Sunday, January 5, 2020

Opus Arte’s Second Ashton Collection: Part 3

Cover of the original release of the video of this recording of La fille mal gardée, showing Carlos Acosta and Marianela Nuñez (from the Amazon.com Web page)

Since regular readers probably know about my frantic effort to catch up on recorded music before the end of the last calendar year, I probably do not need to apologize for the delay in concluding my coverage of the second volume of The Frederic Ashton Collection, a set of three ballet videos available in both Blu-ray and DVD formats. The first two articles discussed Sylvia and Tales of Beatrix Potter; and the remaining recording is of La fille mal gardée (the poorly guarded girl), made at a performance given at the Royal Opera House on February 2, 2005. Ashton’s choreography for this ballet was first performed at the Royal Opera House on January 28, 1960; so this article almost counts as a 60th anniversary celebration of its premiere performance.

The ballet itself is much older. One might even call it the oldest ballet on record; but it went through many large-scale transformations over the course of its history. However, the plot has remained basically the same through its reinterpretations. A rich woman (these days called Widow Simone) has a beautiful daughter Lise, who is in love with the young farmer Colas. Simone, however, wishes for a more prosperous match in the form of Alain, the son of a prosperous vineyard owner Thomas. As the title of the ballet suggests, Lise gets the better of her mother and marries the man she loves.

The ballet was given its first performance in Bordeaux on July 1, 1789. However, the style at that time was to accompany the dancing with suitable music drawn from a variety of popular sources. Thus, while Jean Dauberval is credited for the choreography, no composer for that choreography was documented. The music associated with La Fille Mal Gardée was composed by Ferdinand Hérold for a new version of the ballet created by Jean-Pierre Aumer. In the spirit of the earlier score, Hérold appropriated themes from popular opera composers of the time, including Gioachino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti. This version was first performed on November 17, 1828.

In 1837 the leading role was danced by the Austrian ballerina Fanny Elssler for her debut at the Paris Opera. Elssler commissioned music for a new grand pas de deux. This, again, drew upon music by Donizetti taken from his opera L’elisir d’amore (the elixir of love). Note that all of this chronology took place before June 28, 1841, when the ballet Giselle was first performed.

The scenario for Ashton’s choreography turned out to involve another significant departure from preceding efforts. The original setting was probably French; but Ashton shifted it to the rural delights of “Englands green & pleasant Land” (thank you, William Blake). Indeed, the setting is so rural that Simone’s farm includes a “Greek chorus” of hens (Gemma Bond, Bethany Keating, Johna Loots, and Natasha Oughtred) led by a rooster (Giacomo Ciriaci). Simone (William Tuckett) was given an extended solo drawing upon a clog dance, using music by Peter Ludwig Hertel composed for another version of the ballet created by the Italian choreographer Paul Taglioni. In spite of those international origins, Tuckett’s performance was straight out of the tradition of English music halls (with more than a bit of soft-shoe thrown in to complement the clogging).

Nevertheless, the core of the ballet involves the ups and downs of the romance between Lise (Marianela Nuñez) and Colas (Carlos Acosta). Acosta brought just the right blend of youthful energy and grace to his portrayal, clearly establishing Colas’ “downright, forthright, and upright” (Noël Coward this time) character. He was perfectly complemented by Nuñez presenting Lise as a young woman with a mind of her own and with no end of tricks to try to get the best of Simone.

Taken as a whole, Ashton’s choreography continues to be fresh and engaging; and it is easy to see why both the Bolshoi Ballet and American Ballet Theatre chose to add his version of this classic to their respective repertoires.

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