Giselle
Nikolaj Hübbe and Sorella Englund:
Royal Danish Ballet
October 14 2009
Leonide Massine:
Symphony Fantastic
Royal Danish Ballet 1948 captured on DVD,
Dancebooks
In a way I left the Royal Theatre on a cloud. How often does one get to see a Giselle hitting it right the first time out? It cannot come as a surprise for my readers that I see Christina Michanek as the next leading ballerina at RDB, but yesterday she surpassed even my expectations with a mature, stunning and utterly romantic Giselle. Tall and willowy she nevertheless is able to dance in the romantic style and her acting, so far not her strongest point, was spot on, especially in a very touching mad scene, where she expressed every detail. Sometimes you are unsure whether Giselle really commits suicide. Yesterday there was no doubt. Michanek has had a very rewarding year with large roles like Cinderella, Juliet and The Sleepwalker and she has developed rapidly. It is clear that Nikolaj Hübbe has recognized her talent and is nurturing it and so far I can judge, the only way is up and an appointment as principal would be fully justified.
But I did not stay on the cloud, because as great a Giselle as Michanek proved to be, most of the other leading and supporting roles were miscast and I also lost some confidence in Hübbe's very soft approach to the second act.
Some of the miscasting had nothing to do with talent but with size. Michanek is a very tall girl, and several of the featured dancers were very small. There is as such nothing wrong with the demi-character couple Jodie Thomas and Tim Matiatis, dancing the act 1 pas de deux. There are well suited to each other, but they look much to small next to Michanek. Likewise Tina Højlund as Myrtha cannot achieve the majesty of Myrtha being severely dwarfed not only by Giselle but also by her two tall Wili lieutenants. These mismatches could easily be cured by simply placing the taller alternatives with Michanek and save the smaller dancers for an alternate cast with a smaller Giselle.
Other casting decisions were wrong, based on type, like casting the princely pretty boy Alexander Stæger as Hilarion. He fought hard to build a character, but there are little basic for a teenage Hilarion and although he certainly was a contrast to Ulrik Birkkjær's Albrecht, I suppose most would agree that Albrecht needs to be the most princely of the pair.
Ulrik Birkkjær is almost a veteran of this production, being the first cast Pas de Deux and third cast Albrecht one year ago. Like Michanek, Birkkjær has also benefited from the nurturing of Nikolaj Hübbe and havs had several meaty parts. One would therefore expect that he would be able to set the lead and support his partner through her debut.
That was not to be the case. I would not say that Birkkjær has not developed nor will I say that he nothing to offer this part. But you have to be well into the second act to even partly justify this casting. He is a technically good dancer and he managed the second act's solos well, but this is not all, that should be expected of an Albrecht. His lack of posture, line and missing ability to form and express a character not only limit his Albrecht but also limits the impact of this production.
I woud rather see Ulrik Birkkjær in a part that was more suitable for him, and I do not believe that this kind of breaking employ will do him good. You can stretch and you can cast against type to a certain degree but there must be a natural foundation to base the stretching on.
Hübbe's Wilis are more sylphs than revenging furies, and he hads also limited the stage tricks considerably. That gives us a beautiful aesthetic second act, but unless the starring trio can bring out the drama, there is too little to scare you. His choice worked well with the two premiere casts starring Silja Schandorff, Gudrun Bojesen and Mads Blangstrup, and although Christina Michanek was all one could wish for, she and her cast could have used a bit stage magic to nuance the act.
A blast from the Past
Former Ballet Master Niels Bjørn Larsen was an early adapter of filming ballet productions for documentation and class purposes. This is the reason why we now can enjoy a true gem, The RDB filmed in 1948 in Massine's "Symphony Fantastique". It does not look like the stage production as the dancers are in practice clothes (the educational purpose!) but it documents not only a major Massine work, but also gives an impression of the Danish ballet pre-Vera Volkova and there is much to be impressed by.
The large casts includes not only Niels Bjørn Larsen and Mona Wangsaa as the central protagonist, but the corps also includes the young Eric Bruhn, Toni Pihl (Lander) Stanley Williams and a teenaged Henning Kronstam together with the most significants dancers of the Lander period.
It is easy to forget that Massine is his heyday was generally viewed as the greatest choreographer in the world, whereas Balanchine was considered more of a niche player. History changed that perception and most Massine ballets are not performed anymore. This gem gives us an idea of his work and although it is philosophically messy, it is an ambitious and well choreographed piece. If more treasures from the trunk of the RDB could be published, it would help us to understand not only the period in RDB history, but also gives us an idea of the taste of the period.
If you want to see what Harald Lander 's choreography looked like, some numbers which he choreographed for a Danish movie "Balletten Dancer" is available on Video and DVD. You would have to sit through one hour of a not to good Danish movie, but it does allows you to see dancers like Margot Lander, Else Højgaard, Ulla Poulsen and Børge Ralov, who was the first Danish Apollo.
Photo: Copyright (c) Royal Danish Ballet
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