Synopsis
Programme
Impressions/Performances
Spartacus is a very dramatic and, unusually, a largely male ballet - perhaps accounting for it's being so rarely seen, as many ballet companies would struggle to find enough male dancers to produce it effectively. True, the four leading dancers that share equal importance to the plot are split equally by gender, two male (Spartacus and his arch-nemesis Crassus) and two female (Spartacus's lover Phrygia and Crassus's driving force Aegina). But in the corps de ballet the emphasis is very much on the men with requirements for large numbers of Roman soldiers and gladiators. Not only that, but the male roles are, by and large more pure dance oriented than is the norm (where male roles are often largely subservient in lifting and supporting female partners. It also has fewer pas de deux than most ballets, and those are often danced at a distance with relatively few moments of any great intimacy.
As a ballet it is big, bold and more than a little brash, a perfect vehicle to show off the dramatic flair and raw power of this big and bold, world famous company. It tells the well known story of the gladiator's uprising against tyrannical Roman rule, and if it is not exactly historically accurate, it is highly dramatic and evocative of the roller coaster ride of alternating hope and despair that underly the basic story. From the start it feels huge, almost Cecil B. DeMille scale, with towering scenery of bare stone walls bearing Roman inscriptions. The costumes also, from the kilted and armoured Romans to the Greek-style gauze clad courtesans are first class, and the choreography throughout is thrilling and makes use of every last inch of the large stage as the Roman soldiers weave about in intricate maneuvers, adding to their menace with almost Nazi style goose-stepping with raised swords and spears.
To truly succeed, however, it is a ballet relies very heavily on the relationship between the two male leads. Spartacus must be heroic and virile, but at the same time compassionate, flawed, and even a little vulnerable. Crassus must be strong, arrogant, and merciless. They are almost complete opposites, natural enemies, and if we do not beleive these qualities in either of them then the production as a whole inevitably fails. No such problems here, however. Pavel Dmitrichenko is a superb Spartacus, displaying all the poise and power that one would expect from the traditional Bolshoi leading man, covering the breadth of the huge Covent Garden stage in just a few stretching leaps wherein he seems to hang in the air interminably. He looks every inch the noble barbarian hero. Perfectionists might complain that his blond hair and craggy good looks appear more Germanic than Thracian, but this would be nit-picking. The truth is that we accept his position as head of the rebel army without question and he speaks to us through motion more eloquently can many actors can in words. Yuri Baranov is equally superb as Crassus, the very embodiment of the new order that Spartacus is fighting so hard to resist against seemingly impossible odds. Currish and ignoble, with short cropped hair and gleaming armour he swaggers about the stage as if it were his birthright. Anna Nikulina is a delicate and sympathetic Phrygia and delivers up some movingly emotional moments, but after Dmitrichenko's Spartacus it is the Aegina of Ekaterina Krysanova that delivers up the next most thrilling performance. She revels in the displays of abandon and licentiousness called for in her choreography, filling her character with disdain remaining alluringly seductive - a woman who is all too aware of the power she holds over men and how best to use it.
Khachaturian's boisterous score was vividly played by the Bolshoi Orchestra under Pavel Sorokin, rising and falling from moments of calm and tranquillity to peals of thunder.
Verdict
Big bold and brash. A thrilling and dramatic story ballet.
Don Gillan - www.stagebeauty.net