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La Sylphide and Swan Lake
Paris Opera Ballet, June 1999by Marc Haegeman
The Paris Opera Ballet is rounding off its 1998-1999 season with two popular classics, La Sylphide and Swan Lake. Spending a short week in the French capital may give an idea of how fortunate the Parisian ballet-lover really is. The Paris Opera Ballet is one of the rare classical companies that is able to offer two full-length ballets on the same evening, in two different theaters in town. While Swan Lake was danced on the huge stage of the modern and grandiose Opéra Bastille, La Sylphide was on the program at the venerable and cosy Palais Garnier. Even more amazing is that the two opera houses are frequently sold out. "L'embarras du choix", as the French say, and one is treated to dance of the highest order.
The company was in splendid form for La Sylphide. This ballet, in its careful reconstruction by Pierre Lacotte (1972), is of capital historical importance and may still count as a lesson in evocative power and theatrical magic. Created in Paris in 1832 by the Italian itinerant ballet master Filippo Taglioni as a vehicle for his daughter Marie, La Sylphide marked the breakthrough of romanticism in ballet and sublimated the image of the romantic ballerina: girls appearing in long white "tutus" seemed to fly, while Mademoiselle Taglioni's artistry imbued pointe work with unsuspected poetry. The ballet inspired, of cours,e Bournonville who created his own version (set to new music) for Copenhagen in 1836, a version which eventually overshadowed its model in fame. After 1863, Taglioni's La Sylphide disappeared for more than a century from the repertory in Paris.
In the performance I saw, Fanny Gaïda danced with delicacy and lightness, while her simplicity and subdued charm made her Sylphide all the more intriguing and touching. The hero of the evening was, however, Manuel Legris, absolutely superb as James. His dancing showed an unfailing legato quality and he tackled the numerous enchaînements at formidable speed, yet always with style, precision, and polish. Legris moreover possesses the rare gift of bringing infectious joy to his dancing. The communicative power of his art is nothing less than outstanding.
Delphine Moussin was excellent as the hapless Effy, but it was the young premiers danseurs Clairemarie Osta and Eric Quilleré who stole the show with their charming pas de deux in act I. Jean-Marie Didière as Madge was, as usual, slightly over the top. The corps de ballet danced especially beautifully in the 2nd act, providing the perfect framework for the two étoiles.
Peter Ernst Lassen conducted Jean-Madeleine Schneitzhoeffer's score with commitment and proved that simple music can sound passionate as long as it is taken seriously.
Rudolf Nureyev, Director of Dance in Paris between 1983 and 1989, mounted his version of Swan Lake for the company in 1984, loosely based on the authoritative Petipa-Ivanov production from 1895. Building on his earlier staging of Tchaikovsky's ballet for Vienna, Nureyev gave an even more prominent place to the main male character, Prince Siegfried, and reintroduced the character of Wolfgang, the Prince's tutor. Moreover, the ballet acquired a definite freudian approach by conceiving it as Siegfried's dream. By mixing in the imagination of the Prince the characters of the benevolent tutor with the evil Rothbart, Nureyev's favorite dualism obtained yet another dimension.
Nureyev kept large stretches of the Petipa-Ivanov choreography (pas de trois in act I, the lakeside scene of act II, most of the Black Swan pas de deux), while his own work is generally attractive, if, not surprisingly, rather heavily focused on the male characters (the polacca is entirely danced by the men in the corps de ballet, the Prince gets two variations in act I, Rothbart one in act III). Even if this Swan Lake misses the poetry and visual beauty of the Kirov/Sergeyev staging, the presentation is in general highly satisfying, thanks to the sober neo-gothic sets of Ezio Frigerio, the handsome and tasteful costumes of Franca Squarciapino, and the strong leading casts the company can offer.
The first night I saw Agnès Letestu and Laurent Hilaire. Letestu, one of the younger étoiles, was a remarkably restrained Odette, her beautifully controlled movements and splendid line subtly matching the serenity of her character. Her chilling account of the transformation at the end of act II was all the more surprising. Letestu gave further proof of her impressive technique and stamina as Odile, yet without ever indulging to cheap effects. Hilaire is a natural prince, handsome, unfailingly elegant in dancing and interpretation. Although he is not the perfect match for the tall Letestu, the interaction between the two dancers was in many ways rewarding.
Superstar Sylvie Guillem danced Odette-Odile the next day. Guillem's guest appearances with her former company are obviously treasured by many Parisian fans who welcome the slightest technical feat of hers with loud cheers of approval. Her Odette was dramatically sincere and theatrically convincing, dancing with supreme assurance and grandeur. Her initial despair was soon set at rest by Nicolas Le Riche's reassuring Prince and the lakeside duets were heartfelt declarations of love. Guillem characteristically charged the Black Swan pas de deux with a broad physical image. The ultimate seductress, her Odile conquered Prince and audience alike.
Nicolas Le Riche is a brilliantly powerful dancer. His high jumps and soaring ballon, his speed and swift footwork unveiled Nureyev's intricate choreographic schemes in all their glory. His ardent and passionate, even impetuous portrayal of the Prince, gave even more credibility to the complex character devised by Nureyev. Wilfried Romoli was on both occasions aptly sinister and dubious as Wolfgang/Rothbart.
My only serious disappointment regarding this Swan Lake was about the way some of the dances in act II were handled. The two quartets of Swans danced in both performances as programmed robots. Foremost, the Dances of the Cygnets were devoid of all charm and looked like silly intermezzi amidst an otherwise excellent ensemble.
The Orchestra of the Opera played Tchaikovsky's masterly score well under British conductor David Coleman.
Before this season ends there is at least one more major ballet event happening in Paris. Elisabeth Platel, one of the most acclaimed étoiles of the company and considered by many as one of the world's greatest ballerinas, will dance in La Sylphide as her farewell performance with the Paris Opera Ballet on July 9th.
Next season the Paris Opera Ballet offers another appealing anthology of its varied repertory. There will be revivals of Giselle (in the traditional version by Patrice Bart and Eugène Polyakov), Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Raymonda, and Cinderella (in the versions by Nureyev), next to shorter works by among others Balanchine, Petit, Béjart, Ek, Preljocaj, Kelemenis, and Montalvo. "L'embarras du choix"... once more.