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Austria Vienna State Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty (Dornröschen): Dancers of Vienna State Ballet, Orchestra of Vienna State Opera / Patrick Lange (conductor). Livestreamed (directed by Balázs Delbó) from the Vienna State Opera, 24.10.2022. (JPr)
Production:
Music – Piotr Iylich Tchaikovsky and Giacinto Scelsi
Choreography – Martin Schläpfer and Marius Petipa
Stage designer – Florian Etti
Costume designer – Catherine Voeffray
Lighting and Video – Thomas Diek
Dramaturgy – Anne do Paço
Cast included:
The Queen – Olga Esina
The King – Masayu Kimoto
Princess Aurora – Hyo-Jung Kang
Prince Désiré – Brendan Saye
Catalabutte -Jackson Carroll
The Lilac Fairy – Ioanna Avraam
Carabosse – Claudine Schoch
The Blue Bird – Davide Dato
Princess Florine – Kiyoka Hashimoto
Faun – Daniel Vizcayo
The Forest Woman – Yuko Kato
I need to admit how, for me, no manufacturing of Sleeping Beauty has surpassed that by Rudolf Nureyev for London Festival Ballet in 1975 and Martin Schläpfer is director of Vienna State Ballet and his reinterpretation of the fairy-tale ballet for the corporate will come pretty low on the checklist of the very best variations I’ve seen. I respect it’s 2020 and I’ve lengthy advocated that classical ballet should respect its legacy whereas showing to maneuver ahead and never turn into mummified. So in a way I’m arguing towards myself however there’s a acquainted story to Sleeping Beauty everybody is aware of, and it mustn’t simply be became a sequence of dance set-pieces in want of a coherent storyline. Schläpfer has the 1890 unique of Petipa and Tchaikovsky reoccur every so often however with now many of the second act that will be principally unrecognisable to them as it’s to us who’ve seen the ballet a number of instances.
The highlights are there together with the doorway of Aurora and the Rose Adagio, the Blue Bird pas de deux, the cats duetting, in addition to the marriage pas de deux (although with a twist). Something of Aurora’s awakening stays although prefaced by Giacinto Scelsi’s 1965 Anahit a fairly tuneless piece for violin and orchestra (heard in a 1999 recording by Klangform Wien carried out by Hans Zender and performed by Annette Bik). At this level we watch a few of Schläpfer’s famed fashionable choreography in a trio for Prince Désiré who’s led to the sleeping princess by a faun and a ‘Forest Woman’ who brandishes a violin. Research means that ‘Anahit was the goddess of fertility and healing, wisdom and water in Armenian mythology’ although what this has to do with Sleeping Beauty solely Schläpfer may clarify.
There isn’t a lot to explain in the way in which of units (from stage designer Florian Etti) and no recurrent stage furnishings apart from some chairs. The Prologue is pretty darkish, however we see the silhouettes of thorny roses on the again and once more in the course of the first act, then there’s something of a woodland glade in Act II and for the marriage a tree cover is seen by way of some slit-like wall openings. Catherine Voeffray’s vibrantly colored costumes veer from one thing worn at an high fashion trend present or posh cocktail get together to probably a carnival.
As the music begins, we see the King (Masayu Kimoto) and Queen (Olga Esina) praying for a kid and shortly grasp of ceremonies Catalabutte (colourfully costumed and equally extravagantly danced by Jackson Carroll) is welcoming visitors to the christening of Princess Aurora. Here the importance of the gift-bringing fairies (Sinthia Liz, Alexandra Inculet, Anita Manolova and Alaia Roger-Maman) is far diminished with Aurora in her crib up excessive above the stage like a chandelier. Catalabutte is distraught when he realises he has left the evil fairy, Carabosse, off the visitor checklist. When she is available in along with her two henchmen she makes use of the standard mime to curse Aurora. On her sixteenth birthday she is going to prick her finger on a spindle and die, although that is commuted by the Lilac Fairy right into a sleep of 100 years till awoken by a prince.
We attain that fateful day in Act I and it seems one of many attendants has an outlawed spindle, however her life is spared when Catalabutte pleads on her behalf. Aurora is launched to her 4 suitors and he or she dances with the princes who additionally dance on their very own. The disguised Carabosse arrives and Aurora’s finger will get pricked with the spindle she proffers. Aurora’s dying throes are fairly Giselle-like till she collapses within the king’s arms. The Lilac Fairy confirms she is merely sleeping earlier than she confronts Carabosse and so they circle one another.
After the tour into Scelsi in Act II, Tchaikovsky returns when the prince kisses Aurora and he or she wakes up. The courtroom are revived too and Catalabutte, the king and queen enter and bless the wedding of Prince Désiré and Aurora as Carabosse (the dramatic Claudine Schoch) begs forgiveness for her wrongdoing. For the ultimate act these attending the marriage are welcomed by Catalabutte and can stay on the fringes of the stage except they’re dancing in numerous combos. A characteristic of this Sleeping Beauty is how a lot dancing the king and queen do and there’s a trio at this level with the Lilac Fairy (the refined Ioanna Avraam). There is a duet of feline grace from the cats (Eszter Ledán and Marian Furnica) and a pas de deux for the Blue Bird and Princess Florine – from a seriously-underpowered and oddly bare-chested Davide Dato and a charmingly fluttery Kiyoka Hashimoto – which lacked any ‘Wow!’ issue. The Faun (Daniel Vizcayo) and Forest Woman (Yuko Kato) reappear with some flooring spinning and Vizcayo strolling on his knees at one level for little cause so far as I may see.
The prince (in fairly inelegant frilly white shirt and blue trousers) brings Carabosse again into the fold and shortly there numerous waltzing by all involved as the marriage celebrations start in earnest. Wearing an beautiful white marriage ceremony gown Hyo-Jung Kang was at her finest within the pas de deux along with her charming variation of gossamer lightness. I used to be unimpressed all through this Sleeping Beauty by Brendan Saye’s tall and stiff-backed prince, and he was outdanced by Kimoto’s king as Schläpfer has them share the well-known solo. The choreographer provides an epilogue starting with one other solo for the king earlier than, along with the queen, they greet Prince Désiré and Aurora and relinquish their crowns to them. The queen (the at all times regal Esina) doesn’t appear too blissful about that and the ballet ends with the courtroom bourréeing and receding to the again leaving the Forest Woman to face guard over the king and queen who’ve lain down on the ground.
Schläpfer’s choreographic language is fairly restricted and angular, there are many straight arms pointing upwards, splayed and prolonged legs, and regimented ensemble dancing in straight strains going through ahead. Sadly, the corporate have been sometimes ill-at-ease on the opening evening and issues may enhance later within the run of performances. (The closeup camerawork was unforgiving highlighting a significant misstep by one of many main dancers and one other who briefly hit the ground.) There can’t be a finer orchestra than that of Vienna State Opera (members of the Vienna Philharmonic) to play Tchaikovsky’s superb rating and superb it sounded by way of my loudspeakers; although it appeared like Patrick Lange’s swift tempi challenged among the dancers on events.
Sleeping Beauty doesn’t appear that standard in Vienna with the archive suggesting lower than 150 performances earlier than this new manufacturing which succeeds ones by Reinhard Schwarz, Rudolf Nureyev and Sir Peter Wright. How lengthy Schläpfer’s will final solely time will inform.
Jim Pritchard
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