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Ballet de L'Opera de Paris Opens in Orange County
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Gaida
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By Don Kolman
The Ballet de l'Opera de Paris opened its five day visit to the Orange County Performing Arts Center's Segerstrom Hall Tuesday evening with the Southern California premiere of Rudolf Nureyev's La Bayadere. The opening night audience was wildly enthusiastic in its greeting.
Much that is wonderful about this production is Nureyev at his best as a choreographer. The choreography for the principal danseurs and the male corps d'ballet is brilliant and exciting. Brigitte Lefevre, Directrice de la Danse, is to be commended for developing and training a corps capable of executing Nureyev's fiendishly difficult choreography with such elan. The corps d'ballet of this company is its treasure and is a joy to behold.
Fanny Gaida presents a delicate and vulnerable Nikiya. Her dancing is precise and lyrical. Miss Gaida is particularly lovely in the highly sensual Act One pas de deux with Manuel Legris.
Mr. Legris dances Solor with strength and vigor. His turns are swift, his jumps exciting, and his partnering strong. He does, however, seem to tire in the third act.
Aurelie Dupont dances the role of Gamzetti with considerable power and determination. Her presence is certainly commanding. Ms. Dupont's dancing is always clean and precise.
Jeremie Belingard, the Golden Idol, dances with great strength and precision. At times he seems to be frozen in air. Mr. Belingard, deservedly, received a rousing ovation from a highly appreciative audience.
The sets by Ezio Regerio are striking and highly effective. The domed pavilion with its multitude of tiny windows is particularly convincing in creating the mood of India. All told, the sets combine to create just the right feeling without being obtrusive. This is not, however, the case with the costumes by Franca Squarciapino. There are far too many feathers and doodads, and the colors are at times garish to say the least. Gamzatti's red-lined purple tutu in the second act is jarring.
Though many consider this production of La Bayadere to be Nureyev's legacy to the Ballet de l'Opera de Paris, it is not without its artistic problems. The opening of the third act is difficult to comprehend, and, without the program notes, the audience cannot understand what is happening. Solor's solo, at this point, seems more one of joy than remorse, and without the opium scene, the dream sequence makes no sense. "The Kingdom of the Shades" scene, though extremely well danced, seems rushed and crowded. Mr. Nureyev was unable to locate the music for the fourth act, and thus chose to end the ballet after the third act. This leaves the ballet without a feeling of closure. Natalia Makarova's 1980 staging of this ballet for American Ballet Theatre is undoubtedly the better production, and it is certainly more unified and ends on a more complete note. Even considering these weaknesses, this is most definitely a production well worth seeing.
SEE LETTERS
The Ballet de l'Opera de Paris will perform La Bayadere at Orange County Performing Arts Center's Segerstrom Hall May 9, 11, & 12 at 8 p.m; May 12 & 13 at 2 p.m. Tickets $20-85 are available at the Center's website at www.ocpac.org. by phone through Ticketmaster at (714) 740-7878 or (213) 365-3500 and at all Ticketmaster outlets.
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