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When the
ornately painted fire curtain rose at the Palais Garnier, home of the Paris Opera Ballet,
revealing a scrim onto which billowing curtains were projected, and a monk-like figure was
seated on an elevated ledge attached to the proscenium arch several feet above the stage
floor, it was evident that a theatrical evening lay ahead.
To mark the beginning of the performance, instead of the traditional three
raps on the floor with a stick, the man slowly drew from his lap a stone and dropped it to
the floor, followed by two more. After the
resounding thuds, he climbed down from his perch and walked across the stage as the scrim
parted. So begins the new ballet Hurlevent created by Paris Opera Ballet Etoile Kader Belarbi based on Emily Bront‘’s Wuthering Heights.
In staging the story of the orphan
Heathcliff and his thwarted love for Catherine, daughter of the household into which he is
taken, Belarbi and his fellow librettist Agathe Berman follow the essential plot. Although Catherine cares for Heathcliff, she
marries another but regrets her choice and dies in childbirth. Heathcliff seeks revenge for his lost love by
destroying the members of her family, only to destroy himself. The drama , as much in the psychology as in the
action, has inspired the librettists to take
an interesting approach to the story. They
have used some of the trappings of romantic ballet (think Giselle)
and utilized the corps symbolically—the women represent the ethereal figure of
Catherine and the men are the dark, volcanic side of Heathcliff’s nature. The first act is grounded in reality; the second
act, where Heathcliff works his revenge and descends into his own fantasy, is a more
spiritual world.
A story of such complexity, both
in the plot and in the motivation, represents a significant challenge to the
choreographer. Despite his comparative lack
of choreographic experience, Belarbi has acquitted himself with honor. Like John Cranko, who was able to tell the story
of Onegin so effectively on the ballet stage, Belarbi hews to a modern style of movement
and keeps the action flowing. There are a few
group dances, primarily for the corps in the second act, where the movement is in unison. The story is clearly told and the individual
characters are well drawn, with effective use of props and dramatic gestures to complete
the understanding of the motivations.
The role of Heathcliff was danced
by Nicolas Le Riche, one of the company’s great male dancers. His performance was intense and introspective. As Catherine, Marie-Agnes Gillot was especially
effective when she realized the mistake she had made in not marrying Heathcliff, and her
scenes as a spirit were as light as air. Her
husband, Edgar, was presented as a vain and proud man, elegantly danced by Jean-Guillaume
Bart. The other supporting roles were very
well cast, particularly Jean-Marie Didiere as Joseph, the enigmatic family retainer who
opens the ballet and maintains a zen-like air of concentration.
The Paris Opera commissioned a
score by Philippe Hersant for this production. His
music is well suited to the story, being dramatic without descending into mere noise. He makes use of recognizable melodic motifs,
establishing both atmosphere and plot connections.
His musical sources include Debussy and Strauss (as in Elektra), as well as the sounds of wind
appropriate to a story set on the moors.
The physical production (sets and lighting by Peter Pabst, costumes by
Elsa Pavanel) adds immeasurably to the impact of the evening. Pabst knows how to make great theatrical effects
with simplicity, employing layers of scrims onto which projections are made. One memorable moment early in the ballet is the
creation of an instant field of flowers, which literally drops onto the stage. There is a Robert Wilson-like esthetic at work in
this production in the stylized sense of staging and movement. Visual symbols abound. The front scrim that parts has a jagged edge. When the scrim is closed at the end of the first
act, it does not close all the way so that the jagged edge, with appropriate lighting,
becomes a lightning bolt.
No effort has been spared in producing a work by a young and promising
choreographer. The ballet was also filmed to
be shown on French television at the end of March 2002. This
degree of commitment demonstrates the confidence the Paris Opera Ballet has in its
fledgling choreographer, who has not let them down.
Paris, March, 2002 - Larry Campbell
