De Sola’s debut wakes up ‘Sleeping Beauty’
First things first. Despite the regimen of new works promised us in the coming four months, it seems fitting that the San Francisco Ballet should inaugurate its subscription season with a work that is a cornerstone of classical dance culture. “The Sleeping Beauty” (1890) is where dance has come from. It is a milestone in the history of ballet, one of its grandest expressions. That grandeur remains in Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson’s setting of Marius Petipa’s original. The 1990 production, absent for a decade, returned to the War Memorial Opera House on Tuesday, Jan. 23, for a twoweek revival with a rising star at the center of the production.
And yes, memories are not playing tricks: It all looks a bit different from its last incarna-
tion. The wonderful designs of the late Jens-Jacob Worsaae looked even more wonderful when Tomasson staged “Beauty” for the Royal Danish Ballet in 1993. He has imported the Act 3 set, which looks properly regal, and purchased the Danes’ costumes, identical to what we know but richer in texture.
They are displayed to the max in the production in which Aurora’s 100-year slumber is paralleled by Russia’s rejection of its traditional Slavic raiment and its ensuing passion for French culture. During intermission, long robes give way to powdered wigs. Tomasson’s choreography wastes no time in its adaptation of the Charles Perrault tale, pausing for the great Petipa moments. However, the vision scene, the emotional heart of the ballet, seems more a matter of architecture than sensibility, especially in the nymph corps, which appeared to wander in from a “Giselle” production.
In the final wedding act, Tomasson has reduced the fairy tale divertissements to two, but, as the performance neared the three-hour mark, only a churl would complain about their absence. The solo devised by the choreographer for Prince Desiré only strengthens the narrative and leads logically to the vision scene, in which the specter-Aurora calls to the prince to come and rescue her. Tomasson has made minor changes this time; the best of them may be moving Aurora’s gazebo downstage to highlight the awakening kiss.
The revival will feature five (or more accurately, 4½) principal couples, but the opening night Aurora, Sasha De Sola, has left an indelible imprint on the production in her debut performance in the role. An off-balance moment in the rose adagio aside, this was a confident, technically astute contribution that mingled lyrical softness and strength. De Sola finds an emotional line through this passive character and molds steps into statements. The variation in the vision scene was spectacular.
I think that De Sola, who dances again on Sunday, will communicate even more in the part when she finds a more congenial Desiré than Carlo Di Lanno, who has been so impressive in contemporary repertoire the past few years. Tuesday was not a happy night for the Italian dancer, who partnered indifferently, showed off his technique and seemed positively stoical when presented with the vision of his soul mate.
Sarah Van Patten brought her quiet radiance to the Lilac Fairy, though some might prefer a more assertive portrayal in her confrontation with the evil Carabosse (Anita Paciotti at her most ferocious). Wei Wang and Dores André improved upon their gala performance of the bluebird pas de deux.
San Francisco Ballet: Helgi Tomasson’s “The Sleeping Beauty.” Through Sunday, Feb. 4. $30-$175. War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., S.F. (415) 865-2000. www.sfballet.org