War Memorial
Opera House, San Francisco
April 12th,
2013
San Francisco
Ballet’s eightieth anniversary season continues with an absolutely delightful sixth program. For mixed
performances, Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson tends to highlight the repertory
breadth of his world-class company; often selecting three pieces from three very
different genres or styles. With this set of works, he ventured outside this
pattern, opting to pair one classical ballet with two very contemporary
compositions. A little unconventional perhaps, but visually gorgeous and
artistically compelling – exactly what one expects from an evening with the San
Francisco Ballet.
Opening the
program was Act III of Rudolf Nureyev’s 1966 “Raymonda” (choreography after
Marius Petipa). Combining character and classical technique, “Raymonda” is a
smorgasbord of sensibilities: extravagant and whimsical; folksy and regal. The
grand pas classique, with its clean lines and stunning unison, had moments of
quiet simplicity as well as instances of extreme challenge - the latter
exemplified as all sixteen dancers completed a single jeté entrelacé. Dancing
the title role, Frances Chung’s boureés spoke volumes, revealing strength,
determination, pride and command. In addition to the principal characters, four solos and two featured variations
provided diversity and range to the work. Wanting Zhao (the first soloist)
looked as though she was floating on air throughout a very difficult arabesque
relevé sequence while Sarah Van Patten (soloist number three) combined a full
back lay-out along with her developpé devant. I have to admit that I was a
little torn about the men’s Pas de Quatre. Technically, it was fantastic; all
four men quite brilliant, but something really distracted from this achievement.
A couple of the guys just weren’t in character, which completely overshadowed
their flawless technique. It goes to show that academic perfection can only
take you so far.
“Ibsen’s
House”, Val Caniparoli’s examination into the famed playwright’s treatment of
gender, was an artistic triumph. The ballet began by introducing us to five
different female characters from Ibsen’s body of work, the distinct personalities
and unique struggles being matched by Caniparoli’s creative movement. Well-communicated
and interpreted by each dancer, Lorena Feijoo as Hedda Gabler showed passionate
drama; Sofiane Sylve as Nora Helmer oozed desperation; Dana Genshaft’s Mrs.
Alving was clearly trapped; Courtney Elizabeth was untamed as Ellida Wangel and
Sasha DeSola gave a tortured portrayal of Rebecca West. Though the women’s
roles were of course predominant, the partnering of each was imperative to the
story, and thus was given the proper attention, choreographically and
artistically. “Ibsen’s House” is a beautiful ballet, with its only downfall being
that it does go a little long.
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| San Francisco Ballet in Liang's "Symphonic Dances" ©Erik Tomasson |
Closing San
Francisco Ballet’s sixth program was Edwaard Liang’s “Symphonic Dances”,
another return appearance from last year’s season. With this 2012 ballet, Liang
proves once again that he is a master of creating visual pictures through
choreography and painting a living, breathing and evolving canvas before the
audience’s eyes (think of the opening moments of his “Wunderland”). “Symphonic
Dances” features three main pas de deuxs, the ending of each being one of these
gorgeous, dramatic snapshot moments. And how Liang loves using second position
(in plié, in relevé, in turns, in lifts); this wide stance was present here too,
most notably in a recurring backwards sliding motif. The casting of Yuan Yuan
Tan and Vito Mazzeo as the first pas de deux couple was the only puzzling
element. Individually, both are fantastic dancers, but together, something is
definitely missing. While nothing was wrong from a technical perspective, there
was a definite lack of fervor, groundedness and passion in their pairing, which
was especially apparent when the other two couples (Sofiane Sylve/Tiit Helimets;
Maria Kochetkova/Vitor Luiz) danced their respective variations.
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