Jann Parry wrote:
Quote:
On tour, however, the emphasis is on the Russian heritage ballets. Le Corsaire is a bit of a cheat because it's a Soviet concoction, blithely mixing choreography from different eras along with a Petipa setpiece from 1868, the Jardin Animé, in the last act.
I was surprised at this paragraph for a variety of reasons. It is true that the Kirov has carried out reconstructions of early productions of "Sleeping Beauty" and now "La Bayadere", which incidentally still contain 20th C elements, often to prevent the men being bored to death. However, it's worth noting:
- That the current Kirov "Swan Lake" is also a production from the Soviet period from Konstantin Sergeyev, with a range of 20th C additions and deletions.
- When the Kirov were in Salford in May, they performed Ponomarev's 1941 version of "La Bayadere". So both Soviet and reconstructed versions remain in the touring rep.
- Of the 6 ballets in the upcoming triple bills, only two are long-standing ballets from the Kirov rep.
- The use of the word "concoction" seems odd. Petipa's "Giselle" is an amalgam of the original Coralli and Perrot production plus his own innovations. Do we think of that as a "concoction"?
The truth is that ballets develop and change. Further, on the last tour, I appreciated the chance to see the 4-hour reconstructed Kirov "Sleeping Beauty", but it is not my preferred production.