Boston Ballet's Giselle
by Sue Katz, EDGE Boston
Friday May 11, 2007
The extraordinary magic of Boston Ballet’s Giselle is the product of a strikingly matured dance company with a new chance to perform the romantic 19th Century ballet. If you are able to accept the classic parameters of a ballet that debuted in 1841 Paris - from delicate women to men who are cads, from charming peasants to handsome aristocrats - this will be the highlight of your Boston dance season.
Here’s the two-act narrative: Giselle dumps her peasant boyfriend for an appealing stranger. She is unaware that he is Prince Albrecht, disguised as a peasant. With her unqualified devotion and her weak heart, Giselle dies of despair to learn that he is actually engaged to a haughty woman of his own class. In Act II, she joins with a ghostly chorus of women (Wilis) who died before their wedding days, led by the compelling Queen of Wilis who kills men who wander her way. Giselle saves the Prince when he comes to lay flowers on her grave, to which she returns for eternity.
My companion provided an even more succinct synopsis when he said, "As usual, the guy gets off easy."
The talent is brilliant. The feathery Larissa Ponomarenko dances her opening night Giselle with touching fragility and unrelenting love in a remarkable performance opposite Roman Rykine’s powerful Prince Albrecht. She stretches the full range of expression, from girlish coyness to mad decline to forgiveness. Rykine’s Albrecht seems truly conflicted between his class responsibilities and his authentic love.
Kathleen Breen Combes is a mesmerizing Queen who takes total command of the stage, combining athleticism with cold elegance. Her chorus of ghosts is a cloud of grace. Mention must be made of Misa Kuranaga and Joel Prouty for their riveting peasant Pas de Deux done unknowingly for the entertainment of the Prince’s fiancée.
The settings are perfect. The first scene, set in a leafy autumnal peasant village, is all idealized earthy pleasure. The exuberance of the peasant crowd adds buoyancy to the developing attachment of the young lovers. The teasing and seduction are palatable as modesty vies with emotion in Gizelle’s movements.
The second scene takes place in an ethereal graveyard. Remember the astonishment you felt the first time you saw Michael Jackson moonwalk? The Queen and her floating ghosts, en pointe, move with the same startling smoothness, an otherworldly vision that is beyond beautiful.
The music by Adolphe Adam is conducted with perfection by Jonathan McPhee and meshes seamlessly with the traditional choreography. Small gestures take on momentous significant as the orchestra builds the tension. The bodies of the dancers become indistinguishable from the instrumentation and the whole experience is just what it should be. Kudos to Maina Gielgud for a production and staging that builds a dramatic world from perfect details.
As the audience rises for a lengthy, adoring ovation, the word "flawless" comes to mind. The indefatigable intensity of the emotion and the precision of the dance seem to justify the comment of the audience member next to me: "Now there is no question that the Boston Ballet is a world-class company."
The Wang Theatre May 10-20
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