A much beloved Fairy-tale was performed by the ‘State Ballet of Georgia’ at the Royal Opera House Muscat for three performances at the weekend. Packed audiences were treated to a magnificent production of the three-Act drama which lasted three hours: “The Sleeping Beauty,” with its romantic Russian score by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, is one of the world’s favourite ballets, delighting children and adults alike. With libretto and choreography by the great nineteenth-century ballet master, Marius Petipa, it premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg in 1890.
It was reinterpreted by the famous Georgian choreographer, Nina Ananiashvili, together with Alexey Fadeechev, legendary dancer of the Bolshoi, for this Tbilisi State Opera and Ballet Theatre production, which recently premiered in April. Founded in 2004 under Nina Ananiashvili, the company is truly international, with dancers from Japan, the Americas, Russia and Greece as well as Georgia itself.
They performed with ROHM’s favourite guest orchestra, the PKF — Prague Philharmonia, under the baton of the brilliant young Russian Maestra, Alevtina Ioffe, who is recognised for her broad, energetic clarity in conducting Opera and Ballet scores.
The curtain — and what a magical, children’s-theatre curtain it was — rose to reveal a picture-book fantasy of the Royal Palace where Princess Aurora’s birth was being announced by court-jester, Catalabutte. He was danced amusingly with mimic, exaggerated gesture and flair throughout the show by William Pratt. In contrast, the role of Lilac Fairy, costumed in a captivating rich green, velvet bodice, was interpreted each night by Ekaterine Surmava with compelling grace and delicate beauty.
The Princess Aurora would not appear until the second scene, but Carabosse, danced superbly by Shorena Khaindrava, was the star of the Prologue and each show. Dressed totally in black from ballet-pumps and tights to her head, Carabosse was evil from her fingers to her tippy-toes and her facial expressions were extraordinarily scary.
She maintained this level of caricature in every scene and was deliciously accompanied by monsters and mice, taken menacingly by six male dancers.
The sixteen ladies of the Corps de Ballet made an entrance here, accompanied by some fine woodwind playing from the orchestra. The style was pure, classical ballet with period costumes in glittering coloured brocade to match. The evocative fairytale sets and attractive costumes were designed by the Russian artist, Anatoly Nezhny.
The sixteen-year-old Princess Aurora was performed on Thursday by the captivating, beautiful Georgian ballerina, Nutsa Chekurashvili, in the Coming-of-Age Ball of Act One. She was elegant and enchanting in her solo dances with soaring violin obligatos, executed with all his usual precision and delicacy, by PKF Concertmaster, Jan Fišer. A Birthday Party was an excellent platform for the corps de ballet to perform in the almost-perfect synchronised movement to the ballet’s many famous tunes, while other characters moved with stylised gesture and mime. In fact, the whole score is dripping with gorgeous, familiar melodies painted in Tchaikovsky’s inimitable, masterful orchestration. On Friday evening the role of Princess Aurora was interpreted by the petite Japanese ballerina, Ruika Yokoyama, her nimble lightness entrancing the audience on the second night.
Act Two introduced Prince Désiré hunting in woods with his entourage in front of a glittering lake. The impossibly handsome, lithe Japanese gymnastic Principal, Yonen Takano, was the dancer who enraptured the audience. Once he was alone, Lilac Fairy called forth Aurora’s image and of course, in true pantomime tradition, he fell in love at first sight. With dramatic coincidence, a boat appeared on the lake and they both sailed towards the sleeping castle in an enchanted dream.
A warm and evocative ‘cello solo, played from the pit by Lukáš Pospíšil, set the atmosphere for Scene Two and a reprise of the evil Carabosse and her attendants. In a stunning bit of sword-fighting, they were stabbed by Désiré without concession to public sensitivities!
The magnificent wedding of Aurora and Désiré of Act Three provided the vehicle for some pure dancing, virtuoso leaps and jumps from solo males, and many fairytale characters. The darlings were the feline Angelos Antoniou as Puss in Boots and his sweetheart, Nino Gulordava as White Pussycat, purring, clawing and flirting in their convincing pussycat costumes. Another Japanese dancer, Karin Washio as Blue Bird, (rather than Bluebeard) displayed superb agility and prowess in his virtuoso role, with great leaps in his solos, opposite Stephanie Watkinson as his seductive partner, Princess Florine.
The Georgian ballerina, Nino Khakhutashvili performed some glittering solos as Diamond Fairy with wonderful elegance, while Sapphire, Gold and Silver Fairies were bewitching in their congratulatory ensemble work. The final appearance of the betrothed couple in radiant white, however, was dazzling. Together, Takano and Nutsa were sublime, an ethereal pair who bewitched the audience into a mesmerised silence. With many brilliant solos and pas-de-deux, they emerged as heroes, symbolising the victory of good over evil.
The piece was perfect for children of all ages, with its clear adherence to the storyline. At three hours’ duration it may have stretched the attention-span of even the most dedicated ballet fans, but the repeated curtain calls in the finale suggested no sign of fatigue from those on, or off, the enchanted stage.
-GEORGINA BENISON
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