Embracing a legendary Russian ballerina
The Eifman Ballet honors the dancer in the sumptuous ‘Red Giselle’ at Segerstrom.
The Eifman Ballet, the Russian contemporary ensemble from St. Petersburg on a 40th anniversary U.S. tour, rolled into the Segerstrom Center for the Arts on Friday night with an updated version of the choreographer’s seminal work, “Red Giselle.”
This tribute to legendary Russian ballerina Olga Spessivtseva (1895-1991) is not the first ballet by the company’s founder and artistic director, Boris Eifman, but it is certainly the template for his dance-theater melodramas. Premiered in 1997, it was the work that Los Angeles saw first, in 2000, at Universal Amphitheatre.
I am not among Eifman’s devoted followers, who are numerous and loyal enough that the Segerstrom in Costa Mesa and the Music Center in Los Angeles keep bringing the company back. (The troupe will perform “Tchaikovsky” on Friday through Sunday at the Dorothy Chandler.) But I think “Red Giselle” is his most coherent work, his best piece to experience.
The scenic designs by Vyacheslav Okunev were updated two years ago, and the costumes look sumptuous, with strikingly vivid colors, such as the gold tutus in the imperial ballet scene. At the same time, Eifman made some incisive choreographic revisions. He has emphasized the story’s political commentary, adding scenes in which the black-garbed revolutionary guards assassinate dissenters.
A second-act fantasy, in which the Commissar’s disembodied head floats against a black veil, has been excised; although a nifty moment, it is not missed. Eifman’s favorite themes, his obsessions with the fragile artist, mental instability and the cruel, cruel world — often depicted as a mob — fit neatly and logically into “Red Giselle.”
The Spessivtseva figure in the two-act ballet is known simply as Ballerina, and Maria Abashova portrayed her Friday night. An Eifman veteran, Abashova knows when and how to emphasize the roster of required characterizations, from reticence to joy, terror to charm. The company’s leads are cast as much for their looks as their talent, and Abashova is an exotic beauty, her face glowing with artistic intelligence. Though she does a great job acting frail, make no mistake, she is composed of tough stuff — witness the multiple overhead lifts, human acrobatic towers that for their success depend as much on her onearmed hold as on her partners’ strength. She has three partners throughout the ballet, and each dancer fulfilled the expectations of his archetype. Sergey Volobuev’s hooded brow made him the Commissar of choice, and he projected a fearsome brutality and an exciting sensuality. Oleg Markov was admirable as the Teacher who recognizes the Ballerina’s gifts and gives his life for ideals of classical dance. Finally, Oleg Gabyshev is Ballerina’s last and likable Partner; he is unable to save her from madness.
Though they are exceptional performers, the principals lacked the fire that the corps de ballet brought to the evening. In the first act, corps dancers become the vigorously stomping proletariat; in the second, they transform into swishing Parisian flappers. I wager they are allowed more freedom to be spontaneous.
The recorded score includes pieces from Tchaikovsky, Schnittke, Bizet and, in the final scene of “Red Giselle,” the closing music from Adolphe Adam’s ballet “Giselle.” Eifman wrings real poignancy as Abashova disappears into a maze of ballet studio mirrors, where, he implies, Spessivtseva’s soul resides forever.