 |
 |
|
N
E W S ...&...
R E V I E W S |
|
Giving
the devil his due |
||
|
Posted on Sun, Sep. 03, 2006 By
MARK LOWRY FORT WORTH -- Wouldn't you just know it? The most pleasurable sections of Natalya Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilyov's late-Soviet ballet Creation of the World are when the devil is onstage? Danced with a mix of sexy and comic, moustache-twirling menace by Andrey Prikhodko, the devil is definitely in the details in this staging by Alexander Vetrov. The piece opens the Metropolitan Classical Ballet's 10th season (it's the company's second production of Creation, although the first time at Bass Performance Hall). Realizing that the bad guys usually have more fun, Russian composer Andrei Petrov is at his most playful in these scenes, giving the music a jazzy, trumpet-heavy score that wouldn't be out of place in a speakeasy. (But the music is canned, not live.) Things especially heat up when the Devilesse (Mariya Kudyakova) joins in, tempting poor Adam (Anatoly Emelianov) and taunting Eve (Olga Pavlova). The choreography in these scenes pulls from mid-20th-century influences. In contrast, early scenes that feature God (Yevgeni Anfinogenov) on his universe-creating spree are somewhat staid, very old-school Russian. That doesn't mean there are complaints about the dancing from God and the principals. Anfinogenov handles those long leaps superbly. Even as he seems to tire a bit after so many battles with evil and keeps his best creations from being pulled into hell, he's an old man not about to give up. Also outstanding are the dancers playing the first humans. Adam's choreography is especially complex, requiring Emelianov to lift and hold Pavlova in some painful-looking, angular positions. Their pas de deux right after the apple incident is nothing less than stunning. The final dance between them, after exile from Eden, requires a large, dropped translucent cloth that covers the stage and the two dancers, and the effect is positively modernist. One benefit of this ballet, which is almost necessary to sustaining a full evening, is that it uses comedy to great success. When Adam discovers how to wiggle his hands and feet, and walk, it's like something out a Chaplin film. Emelianov also does a believable job in the transformation from man-boy through his first crush and into the realization that life can't be innocent and pure forever. Pavlova, as usual, is mesmerizing to watch, but too bad Eve doesn't get as many showy moves as do the men. There is one quibble about the lack of precision with the ballet corps as angels, especially early in the piece. With dancers as sharp as these leads, everything else needs to be on that level. Also, the choreographers' choice to have some of the angels constantly fluttering their hands is distracting. At least until the devil appears, and steals the show. GRADE: A © Copyright 2006 The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
|
|
|
|
||
|
