Cape Town City Ballet, guests in flawless showing
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29
M2015 ANY a production of Giselle has graced the stage at Artscape’s theatres, but few have risen to the heights attained by Cape Town City Ballet’s 2015 version of the classic.
The calibre of interpretation from guest leads Frederico Bonelli and Hikaru Kobayashi, both from London’s Royal Ballet, ignites the performance of their fellow artists to offer a sublime reading of this 174-year old work.
Bonelli and Kobayashi have the happy knack of making stylised mime an expressive tool for conveying narrative and emotion, so that both are credible to the point of moving the audience despite familiarity with the plot and its personae.
Then there is the captivating beauty of their dancing: technically flawless and lyrical, its fluid grace belies the ballet’s multiple choreographic challenges. The opening night performance was memorable for, among other things, this duo’s exquisite execution of the two great pas de deux in each act, the first a study in radiant courtship, the second a heart-wrenching evocation of love and loss.
From the golden warmth of Act One to the spectral chill of Act Two, leads, soloists and corps collaborate to excellent effect in tracing this tale of a two-timing cad, a broken-hearted girl, forgiveness and redemption.
Cape Town City Ballet’s corps underpin solo performances with aboveaverage ensemble of finely-honed elegance, notably in Act Two led by, on
The Cape Town Philharmonic orchestra conducted by Graham Scott
David Poole, after Jean Corelli and Jules Perrot Artscape Opera House October 11 opening night, Kim Vieira as the austere Queen of the Wilis. Confidence and control are hallmarks of her performance.
In alternate casting, Daniel Szybkowski (Albrecht) and Angela Hansford (Giselle) form a duo of aesthetic appeal with delightful lines, musicality, and insightful interpretation.
Xola Putye and Conrad Nusser, alternating as Giselle’s rejected suitor Hilarion, create a character more sympathetic than villainous. Putye is endearingly gauche, while Nusser injects genuine warmth into his persona’s unrequited passion.
The castle featured in the background of Act One is a clever variation on the more usual bucolic landscape, as it suggests the presence of another society alien and ultimately destructive to the simple peasant life of Giselle.
Under Graham Scott’s direction the CTPO provides handsome delivery of Adolphe Adam’s music.