Bolshoi Ballet 'Raymonda' web cast

Bolshoi Ballet: Raymonda
October 15, 2005
Live web broadcast from the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Russia

Maria Allash with Sergei Filin and the corps de ballet in the web cast of "Raymonda" from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

There was a bit of fun available on the internet this weekend, when the Russian Web site Cultu.ru broadcast a live performance of the Bolshoi Ballet’s “Raymonda” from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. It came in live at 8 am on Saturday Los Angeles time and was repeated several times over the next 24 hours.

The company looked fabulous, much better than it did on its recent US tour. Of course, the pickings we got on the US tour weren’t much to thrill about – “Don Quixote” in Washington, DC and “Spartacus” in Orange County. “Raymonda” is the kind of tutu-laden spectacle that the Bolshoi does best. There’s a perfect balance of gorgeous, purely classical dancing (in tutus of course) and spectacular character dancing that the Bolshoi dancers can make exhilarating like no other company. There were hints of both elements in “Don Q” at the Wolf Trap in Virginia this summer, but the Petipa “Don Q” is hardly what one calls a significant ballet. Neither, of course, is “Raymonda,” but at least “Raymonda” has more meat to it: better music, fuller dance passages and a (slightly) more developed story.

“Raymonda” tells the story of a young Hungarian princess, Raymonda, who is engaged to be wed to Jean de Breinne, a dashing, pure and Christian nobleman. Enter Abderakhman, a visiting Muslim after Raymonda’s hand. He tries to impress her with his troupe of character dancers, but Raymonda prevails and rejects him, remaining faithful to de Breinne. The ballet presents a view of what is considered inherently “good” and “evil” from a 19th century Christian perspective. DeBriene is automatically good and pure because he is a Christian prince, while Abderakhman is presented as the evil villain – all this despite the fact that neither do much of anything to prove their inherent goodness or evilness. This loaded plot could prove squeamish to the politically correct crowd – unless you remove the religious affiliation and simply see it as a “girl gets the nice boy she wants instead of the boy who tries to take her by force.”

Even so, the principal focus of “Raymonda” is never the plot: it’s the gorgeous classical dancing. A glittering dream scene in Act 1 with lots of sparkly tutus, several notoriously difficult pas de deux and variations for Raymonda and her bevy of partners, then a famous Grand Pas Classique with a Hungarian spice to close out the evening.

And it’s the dancing the we see the Bolshoi spectacularly delivering on – and its all incredibly exciting to watch even with the limitations of web casting technology. From start to finish, the ballet was a delight to watch. The principals were excellent, the corps was excellent, and the character dancing was even exciting to watch (usually it’s a bore both in the theatre and especially on screen – but the rules change for the Bolshoi).

Maria Allash lead the company as a secure, if slightly distant, Raymonda. I haven’t been impressed with her in the past (usually a bore to watch), and certainly her muted personality was on display here. But her technical amplitude and ease of motion worked in her favor with Raymonda. She doesn’t have to actually do much except dance exceptionally, and that she could do. Maria Alexandrova and Ekaterina Shipulina, both of whom danced Kitri in “Don Q” this summer on the US tour, were sparkling and light as Raymonda’s two friends. Sergey Filin was a wonderfully authoritative and strong Jean de Brienne, and a sturdy partner for Allash. Abderakhman was delightfully evil as danced by Rinat Arifulin.

The live broadcast really gave the sense of being inside the Bolshoi for the performance; there were pan shots of the theatre, the pre-performance announcements were all there, and the entire Russian-length curtain call was in there as well. It really did make you feel as though you were there in Moscow for the show – quite an unexpected surprise.

More of these broadcasts please. It was wonderful to see the Bolshoi dancing so well at its home theatre.