The history of the ballet
Le Corsaire is as convoluted as its
original plot: full of twists and turns, re-workings, revivals, musical
additions, new steps, new
pas de deux or
de trois and new
choreography. It was originally created by Joseph Mazillier (1801-1868) to
the music of Adolphe Adam (1803-1856), with a libretto by Jules-Henry Vernoy
de Saint-Georges (1799-1875). It was based on the famous poem “The Corsair”
(1814) by celebrated British romantic poet Lord Byron (1788-1824). Later, it
was staged in Russia for the first time by Jules Perrot (1810-1892) for the
Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg. The role of Conrad in this production was
danced by the great Marius Petipa (1818-1910), who later revived the ballet
four times and on each occasion, created additional steps and new
choreography. New music was added to Adam’s original score by composers
Cesare Pugni (1802-1870) and Léo Delibes (1836-1891), a former pupil of
Adam.
In Russia,
Le Corsaire was also staged in Moscow for the Bolshoi
and more new choreography and new music by a wide variety of composers
continued to be added. In modern times,
Le Corsaire is not often
staged. Contemporary productions are generally derived from Petipa’s
revivals for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg. The production filmed
for this DVD differs considerably from the previous ones and was created for
Le Ballet du Capitole, the ballet company of the Théâtre du Capitole in
Toulouse, France.
I have not seen
Le Corsaire live for several years; the last time
was in 1998 or 1999 by the American Ballet Theatre, staged by Anna-Marie
Holmes for the Boston Ballet in 1992, with choreography by Konstantin
Sergeyev after Petipa. I happened to have the recording of this production
(Arthaus DVD from 2000) and decided to watch it again. Sadly, I must say
that the present DVD with the Ballet du Capitole fades a little by
comparison.
Kader Belarbi, the choreographer of the Ballet du Capitole’s version,
comments on the ballet, as performed by the Bolshoi and the American Ballet
Theatre. He says in an interview (printed in the DVD booklet) that it has
unclear storylines and that the music lacked balance and fluidity. I tend to
agree with this. Belarbi also states that this inspired him to take a step
back from Byron’s poem and write a new two-part libretto. While this indeed
makes the plot clearer, it also cuts it considerably. This means that we
lose some of the scenes — and extraordinary dancing moments — that made
Le Corsaire famous. For example, the virtuoso solo of Ali (the
corsair’s slave) in the grotto of the pirates is more or less lost. In fact,
Ali does not exist in this version; instead, we have a rather pale Corsair’s
Companion. The slave trader role is much reduced and instead of three acts
(The Bazaar, The Grotto of the Corsair and The Palace), we have two with
three scenes each: The Market Square, The Harem and The Palace in Act I and
The Dream, The Corsair’s Den and the Shipwreck in Act II. Aided by the new
music composed by the distinguished David Coleman — musical director of the
Théâtre du Capitole’s orchestra and who also conducts the performance — the
narrative is undoubtedly more coherent, clearer and flows in a more logical
manner but the plot is greatly simplified. The characters do not even have
names; they are just designated by what they do or what they are, as for
example, the Sultan, the Wealthy Slave Trader or The Sultan’s Favourite
Concubine. What Belarbi and Coleman have achieved with their production is
to create an effective ensemble ballet. It works extremely well with a
solid, cohesive group of quality dancers but there are no individual big
stars or virtuoso performers. From this perspective, this version of
Le
Corsaire is rather enjoyable. There are some elements of Petipa’s
revivals, namely in the Corsair’s and the Slave Girl’s
grand
pas de deux in the second act, but also more modern steps that
effectively add to the flow of the plot and the grace of movement. Of the
individual dancers, the one that impressed me the most was Takafumi Watanabe
as The Sultan. He is an excellent dancer with a charismatic stage presence.
The scene where he attempts to seduce the slave girl and finally rapes her
is very powerful and almost distressing to watch. The Sultan’s role in this
production by Kader Belarbi is a much more active, dramatic role than in the
previous versions and, to me, it definitely enhanced the ballet as a whole.
Maria Gutierrez, as the Slave Girl, is very good, suitably fragile and
poignant. Her technique is excellent, with classic, perfectly executed
attitudes and dazzling movements of the arms. Davit Galstyan as the
Corsair himself does a solid job and is rather pleasant to watch.
The set designs by Sylvie Olivé and the lighting by Marion Hewlett are
minimalistic, especially when compared with previous productions. This is
also an enhancement, as their subtlety does not distract from the dancers’
movements, serving the choreography extremely well. It contrasts rather
beautifully with the colourful, luminous, at times almost garish costumes
designed by Olivier Bériot. That said, some of the head-dresses are rather
exaggerated, as is the case for those of the Wealthy Slave Trader and the
Sultan’s Favourite Concubine.
The quality of picture and sound of the DVD is exceptionally good but I
can imagine that the depth and detail of the images in the Blu-Ray must be
rather more striking. The filming of the production is very competent and
skilfully directed for the screen by Luc Riolon.
In all, from a musical perspective, this production is effectively
coherent, due mostly to the parts composed and added by the excellent David
Coleman. Kader Belarbi’s direction is convincing and his choreography is
accomplished all the way through. It’s inventive at times, as in the
Sultan’s part and at others familiar but always fluid and smart. If you love
narrative ballet as a consistent, harmonious work of an ensemble then, this
production is rather enjoyable. On the other hand, if you are attracted to
individual virtuosic, exuberant performances by great dancers then, you
would be better off buying the American Ballet Theatre DVD, which I mention
above, or another production with dancing of a similar exceptional
quality.
Margarida Mota-Bull
Margarida writes more than just reviews, check it online at
www.flowingprose.com
