russian title: Мой ласковый и нежный зверь, meaning, My Sweet and Tender Beast). The Bolshoi Ballet’s Svetlana Zakharova danced the young, romantic beauty, Natasha Rostova; ballet legend Vladimir Vasiliev played her father, Count Rostov.

The Mariinsky Ballet’s Danila Korsuntsev performed the role of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky; Alexander Petukhov portrayed Pierre Bezukhov; as the dashing hussar, Anatoly Kuragin, Ivan Vasiliev delivered breathtaking jumps that made the audience cheer. The ball came to an abrupt end when Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso No. 1 ushered in the dark times that subsequently swept over Russia. (more…)

Present-day Perspectives

“Snow Maiden. Myth and Reality” (“Another Light”/“Refraction”)
Ballet of the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
July 2024 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Portrait of Alexander Ostrovsky by Vasily Perov, 18712. Book cover of Alexander Ostrovsky’s “The Snow Maiden”In March last year, the Russian playwright Alexander Ostrovsky (1823-1886) would have celebrated his bicentenary. Around one hundred and fifty years ago, in September 1873, he published The Snow Maiden, a work of narrative poetry about a fairy-tale, fantasy tsardom in prehistoric times for which Tchaikovsky wrote the music. A few years later, it was adapted into an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The Snow Maiden deals with the opposition between eternal forces of nature (represented by the mythological characters of Grandfather Frost, Spring Beauty, the Sun God Yarilo, and a wood sprite), humans (a merchant and citizens), and those in-between (half-real, half-mythological characters, like Snow Maiden and the shepherd boy, Lel). The title character, daughter of Grandfather Frost and Spring Beauty, decides to live among the people, whom her beauty enchants. She is, however, unable to feel love, which complicates her interactions with humans. After her mother grants her the ability to love, Snow Maiden’s passion for the merchant, Mizgir, is ignited. As her hearts warms and she declares her love, a bright ray of sunlight hits her and she melts. Her demise conciliates the Sun God, Yarilo, who, angered by her sheer existence, had withheld sun and warmth. Consequently, the forces of nature become rebalanced. (more…)

Tempestuous

“Le Corsaire”
Ballet of the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Krasnoyarsk, Russia
July 2024 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. K.Litvinenko (Seyd Pasha) and ensemble, “Le Corsaire” by Y.Malkhasyants, Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre 2024 © Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre2. E.Mikheecheva, R.Abolmasov (Pas d’Esclave), and ensemble, “Le Corsaire” by Y.Malkhasyants, Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre 2024 © Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet TheatreThis July, the Ballet of the Krasnoyarsk State Opera and Ballet Theatre traveled 2.400 miles eastward to tour their Catharsis Dante at the Helikon Theatre in Moscow. I wasn’t able to fly to Moscow but, by chance, I had the opportunity to watch videos of two of their recent premieres. One of them was a new Le Corsaire by Yuliana Malkhasyants, which premiered on May 19th. It’s based on Petipa’s 1858 version for the Mariinsky Theatre from which Malkhasyants kept seven of the most famous fragments, such as the Pas d’Esclave and the Le Corsaire Pas de Deux for Medora and Conrad. The Jardin animé was refashioned, and the libretto was pruned for better understanding. Malkhasyants dropped the figure of Conrad’s young, faithful slave, Ali, and streamlined Medora’s and Conrad’s escape from Seyd Pasha’s harem. (more…)

Ambivalent

“Manon”
Ballet Company of Teatro alla Scala
Teatro alla Scala
Milan, Italy
July 08, 2024 (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

