Verdi Would Be Cheering

By Martha Duffy

A.B.T. stages an exotic, full-length La Bayadere

La Bayadere, a much beloved work in the Soviet Union, is virtually unknown here, except for a section called "Kingdom of the Shades," which is a distillation of Marius Petipa's pure classicism. The film The Turning Point made beautiful use of its opening sequence, in which the corps de ballet slowly descends a ramp, all the dancers doing the same graceful movement, based on an arabesque, so that the audience sees it from every angle and at the same time as a single image. The stage becomes a vision of harmony, symmetry and peace.

Who would have thought that this prism of bliss is a mere pause amid tumult, a respite in a plot-clogged saga of murder and revenge, which features, among a good many other things, poison asps, opium, the collapse into rubble of an entire Indian temple? With Natalia Makarova's direction, the American Ballet Theater has produced the full-length La Bayadere, at a cost of about $500,000. American balletgoers are not used to such a florid, densely populated drama. To appreciate it, one must be prepared for a very full, surprising experience. The evening has a slight aura of grand opera; when a procession of priests makes a stately entrance, one almost expects them to sing.

This disorientation is reinforced by one of the strong elements in the production, the sets. They are fashioned with billowing flair by PierLuigi Samaritani and meticulously painted in Italy. Samaritani is experienced in designing sets for operas. His visions gloriously summon up the richness of legendary India, but sometimes overpower delicate, intricate movements. In scale and detail they seem more suited to leisurely appreciation during a long aria.

Makarova grew up on this ballet in Leningrad, dancing in it at the Kirov. For American audiences she has rearranged the work, adding and deleting portions. Most of the time she manages to keep the story line in focus. She is clearly skilled at staging Russian classics, but it requires either a more imaginative choreographer or a tougher critical judgment to translate the work completely from a secure tradition to a new aesthetic setting. In the first act, an hour and ten minutes long, melodramatic mime sequences and decorative dancing compete for the viewer's attention.

The story is a boggler. Nikiya (Makarova), a bayadere, or temple dancer, and the imperious Rajah's daughter Gamzatti (Cynthia Harvey) are rivals for the love of the great warrior Solor (Anthony Dowell), who pledges himself to Nikiya over a sacred fire. Later the Rajah chooses Solor to marry his daughter. If this sounds like Aida, it is. In the ballet, both women are murderous. Gamzatti, who plants a deadly snake among flowers given to the dancer, is the successful killer, but Nikiya has ectoplasmic revenge. Her spirit appears first in a lyrical vision to Solor, and again to break up his wedding (and decimate the temple for good measure). If some of that ghostly action is reminiscent of Giselle, it emphatically is.

On opening night the production glowed. The corps de ballet -- more the heroine than either Nikiya or Gamzatti-- danced the "Kingdom of the Shades" scene with technical purity and a moving, almost votive, concentration.

Dowell flew over Solor's ambiguous emotions, relying mostly on his light leaps and exquisite musical phrasing. Harvey, who is only 23, lacked the authority to make Gamzatti believable. She seemed relieved when she could forget acting and just dance. Helped by Dowell's impeccable partnering, she was convincing as a ballerina of the future. Playing Nikiya, Makarova mastered all the problems set by La Bayadere: drama, poetry, virtuosity.

Her death dance was a fusion of grief, despair and mortal accusation.

As a performer she can hardly improve on this interpretation, which seems to be in her soul and her bones. As adapter of Petipa, she may do some editing and smoothing out. The work is a fresh glimpse into another style and should settle in as an exotic addition to A.B.T.'s eclectic repertory. How often at the bal let does one get to see the walls come tumbling down? --Martha Duffy

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