“Spartacus”
The Bolshoi Ballet
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Opera House
Washington, D.C.
February 16, 2010
By Lisa Traiger
Ballet artistic and executive directors and have long been scratching their heads about audience-building. In round robins and panels across the country they’ve fretted about how to attract new audiences for a performing art form born of the 17th-century European court tradition. The results of their over thinking the problem have led to the ignominious: ubiquitous rock 'n roll scores and attendant “cool” choreography; or revived classics with a new-age twists -– jazz-age “Giselle” anyone? Still others have sought out new full-length story ballets based on novels or films to attract hoped-for crowds, leaving us with a spate of “Draculas” and “Frankensteins,” but little else.
Instead, these ADs and EDs might do well looking to the Bolshoi’s current production of “Spartacus.” What? You say you thought the ballet Yuri Grigorovich choreographed in 1968 was a mid-20th century relic of Soviet-era propaganda with its attendant overly emotive stylized Bolshoi grandeur. In the wrong hands, “Spartacus” could, indeed, become a dated flop what with its Hollywood-movie-sounding score and expansive Cecil B. DeMille proportions, its antique sword-and-shield carrying Roman warriors and bucolic dancing shepherds. The pageantry wedded to the bodice-ripping libretto could have, in a less reverent approach, reduced this masterwork to mere pop culture kitsch. Instead, “Spartacus” soars, providing everything a ballet goer -– whether old hat or new hand -– could desire: intrigue, love, drama, and hand-to-hand battle scenes, not to mention a bevy of beautiful mini-skirted courtesans, who stand one knee cocked like Rockettes, to tone down the testosterone-laden evening.
The production that set up shop at the Kennedy Center for a February week felt as fresh and vital as a 2010 action/adventure film -– an “Avatar” minus the spectacle-driven special effects high jinks. For the new-to-ballet crowd, this “Spartacus” is certainly easy to like: filled with heavy-duty battle scenes, a blind-man’s-bluff gladiator sword fight, a peasant-led rebellion against the mercurial ruling general and comic-book-like heroes come to life who can soar, leap, high kick and spar with breathless abandon. There’s the bolder-than-bold Spartacus (a heart-pounding Ivan Vasiliev as romantic hero on opening night) and his virginal girlfriend Phrygia (a saintly Nina Kaptsova), the exacting Roman general Crassus (arrogant Alexander Volchkov), and his attendant army, not to mention his sexpot courtesan Aegina (sensuous Maria Allash). The action-oriented ballet eschews static passages and musty mime sequences for large crowd scenes, pageantry and solos, solos and more solos, particularly for Vasiliev, along with a few pas de deux with a neo-classic Balinchinean geometry to temper the machismo of the three-act evening.
Action-adventure lovers could easily be captivated by the live-action elements typically found in current video games, including sword fights, hand-to-hand combat, battle scenes, chest-baring men and leggy women and even a sexy little act I orgy of sorts (rated PG-13 at the most) with just enough suggestion to entice teenage boys but not offend their ticket-buying moms.
An intriguing filmic element Grigorovich and designer Simon Virsaladze used reminds me of a Japanese manga comic. Whenever it’s time for an introspective solo or an expressive pas de deux, a dark scalloped scrim curtain drops allowing for contemplative dancing without the fuss of the Romanesque backdrop to interfere. These finely telescoped moments resemble a comic strip with an unspoken thought bubble, its edges jagged, instead of linear indicating a direct character quote.
But, for ballet goers of any stripe, novice to balletomane, the central question of any Bolshoi Ballet performance remains: how was the dancing? In this case, opening night’s cast, lead by 21-year-old tyro Vasiliev, was magnificent, living up to the venerable Bolshoi reputation. Vasiliev, dark and brooding, soared in his leaps, making the seconds he hung in the air seem like minutes. His testosterone-filled fight scenes, backed by armies of marauding peasants and gladiators against sword-bearing Roman soldiers, captivated with their broad-brushed daredevilry. But Spartacus needs more than muscle-bound sinew to succeed. Vasiliev rightly poured on the emotion, from his early-on captive solo, his wrists chained, his soul broken, his shoulders slumped until he breathed in the air of defiance, to his latter expressive duet with long-lined, dark-haired beauty Kaptsova, equally heart-felt in her nearly chaste love for her partner. Volchkov’s Crassus at times kept his own emotions in check, though as his concubine, Allash put forth the aggressive sex appeal that spoke volumes about how some women relish their bodily power and direct it to assert their own status in a male-dominated hierarchy.
Grigorovich’s choreography itself serves the ballet with a double-edged sword. It demands equal parts technical prowess and dramatic acting. Through act I, even with its heavy exposition components, a chained Vasiliev danced with determined force, his fists clenched, his legs bounding through in leaps, lunges or developes slashed with sword-like intensity. As Volchkov warmed to his mercenary power, his lip sometimes curling into a sneer, then later a grimace, he was no match for the passionate Vasiliev.
The Khachaturian score, which indiscriminately borrows themes from popular and classical music canons, is a perfect mélange of high and popular art that supports the ballet’s libretto, pageantry and dramatic moments. Act I’s roaming Roman army is impressive, particularly in the plastique poses suggestive of communist-era sculptures. These snap-shot ready pauses, chins thrusting forward, pectorals flexed, thighs bared unapologetically displayed the male Bolshoi corps as a fleshy, beefcakey brood. The second act, set in the bucolic Appian Way, featured a band of shepherds and, just when I thought this Bolshoi work was free of kitsch, Grigorovich didn’t disappoint. The Russian-stylized line dances for the shepherd ensemble allowed them to kick up their heels in grapevine steps and clasp hands as if they were dancing in a tavern, modulating the rousing Armenian’s compositions. This proved to be just enough kitsch to showcase this band of men following Spartacus into battle.
While it’s somewhat of a stretch to place “Spartacus” in the same realm as “Swan Lake” or “The Sleeping Beauty,” for it has not been replicated and restaged in the same manner as the Petipa classics, it certainly provides a great time. With unbridled athleticism, a chest-baring brooding male lead, and a bevy of sumptuous courtesans and an army of macho warriors, there’s something for just about anyone. Fans of bodice-ripping novels, costume dramas, interactive video games, action adventure flicks and, yes, even dance lovers can all find something to adore in “Spartacus.” The Bolshoi Ballet’s reputation for big, bold and unbridled remains intact.
© 2010 by Lisa Traiger
Published February 21, 2010
Photo: courtesy Kennedy Center
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