“Don Quixote ”
The Bolshoi Ballet
Opera House
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC, USA
February 24 evening and February 25 matinee, 2007
by Alexandra Tomalonis
copyright ©2007, Alexandra Tomalonis
If one looks at the Kennedy Center’s ballet programs for the past decade, one might conclude that “Romeo and Juliet” (any version) and Petipa/Gorsky's “Don Quixote” were the great ballets of the age, they’ve been danced so frequently. The Bolshoi’s superb production has played the Center three times in the last few years (not forgetting their recent performance of the ballet at Wolf Trap). Even if one is curious to see other works in the company’s repertory (why didn’t we get “Bright Stream”????), the production is so fine its return was welcome. The Bolshoi owns “Don Q.” Petipa choreographed the ballet on the Bolshoi nearly 140 years ago and it’s been through as many hands as it has steps since, yet the company obviously still relishes dancing it. At present, under the leadership of director Alexei Ratmansky, the Bolshoi has ample stars and able soloists, and the “Don Qs” on view here were not only well–danced, the story clearly told, it was alive.
A pair of youngsters — Natalia Osipova (21) and Ivan Vasiliev (18) — danced Kitri and Basil at two of the four performances; I saw their second. Whether because the buzz was out (Vasiliev had been a sensation at last summer’s Varna International Ballet Competition, winning the Grand Prix in the junior men’s division) or the ballet’s popularity is so solid, even a surprise heavy snow couldn’t keep people away Sunday afternoon, and the audience was rewarded for being intrepid. Osipova is a small, feisty charmer whose jetés soar and whose pirouettes and fouettés dazzle, and Vasiliev, in addition to being a technical whiz kid, is astoundingly comfortable on stage for someone so young. He’s very slight, but has substance, and both his dancing and miming had original touches. He was in total control of his pirouettes, slowing them down so that the final turn or two looked as though they were in slow motion, and he’s a good partner, as well. As for Osipova, it took her only three jumps to cover the Opera House stage in act two, and while she didn’t manage the quadruple fouetté she had reportedly delivered in the third act’s grand pas de deux at the Saturday matinee, her fouettés Sunday were beautifully centered and had enough doubles and triples to inspire screams of appreciation.
Maria Alexandrova had blown the roof off (metaphorically speaking, of course) at prior performances of Kitri here. She’s mellowed. HER grand pas de deux looked so completely thought through that it lacked spontaneity, but her flirtation and gamesplaying with Basil was both high-spirited and fun. Matvienko — another slight man; where are the big, strapping Bolshoi men of yesteryear? — was a bit too slight, and overcompensated so that his dancing seemed forced at times, but these quibbles are in the context of a very strong performance generally; would that we saw such dancing more often. The classical soloists were also strong, particularly Ekaterina Krysanova in the first variation in Act 3. Ekaterina Shipulina was a very delicate Queen of the Dryads, especially next to Alexandrova (making it seem that they should switch roles), and one of the Cupids — I can’t tell which, because the same woman is listed in the program for Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and that doesn’t match what I saw — had magnificent limbs and lines, but neither are qualities that help in a dance meant to be scampering and adorable.
The character dancing is the production’s especial glory, and there was some terrific Spanish and gypsy dancing. Vitaly Biktimirov (substituting for Andrey Merkuryev, another former Kirov dancer now with the Bolshoi) was a fine Toreador, and Yuliana Malkhasyants practically bent herself in half as a sometimes despairing, sometimes fierce gypsy in the campsite scene. In mime roles, Alexey Loparevich was a bit bland as the Don. Yes, he’s fuzzy about which woman he’s in love with and nearly decapitates people when he bows and loses track of his lance, but a man brave and foolish enough to tilt at windmills should seem more forceful. Denis Savin was foppish, but not ridiculously so, as Gamache; if not a perfect suitor for Kitri, he was a believable one. And Alexander Perukhov was perfect as Sancho Panza, nothing overdone, and every gesture at one with the music. Stars help, of course, but when everyone on stage is dancing at a high pitch, a ballet as slight as "Don Quixote" becomes great.
Volume 5, No. 9
March 5, 2007
copyright ©2007 by Alexandra Tomalonis
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