National Ballet of Canada 2017-2018 # 4: The Magnetic Magic of Sleeping Beauty

It's not really surprising that the National Ballet of Canada comes back to restage its great signature production of The Sleeping Beauty every three years or so.

Some would say that this is simply because it's a great get-penny for the company.  While that is certainly true, there is -- for my money -- a lot more to it than that.

This ballet is a truly classic staging.  While it owes much to the famous original choreography of Marius Petipa, it doesn't adhere slavishly to that source.  This version was set on the National in 1972 by Rudolf Nureyev, and he substantially enlarged the role of the Prince.  While Nureyev's innovations, there and elsewhere, were created in a true classical style, he did not hesitate to up the ante in terms of physical demands on the dancers of the company as a whole.

This sheer display of dance technique certainly makes the work more flashy, and more breathtaking, at more moments.  But you don't have to be a dance expert to appreciate the achievement it represents.

And then there's Tchaikovsky's unforgettably opulent symphonic score, which displays to full effect the great skill and polish of the National Ballet's house orchestra.  The music unfailingly heightens the moments of drama throughout the story, making the old tale come to vivid life even before the choreography is added to raise the impact by several hundred percent.  

Finally, and not least, this is a story for all ages -- a simple fairy tale of a beautiful princess and handsome prince, brought together by the Lilac Fairy in spite of the furious curses of Carabosse.  At that level, it's easily followed by children, but it remains full of deeper resonances of all kinds for adults of all ages.  I've seen the show staged at least a dozen times during my ballet-going career, probably more, and it always tweaks my attention with new and different details and viewpoints.

You put all these ingredients together, and the net result is powerfully magical.

So, to Thursday night's opening performance of the current run.

The fascination began even before the performance, with an innovative approach to the pre-show Ballet Talk.  This was moved from the atrium lobby into the auditorium and was led by conductor David Briskin, with strong musical support from the full orchestra.  He performed some carefully-chosen excerpts from the score to explain how Tchaikovsky broke new ground with his ballet music, and to demonstrate how skilfully Tchaikovsky wove his leitmotifs together, and how perfectly the results supported the themes of the story.  Briskin dropped a hint that this talk, entitled "Hear the Dance, See the Music" (a famous dictum of George Balanchine), might be the first of a series of similar talks to come.  I for one definitely vote "Yes"!

The actual performance was most of all remarkable for the purity and technical precision of the dancing throughout the evening.  It would be easy to say that this is standard practice from the National Ballet, but in this show the company definitely went into "above-and-beyond" territory in that respect.

The height of precision was in the dancing of Heather Ogden as Aurora.  In the fiendish Rose Adagio, she held herself absolutely rock-steady without even a hint of a quiver either from her hand or her foot as she balanced on one pointe shoe with no other support.  That level of superb technique carried right through her entire performance from start to finish.  My only quibble is that I would like to see more of a girlish air about her first appearance -- a clearer indication of the playful side of the young Aurora's character.

Matching her in precision and partnering her with total aplomb was Guillaume Coté as Prince Florimund. Nureyev designed this role to show off his own extraordinary skills, and packed it brim-full of leaps, turns, twists, and high-speed acrobatics. Coté mastered all of the flashy movements with apparent ease, and still found the emotional space to give an expressive reading of the Prince's introspective solo in Act 2.

Among the other dancing roles were also many excellent performances.  Especially fine work came from Alexandra MacDonald as the Principal Fairy in the Prologue and in the Diamond Variation in Act 3.  In that variation, she was strongly partnered and equalled in finesse by Jack Bertinshaw.  Jenna Savella sparkled in the Emerald Variation.  Francesco Gabriele Frola soared in a strong role debut as the Bluebird, while Emma Hawes gave a light and airy account of Princess Florine.

Conflict of Interest Alert:  Robert Stephen is my nephew.

Tiffany Mosher and Robert Stephen drew plenty of chuckles and applause with their sharp-clawed yet still graceful impersonation of the two Pussycats.

Among the character roles, Alejandra Perez-Gomez provided shivers aplenty with her hard-edged portrayal of the evil fairy, Carabosse, particularly in the scene of the casting of the spell.  As her opposing force of good, Tanya Howard glided smoothly and easily about the stage as the Lilac Fairy, bringing especial grace to the role with her elegant, ethereal arms.

Catalabutte, the Master of Ceremonies and general all-around kicking boy for the King, was performed with great comic élan by Hazaros Surmeyan, an old hand at this particular role.

Also enjoyable was Stephanie Hutchison's Countess in Act 2, part dignified, part graceful, part playful, and flirtatious with it.  The interplay with her husband, the Count (Nan Wang) came across much more clearly than usual.

Throughout the work, the corps de ballet -- the women in particular -- were on top form, dancing with a degree of precision and unanimity ideally matched to the lead roles.  While the final grand waltz is an appropriately lively, swirling, celebratory corps number, I remain most of all impressed by the fine work done by the company in the slower sarabande and polacca which open the third act.

The Sleeping Beauty remains on stage at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto until March 18.