In spite of productions being cancelled in recent years, La Bayadère has always been a sensational story-telling ballet in whatever format it is shown, from the lengthy four-act reconstruction in St Petersburg, The Royal Ballet's three-act version, to Jaroslav Slavický’s two-act production for the National Theatre of Brno, brought on tour for a brief season at the magnificent Dubai Opera House.
Slavický has retained traditional aspects of the Petipa choreography but with additions that make the story easier to understand for those seeing the ballet for the first time. Most embellishments concern the role of Gamzatti (the Rajah’s daughter who becomes betrothed to the heroic Solor, who in turn loves the temple dancer, Nikiya). Gamzatti attends The Rite of Fire in the opening scene, so that she witnesses for herself the attraction between Solor and Nikiya. There is a brief duet at the beginning of Act 2, immediately prior to Solor’s opium-induced dream of Nikiya’s spirit amongst the Shades, where Gamzatti comes to remind him that they are betrothed, leaving in a huff when realising he still pines for Nikiya.
I saw four performances over two days, which grew in excellence to a superb finale that also served to bring Vadim Muntagirov back to the stage after a six-month absence due to injury, partnering Fumi Kaneko as guest artists from The Royal Ballet. I am happy to report that these were performances of exceptional artistry with everything one would expect from world-class performers in terms of technique, virtuosity, emotion and expression. Both dancers made decisions in the moment to adorn their performances with that extra “wow” factor. The hard work and complete dedication they give to their art minimises any risks that they take to make their performances unique.
In other casts, it was a delight to see Ksenia Ovsyanick as Nikiya; another ballerina with exceptional artistry (like Kaneko, the fluidity of her port de bras is stunning) and she was very ably supported by the experience of Alejandro Virelles as her Solor. It was also a great pleasure to catch two performances by the Brno-based Cuban couple, Adrian Sánchez and Chanell Cabrera as Solor and Nikiya. Their chemistry was sublime: like many Cubans Sánchez has an impressive range of powerful jumps and spins while Cabrera’s vulnerability and determination as Nikiya was sensitively portrayed.
An Se Hyun gave a fiery and impressive account of Gamzatti in both Muntagirov/Virelles casts. Gamzatti was also portrayed by Andrea Smejkalová, in her final season with the company after 23 years. Her emotional expressiveness bore the fruit of all that experience. João Gomes and Shoma Ogasawara delivered cameo performances of pinpoint perfection as the Golden Idol, while across all performances, Ivan Přikaský was suitably autocratic as The Rajah and Illia Mironov was equally effective as the rapacious Brahmin (who is also besotted with Nikiya).
It would be wrong to suggest that these were performances reliant on star dancers because every soloist role was addressed superbly. As the lead fakir, English dancer, Adam Ashcroft, brought clarity to the important mime sequences that carried much of the narrative intent of the first act; Kamila Sizinceva led an explosive drum dance; and the three leading shades (respectively Momona Sakakibara, Anna Yeh and Gloria Benaglia) were each outstanding in their consecutive solos.
The corps de ballet was superbly drilled and the famous seven-minute sequence of the Kingdom of the Shades was beautifully performed, albeit by 18 rather than 32 or 24 dancers (a reduction that made sense on a stage that is wide but not deep), as was the D’Jampe dance where eight females performed in precise unison while holding silk scarves attached to their right legs.
The Brno orchestra performed John Lanchbery’s arrangement of the Minkus score superbly under the sensitive direction of Robert Kružik, who very noticeably varied the tempo to suit the principals across each performance. The use of a Stradivarius – loaned by the opera house – for one matinee heightened the gorgeous violin solo in the main pas de deux for Solor and Nikiya.
On this evidence, outstanding guest artists aside, I was delighted to find the Brno ballet company in such excellent form. Under the artistic direction of Mário Radačovský, since 2013, the company has clearly forged an impressive international reputation with an excellent ensemble.
Graham's travel and accommodation costs were met by the National Theatre of Brno and the Dubai Opera House