 1. N.Manni (Manon) and R.Clarke (Des Grieux), “Manon” by K.MacMillan, Teatro alla Scala 2024, photo by Brescia and Amisano © Teatro alla Scala Given the mind-boggling speed with which Western culture is changing, La Scala’s live stream of Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon felt like a relic from the good old days of ballet. Unlike other staples of the classical repertory—Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, or The Nutcracker, for example—with a spiritual dimension that serves as a source of inspiration in difficult times, Manon has the opposite effect. Based on Abbé Prévost’s novel Manon Lescaut (1731), it dives deeply into the social swamp of early-18th-century France and in the real swamps near the then-French colony of Louisiana. Rabble and the poor crowd the streets and the upper class’s silk and satin façade barely hides their rotten morals. Sex, money, and power reign in everyday life, and, for women, alluring men is the only way to secure an existence. Not a single soul remains untainted in the sex-and-crime-ridden love tragedy of Manon. (more…)

Prix Benois Laureates 2024

Prix Benois de la Danse
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 25, 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Jurors, S.Zakharova, nominees, and laureates, Prix Benois 2024 © Benois Center On Tuesday evening, this year’s Prix Benois laureates were announced on the Historic Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre.
The Mariinsky Ballet’s Olesya Novikova won the prize for best female dancer for her performance as Aspiccia in La Fille du Pharaon (Marius Petipa’s version as reconstructed by Toni Candeloro). Gergő Ármin Balázsi (Hungarian National Ballet) and Artemy Belyakov (Bolshoi Ballet) shared the prize for best male dancer. Balázsi was nominated for his performance as Leon in Boris Eifman’s The Pygmalion Effect and Belyakov for his performance as Ivan IV in Yuri Grigorovich’s Ivan the Terrible. Marco Goecke was awarded the prize for best choreography in absentia for In the Dutch Mountains, a creation for the Nederlands Dans Theater. (more…)

Dancer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2024

Prix Benois de la Danse
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Bolshoi Theatre © D.Yusupov/Bolshoi Theatre 2. Statuette of the Prix Benois de la Danse, design by Igor Ustinov © Benois Center Thirteen dancers from eight companies are nominated for this year’s Prix Benois. Of the seven women and six men, two dance in China, Hungary, and Italy; one dances in Japan, and six in Russia. Next week, the laureates will be announced in an award ceremony at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

Here’s a short overview of the nominees in alphabetical order by company names:
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Choreographer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2024

Prix Benois de la Danse
Martin Chaix, Marco Goecke, Jo Kanamori, Yuri Possokhov, and Maxim Sevagin
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 2024

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. Bolshoi Theatre © Damir Yusupov/Bolshoi Theatre2. Statuette of the Prix Benois de la Danse, design by Igor Ustinov © Benois Center On June 25th, the Bolshoi Theatre will host the annual Prix Benois charity gala and awards ceremony. It will be followed by a gala concert on June 26th during which laureates of previous years will perform. Prizes will be awarded to the best choreographer and the best female and male dancers. Below is an overview of the five nominated choreographers in alphabetical order. A report on the nominated dancers will follow. (more…)

At a Gallop

“The Pygmalion Effect”
Hungarian National Ballet
Hungarian State Opera
Budapest, Hungary
June 01, 2024 (matinee)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2024 by Ilona Landgraf

1. A.Szegő (Holmes) and ensemble, “The Pygmalion Effect” by B.Eifman, Hungarian National Ballet 2024 © V.Berecz/Hungarian State Opera Boris Eifman’s The Pygmalion Effect took my breath away. The dancers of the Hungarian National Ballet whizzed through two, at times terrifically fast, acts and then appeared at the curtain call as if they had merely finished warming up. Hats off! Budapest’s audience has loved the ballet, which was created for Eifman’s home company in St. Petersburg in 2019 and has been in the Hungarian National Ballet’s repertory since June 2023. At Saturday’s matinee, the house was packed to the roof.

Greek mythology has two Pygmalions; one was the son of King Belus of Tyros, and the other is from Ovid’s Metamorphoses and was a sculptor who fell in love with his creation. This creation—a statue of a woman who was later called Galatea—subsequently came to life. Eifman took inspiration from Ovid’s Pygmalion and the so-called Pygmalion Effect, a psychological phenomenon that was observed in classrooms showing that a teacher’s anticipated judgments about students will cause them to become true. (more…)