Date: Monday 14th February 2022 Time: 19.30 Running Time: 160 minutes incl. interval Production Company: The Russian State Ballet of Siberia Performers: Natalia Bobrova, Gerogii Bolsunovskii, Oleksii Skalium, Matvei Nikishaev, Maksim Ikonostasov, Anastasiia Osokina, Denis Kazarin, Ksenia Liapina, Yury Kudryavtsev, Rodion Ziniak, Mariami Kuloshvili, Ilia Khaprov, Yaroslava Bolsunovskaia & corps de ballet Artistic Director: Sergei Bobrov Music: Sergei Prokofiev Conductor: Alexander Yudasin Synopsis: Sergei Bobrov – interpretation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Sets and costumes: Dmitry Tcherbadzhi
Classic, colourful, with a jeté of comedy, The Russian State Ballet of Siberia‘s production of Romeo and Juliet at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre brought this classic love story to life with both drama and grace.
Synopsis
Two households, both alike in digity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene… did everybody have to memorise the play’s opening monologue in their English lessons? The basic storyline of Shakespeare’s most famous play can’t have missed many, but I will cover the Russian State Ballet’s interpretation of this tragedy.
The story begins with the introduction of two households: the Capulets represented in red and the Montagues in blue. There’s an obvious rivalry between the families as they mock eachother and fight in the street. The Capulets hold a ball in which their daughter is expected to couple with kinsman to Escalus, Prince of Verona. But Romeo Montague and his friend Mercutio attend the ball in masks. Whilst dancing, Juliet bumps into the boy who would be both the love of her life and, tragically, the death of her.
Romeo and Juliet meet outside her bedroom balcony and fall in love under the moonlight. They must part before they get caught and the following day Juliet’s nurse delivers a note to Romeo, after a rather cheeky teasing to make him work for it! We assume that Juliet notes a time for them to be wed, which is confirmed in the second act.
Second Act
The second act of the Russian State Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet opens on the two star-crossed lovers knelt inside the chapel. After the stunning ceremony and their exquisite expression of love for one another we see another public mocking in which Mercutio appears to skit Lady Capulet, wearing a skirt and bra, which inevitably exasperates nephew of Lord Capulet Tybalt’s temper. The two fight and come visibly close to death, represented by the corps de ballet, until Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo is distraught and kills Tybalt in revenge.
Juliet’s secret love has been noticed by her mother and father. They cast her aside in disgust at her declaration of love for the son of Montague with whom they share an ancient grudge. In complete turmoil, Juliet meets with Friar Laurence who supplies her with pills. She plans to take the pills to end her life. Romeo discovers Juliet unconscious and the remaining pills and is devastated. Juliet is layed to rest and Romeo, unable to consider a life without her, takes the remaining pills himself. As he does so his love awakes and they share a heartbreaking dance before Romeo slips away from Juliet forever. She cannot be without him, so she takes a dagger and plunges it into her middle.
Analysis
I believe dance is one of life’s gifts that connects souls in a way words cannot ever really perfectly describe. It’s like a dot-to-dot. Music is the collection of dots, and emotion and expression are the lines that join them together. They connect as one artwork that attract the attention and awe of everyone in the room. The talent of The Russian State Ballet of Siberia is immersurable. If I knew all the lingo I would be able to specifically describe every leap and spin, each one executed as if it were simply breath leaving the lungs. But instead I will just share, as a layman, my thoughts on what I can only believe took a lifetime of meticulous practice to perfect.
The manner in which the dancers moved seemed almost unhuman. It is as if they had invisibile strings attached to their toes and fingers, controlled by the conductor as puppeteer. They have a quality of serenity you somehow feel connected to within the performance yet completely disconnected to as a fellow person of the earth. They lept as though gravity failed to exist for a moment in time. Only it didn’t, because we were still very much sunken into those squished red velvet theatre seats, considering the possibility of fairy dust.
There was one particular part of the performance that stood out to me. The wonderful, charismatic Mercutio (Oleksii Skalium) successfully performed an unsuccessful pirouette, falling to the ground so seemingly accidental for a milisecond but continuing with a playful sequence of wobbly ballet as part of the evening entertainment at the ball. I can’t get over how sure the dancer must have to be in their skill that they are able to well execute a sequence of powerful steps badly, appearing as though accidental. It was both brilliant and funny.
Further Analysis
One aspect of the production that bugged me slightly was the lit backdrop. The visual for The Russian State Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet changed throughout as the scenes changed, but at first sight I thought there was a lighting fault as the far right fifth was darker than the rest of the backdrop. As the show began I realised this section was showing a different scene – one of a street leading upto a mansion – so I assumed this was to show both the outside and inside settings simultaneously. If it was purposeful I wasn’t a fan of it. It knocked the stage balance off for me, but we’ll call it a quirky production feature and I can appreciate it in an artistic sense.
The portrayal of death throughout the ballet was quite unique. I took a short while to realise the metaphor of the black and white demon characters as they appeared only an edge from the wings during the fight scenes. It wasn’t until Mercutio was stabbed that their performance became understandable, dancing with his spirit as he slipped away. It is a dark aspect to what is, in essence, a tragedy, so I guess the ‘demons’ weren’t out of place, but the story still has an innocence and lightness to it somehow. So, as much as I loved this abstract expression, they were quite hellish and left no capacity for the idea of an afterlife of paradise which we would naturally hope for, especially since Romeo and Juliet longed to be together.
The orchestra were just as exquisite as the performers. The score was stunning and a perfect portrayal of the classic tale. I always feel it a shame that the musicians aren’t in view from the stalls in the Empire. Though I completely understand why, I just wished to be able to glance at the orchestra in their element throughout the performance. The dancers and musicians make up one impressive machine of many cogs that never slip out of place.
Summary
To be in the audience is to be enveloped in a beautifully woven blanket of tranquility and wonder. A ballet that is peacefully mesmerising, but with a cheeky and mischievous sprinkling. You haven’t truly experienced the best of classical dance until you have seen The Russian State Ballet of Siberia.
Notes
Target Audience: Ages 12+ Content: Death Recommendation?: Yes
Read the review originally written for Writebase by clicking on the link below...
https://writebase.co.uk/empire-theatre-reviews/the-russian-state-ballet-of-siberia-romeo-juliet-empire-theatre-liverpool/
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