The Taming of the Shrew is generally extremely difficult to bring off in this day and age. However this is a contemporarized, dazzling choreographed and danced version that will have you cheering at the end.
In the ballet world the most well known version of this Shakespearean work previously was by John Cranko (1969).
This is a new version specifically worked for the Bolshoi by Maillot and absolutely sizzles. Maillot condenses the complicated plot of what perhaps is probably the most erotic and “politically incorrect” of Shakespeare’s plays to focus mainly on the central characters: the aggressive, haughty, bad-tempered Katherina — the ‘’ shrew ‘’ of the title — who scares away all would be suitors and is contrasted with her sister, the sweet and good Bianca, who, according to tradition, must wait to be married until after Katherina is wed.
This production does not emphasise the horrors that Katerina has to endure (although yes they are included) in a display of macho misogyny, rather it attempts to show the underlying love and tumultuous passion that Katerina and Petruchio eventually share as contrasted with the gentler, more lyrical and elegiac love of Bianca and Lucentio.
Contemporary ballet with a twist, the choreography by Maiillott was at times extremely difficult and demanding with some very unusual lifts in some of the pas de deux.
There was fine ensemble work throughout by the principals, soloists and corps de ballet who were excellent in their precise synchronization.
The trust the dancers had in each other was very impressive and could be seen in the very difficult lifts and leaps ( for example. the Macmillan like section towards the beginning with the three suitors, Bianca and Baptista).
The clear,clean rather minimalist set, by Ernest Pignon-Ernest, is mostly white, with a sweeping central staircase that can be split for different locales and becomes a backdrop, at times, with columns and pillars.
The amazing, very sophisticated lighting scheme by Dominique Drillot ranges from mosaics on the staircase at one point to a summer day in sun drenched Padua.
Costumes are very glamorous 1930’s Hollywood, almost all in black and white, the corps de ballet girls mostly in very short fluffy tutus.
The ballet opens most unusually with a very glamorous woman in black with a feathered top stalking across the stage in front of the house curtain and stopping the show, and the conductor’s arrival, while changing into her pointe shoes and checking her makeup.
The glamorous lady turns out to be The Housekeeper ( Anna Tikhomirova ) a character invented for this ballet who controls a lot of what happens within the ballet. Tikhomirova dances her part with great lightness, elegance and a marvelous long ‘line’.
As Petruchio, hunky Vladislav Lantratov is all impatient, swaggering, charismatic macho in Act1. In Act 2, however, we see how he truly falls in love with Katherina , opening up his heart to her, and then it becomes more a marriage of equals. Lantratov is amazing with jaw dropping technique, a laser sharp long ‘line’, and he shows off his flying leaps, amazing turns and terrific partnering and acting.
As Katharina, Ekaterina Krysanova was amazing. Krysanova was a snarling, rumbunctious red head at first but then transforms into a model wife. We discover how she unexpectedly finds herself falling in love with Petruchio and then eventually succumbs and giving her whole heart. There are some incredible athletic, sculptural steamy pas de deux especially in Act 2.
Bianca, perky ,sweet and innocent is radiantly and gracefully portrayed by Olga Smirnova, yet she can be as feisty as Katharina when provoked. Bianca’s eventual husband Lucentio is dashingly played by blonde Semyon Chudin. They have a couple of lyrical, luminous pas de deux that stop the show, displaying the long ‘Romantic’ line and featuring swooping, sighing curves and blushing love.
There is a mysterious veiled woman in black ( the widow who ends up with Latin hunk Hortensio, danced by Igor Tsvirko).
The production uses an eclectic score of 25 works by Shostakovich. The ballet fluidly moves quickly from Kate’s furious ‘shrew’ scenes’, where she angrily and rudely rejects her suitors to the challenging and multi layered pas de deux with Petruchio, where she slithers over around and under him , then shifts to the lyrical , gentle pas de deux (to The Gadfly) between Bianca and Lucentio which is a little Ashton in style.
The ballet concludes ironically to Tea for Two from his Jazz Suite, where the cast in couples take it in turns to mime various ways of drinking tea leading to some unhappy spats.
This quirky Shakespeare romantic comedy can be read as an encounter between two extremely strong, difficult personalities. Fast paced and much fun it was clear that the company relished dancing this production.
Running time allow roughly 2 hours 15 mins which includes one interval.
There is a short series of interviews both before the actual screening and during the interval.
The Bolshoi Ballet’s production of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW screens at selected arthouse cinemas from April 16 2016.
http://www.sharmillfilms.com.au/?page_id=3083#cinemas