Ballet could be sensuous feast

Despite this blog reported already some events outside Bulgaria, as exhibitions in Vienna or Milan, this will be the first publication in the 10^th years history of the blog in English, however for everything sooner or later there is a first time.  As I’m spending some time in Munich past months I would like to tell about some ballet performances of the Munich state ballet (Bayerisches Staatsballett).

photo: Munich state ballet

Some guests of the city might consider going to a ballet as life is not just work or study.

This season 2019/2020, I saw Anna Karenina and The Lady with the camellias.

In October I looked on Anna Karenina, a ballet by Christian Spuck on the novel by Lew Tolstoy; choreography Christian Spuck, composer Sergej Rachmaninow, Witold Lutoslawski.

Christian Spuck’s adaptation premiered at the Zurich Ballet in 2014. The Bayerisches Staatsballett dances his Anna Karenina as of November 2017.

I know Anna Karenina’s love story by hearth and saw it told exhaustively in the ballet-dancers acting. The ensemble danced with grace, passion, sadness and many other emotions corresponding to different episodes of the story.

I didn’t like the fact that the stage was mostly empty; Spuck’s intention maybe was to present that characters are as lost in the empty scenery as they are lost in real life. Instead some video projections point towards the action. The audience could feel the psychological process and inner turmoil of Anna through the dance and the darkness coming from the stage. The music was heavy to my taste, in unison with the tragedy through the story; I was familiar with the music of only the first two pieces in the second act.

I didn’t like much the music and the lack of scenery; however I did like very much the dancers’ performance and the costumes; the women in splendid gowns.

Yesterday I saw The Lady with the camellias, a ballet on the novel by Alexandre Dumas; choreography John Neumeier, composer Frédéric Chopin. The novel “La dame aux camellias” has served as model for one of my favorite operas (La Traviata) as well as films and ballets. I saw long time ago an interpretation of The Lady with the camellias of the Sofia opera and ballet and like it very.

In this interpretation the ensemble danced with grace, passion, sadness and many other emotions corresponding to different episodes of the story; we saw lots of emotions but a little bit unclear story. The story is told from backward and forward and if you do not know the synopsis, barely follow the thread. The main character Marguerite Gautier did not seem to me a courtesan. I didn’t like the lack of scenery. I admired the colours of the costumes, the splendid gowns; I admired the ladies flying over the stage. As a whole I liked the abundance of emotions, beauty and grace on the stage. As a lady beside me said: it is wonderful. The audience applauded long after the last act. This performance was a sensuous feast. 

If you have to choose between both ballets I would recommend and would prefer the lighthearted The Lady with the camellias.