| Watching the Bolshoi
Ballet and Orchestra perform ``Raymonda'' last night at the
Wang Theatre was like drinking an expensive wine with some
people you don't know very well, but you're hoping to impress.
They exclaim how superior it tastes and you nod in agreement,
even though you're really thinking to yourself, ``but not
that much better than the $20 bottle I had just last week.''
American ballet companies rarely perform
the full-length ``Raymonda,'' so Bank of America Celebrity
Series' presentation of the legendary Bolshoi Ballet and Orchestra
in this 19th century classic seemed like an overdue treat
for Boston.
Unfortunately, this is a production one
has to work hard to enjoy. It's perplexing, because the Bolshoi
dancers are without doubt extraordinary artists, and the musicians
more than capable. The sets and costumes are lavish. So why
is this ``Raymonda'' a mostly neutral experience?
The problem rests with Yury Grigorovich's
average choreography (with ``extracts,'' whatever that means,
from the original production by Marius Petipa and Alexander
Gorsky) as well as Glazunov's forgettable score. One becomes
easily tired of these dull, meandering melodies and the lack
of musical variation. Tchaikovsky this is not.
Also disappointing is the casting. The
story concerns itself with two lovers in medieval France who
risk separation at the hands of an ``Eastern'' (i.e., Muslim)
knight who becomes infatuated with Raymonda.
Nadezhda Gracheva in the lead role was
competent but nothing more. Her performance recalls Anne Bancroft
``acting her head off'' in Herbert Ross' camp film ``The Turning
Point,'' except that Gracheva didn't bother to act.
Neither did Sergey Filin, who danced
the role of her knight in white satin. In fact, Filin seemed
much more concerned about his flowing white cape than with
Raymonda.
As I sat watching this dismal affair,
I longed for Sir Anthony Dowell's ``Swan Lake,'' Maina Gielgud's
``Giselle'' or any other ballet production that emphasizes
the interpretive skills of the dancers.
Let's hope the Bolshoi shows us some
fire in ``Don Quixote,'' the other story ballet they're performing
during their five-day run in Boston.
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