Khachaturian : Spartacus
Artists of the Bolshoi Ballet
Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre
Pavel Sorokin
Never, to my mind, in modern times, has a three-act ballet been so completely and absolutely tailor-made for a company as is Yuri Grigorovich's version of Spartacus. This is the Bolshoi's ballet par excellence, pretty much the definitive version, and although the production has been made available to other companies, nobody is able to pull it off quite like the Bolshoi. It's not just the energy of the corps de ballet, and particularly the men, it's also the use of the space. Grigorovich's leaping, stamping, bounding choreography makes full use of the theatre's huge stage area; no wonder it never looks quite the same elsewhere, the space simply isn't there for the display of grand jeté after grand jeté, whether from male or female dancers.
Curiously enough, the first time I saw Spartacus, it wasn't the Grigorovich, or even the original Leonid Yacobson version, but that of László Seregi for the Hungarian National Ballet, exactly contemporary with Grigorovich's. Of that version (seen about 35 years ago), I retain only the combat scene from Act 1, thanks to a particularly spectacular piece of stage trickery, which had the audience gasping. I'd like to see it again some day, to compare and contrast. In the meantime, Grigorovich created the ultimate Soviet ballet, which was, however, strong enough to outlive its obvious political influences - speaking of which, kudos to Katerina Novikova, the Bolshoi spokeswoman, for her comments at the start of Act 3.
This production of Spartacus, I've seen maybe half a dozen times, but never, I think, as accomplished and as visceral as today. For an orchestra which hasn't had a truly world-class conductor at its helm in decades, their form was excellent, sharp, crisp, expressive, never dragging. The corps was equally alert, the women pliant and supple, the men vibrantly energetic. Of the four principals, the weakest (and it's a strictly relative term) was Vladislav Lantratov as Crassus. For the first two acts, I felt he lacked punch; yes, the character's supposed to be an effete, decadent tyrant, but his power is very real, he's not a puppet figure in the least. He has a characteristic move in his choreography, a leap forward, with the feet, together, kicking back, the spine arching backwards in a bow. It wasn't until the last act that Lantratov gave that move its full force; before that, it looked half-hearted, and undermined much of his dancing.
By contrast, Mikhail Lobukhin's Spartacus was full throttle, every limb reaching flat out into his steps, whether in the doleful, introspective solos, or in the more martial "pep talks". He doesn't have quite the truly spectacular elevation of Mukhamedov in his heyday, but he certainly wasn't far off it either, and he was never less than eloquent, particularly in the two pas de deux.
One thing that was singularly interesting was the display of company politics. When this version was created, the company had two principal ballerinas both dancing the role of Phrygia, Spartacus's wife; Ekaterina Maximova, and Grigorovich's own wife, Natalia Bessmertnova. At the time, therefore, and in every version I've seen up to now, Phrygia got top billing, of the two lead female roles. Today, however, that place went to the interpreter of Aegina, Crassus's mistress, the formidable Svetlana Zakharova. Along with Maria Alexandrova, she is certainly the company's leading lady of the moment, and I'd be the last person to argue that she's temperamentally far better suited to the role of Aegina than that of Phrygia, danced today by Anna Nikulina.
Nikulina took a while to warm up, but by the last act, she turned in a heart-wrenching performance, though she lacks (as yet) the blend of resigned strength and vulnerability that marked Bessmertnova's performances. However, she was well and truly outshone by Zakharova, the first ballerina I've seen to match the wonderful Aegina of Maria Bylova. Here was fire and ice, ambition and seduction, endless, graceful limbs and perfect position, utterly compelling.
This is a ballet that epitomises the Bolshoi in all its strengths; it is incorporated in virtually every season the company dances. What is truly impressive is not just the quality of today's performance, which was outstanding, but that after 45 years in the repertory, they can make it look just as fresh and vital as ever. For a company apparently rent by internecine struggles, there is nothing of that showing on stage, and their commitment to their art remains exemplary.
[Next : 24 October]
No comments:
Post a Comment