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Living doll dances to delight Coppelia The
Russian State Ballet of Siberia
Wolverhampton Grand **** BALLET is always something of a treat and first impressions of the opening of Coppelia did not disappoint. The dancers stand immobile for a few seconds before bursting into life. With
bright, colourful costumes and a young and chirpy troupe, the Russian
State Ballet of Siberia (Krasnoyarsk State Ballet which was founded in
1978), brings this most popular of all comic ballets
to Wolverhampton Grand as part of a UK
tour.
The romantic attachment
between Franz (Kirill Bulychev) and mischievous Swanilde (Elena
Pogorelaya) quickly becomes apparent when she playfully showers him with
a watering can! However, she is jealous and
unsettled when Franz becomes enchanted by a beautiful girl who is
sitting reading at a nearby window; little do they know that she is
merely a doll (played by Yana Tugeva) who has been animated by her maker
Dr. Coppelius'. Nevertheless, while dancing
with townspeople - including the Burgomeister (danced by Kirikk Bogdanov)
and other local characters and friends, Swanhilde is able to forget her
anxieties. When the inventor Dr.
Coppelius (ably portrayed by Alexander Kuimov) leaves his home to go
drinking at a tavern and drops his door key, Swanhilde picks it up and
creeps into his workshop with her friends while Franz climbs in through
a window. The young people discover several of his automatons and switch
them on.
Swanhilde and the girls are
astonished to realize that Coppelia is not real but when Dr. Coppelius
returns, she hides by taking the doll's place. You have to admire Elena
Pogorelaya's stamina as the role of Swanhilde requires strength and
versatility - it has to incorporate a lot of dancing through from stiff
doll-like movements to graceful pas de deux. Nevertheless, the inventor's
deepest desire - to bring Coppelia to life using Franz' life force –
comes to nothing when the couple escape together. In the final act, Swanhilde
and the energetic Franz's wedding is celebrated by the whole village
which gives the company an opportunity to showcase their skills through
a series of symbolic dances (divertissements) signifying Prayer, Dance
etc. leading up to the final pas de deux. Sergei Bobrov is the artistic
director and Alexander Yudasin conducts this ballet which includes lots
of mime while Delibes' music introduces folk dances like mazurka and
czardas. The bright costumes, sparkling tutus and Dr. Coppelius'
shimmering, billowing cloak all add to the entertainment value.
Coppelia may not have the wow
factor of Swan Lake and the Nutcracker, but it is charming and well-told
fantasy in which everyone should find something to enjoy.
For the Wolverhampton leg of
their tour of the UK, the Russian State Ballet of Siberia is perform
three different ballets opening with an afternoon performance of The
Nutcracker on Sunday, 17 Feb, Coppelia on 18 Feb and finally Swan Lake
on 19 Feb, 2013. Laura
Ginesi
And a second movement . . . *** THE Russian ballet
dancers from Siberia brought a warm glow to the Grand with their
performance of this classic story of love and confusion over a
beautiful life-size
mechanical doll. It featured some outstanding
dancing to the choreography of Alexander Gorsky and Gennady Malkhasiants,
with Delibes' beautiful score played by the company's orchestra,
conducted by Alexander Yudasin. The light-hearted ballet is
set in a quaint 19th century village, Galicia, where the eccentric
toymaker Dr Coppelius has produced a doll so realistic he treats it as
his daughter. Yana Tugaeva played the
magical Coppelia, and thrilled the audience with her clever dancing,
while Kirill Bulychev impressed as villager Franz who upsets his
girlfriend, Swanilda (the delightful Elena Pogorelaya) by making eyes at
the doll. And that is where the main
fault of the production came to light. In the fairly basic scenery, Dr Coppelius's
home was perched on one side of the stage in such a position that a
section of the audience couldn't see Coppelia in her window seat, so if
they didn't know the story they wouldn't understand what the men in the
cast were ogling. Coppelia was performed on
Monday night, The Nutcracker having been staged on Sunday Paul Marston
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