ABT'S LA BAYADERE, MET OPERA HOUSE, NYC, MAY 15, 1999

Conducted by Charles Barker

ABT's lavish production of La Bayadère made a welcome return to the Met stage this season, with the company fielding six different pairings for the leading parts of Nikiya and Solor, plus four dancers taking on the challenging role of Gamzatti. Natalia Makarova took a well-deserved curtain call on the first night (May 14), when the principals were Susan Jaffe and José Manuel Carreño. Makarova's staging of this ballet, including a reconstruction of the third act, has stood the test of time and remains an audience favorite.

On the evening of May 15, Nina and Julio Bocca took over the leads--dancing to a packed house, and with Makarova once more in the audience. The story and setting of La Bayadère, an India imagined fancifully by nineteenth-century Europeans, is easy to parody, but when the ballet is performed with conviction by dancers who are able to do justice to the steps and mime, it can be one of the most exhilirating of dance experiences. The part of Nikiya gives full vent to Nina's artistry, revealing her many facets. In Act I, her mime scene with the High Brahmin (Victor Barbee), whose advances she rejects, signals to the audience that this Nikiya is a gentle creature who nevertheless knows her own mind. She is, of course, in love with Solor and her tender, lyric side blossomed in the pas de deux with him, as they affirmed their love in front of the sacred fire. Julio, every inch the warrior, was also the ardent lover as he partnered Nina in their moonlit duet that emphasized deep backbends and gentle lifts. The couple flowed into these steps with sweetness and delicacy, making the difficult seem effortless, including a couple of lifts where Solor supports Nikiya's torso with both hands lifted above his head, while Nikiya bends her body and holds her arms and legs upwards.

The second scene sets up the conflict, as Solor, summoned to the palace, is told by the Rajah (Ethan Brown) that he is honoring him with his daughter Gamzatti's (Paloma Herrera) hand in marriage. He is shocked but not able to refuse. The High Brahmin informs the Rajah of Solor's vow to Nikiya, and Nikiya herself is summoned by Gamzatti. When Nikiya proves resistant to her material enticements to give up Solor, Gamzatti resolves to kill her.

The third scene, in the palace garden, is a celebration of the betrothal of Gamzatti and Solor. This is Gamzatti's scene--where she exerts her claim over Solor by a brilliant display of dance. Unfortunately, Herrera was out of sorts this evening, failing to convince either by her carriage or her dancing that she was a worthy rival for Solor's affection. She projected no more hauteur than could be mustered by a spoiled suburban princess, and her timing lacked the necessary sharpness of execution and timing. Her leaps looked particularly strained and her balances less than secure. (She improved on a subsequent performance.)

All eyes were riveted on Nikiya when she appeared at the Brahmin's bidding to dance for the betrothal party. Nina, in ruby red choli top and gathered pants (commonly called harem pants) was irresistible in her adagio. Performed on the diagonal and involving a series of deep arabesques, plunges to the knee and backbends, this scena is deeply moving, with Nikiya obviously in torment, having to perform at such an occasion, yet using her movements to plead for Solor's acknowledgement of their love. The suppleness of Nina's body, particularly the expressiveness of her back and shoulders, coupled with her exquisitely expressive arms and fingers, is such that her performance could melt the hardest heart.

Act II, the famous Kingdom of the Shades scene, is the raison d'être for this ballet. It is one of the purest, most sublime compositions in all of ballet, and supposedly has come down to us from the Petipa original untouched by other hands. Anyone who's ever seen the corps de ballet enter in a mesmerizing series of arabesques and form into slowly shifting files of shimmering white visions can never forget this scene. ABT's current corps, though not impeccable, nevertheless worked its magic on this scene, setting the mood for the solos. The Three Shades variations were danced by Yan Chen (delightfully light and fluid), Gillian Murphy ( promising in the clarity of her movements and expressive use of her hands) and Veronica Lynn (capable, but in need of more strength to give full value to her admittedly very difficult steps).

In this act, viewers can revel in Nina's total mastery of classical ballet idiom. In my twentysome years of watching productions of the Shade scene (Royal Ballet, Kirov and Paris Opera Ballet included), I have never seen Nikiya's part danced so authoritatively. [This season alone, I have watched four different casts of Bayadêre, partly because I love the ballet, but also because love to watch young dancers essaying Solor (Angel Corella, Giuseppe Picone), Nikiya (Herrera) and Gamzatti (Irina Dvorovenko, Murphy) - some for the first time. Watching ABT's more senior principals is also enligthening--some do improve with experience and perseverance. But enough said.]

Nina's interpretation of Nikiya's spirit is very different from her interpretation of Giselle's ghost. Steps aside, Nikiya is not a forgiving figure, rather, she is, in this act, a pure spirit--a blessed soul gone to heaven. As such, Nina imbues her movements with clarity, weight of meaning and yes--morality. She gives each seamlessly executed step its full value. The fluid articulation of her movements, the impeccable timing, the lightness of her release from a supported attitude or arabesque into a balance on toe makes you catch your breath. In the famous veil pas de deux, where Solor holds one end while Nikiya executes turns in both directions while holding the other end, Nina's ease of execution makes you wonder why other ballerinas seem to have such trouble with this vignette. Here as elsewhere, it is as if the very perfection of Nikiya's dancing is a reproof to Solor for having betrayed her for a mere mortal. And when she finally vanishes in a heart-stoppingly swift series of turns, Solor is disconsolate in the realization of his loss. Julio, of course, was an apt participant in this act. His confusion turns to regret and frantic despair--all given expression in his passionately executed jumps and turns. And his pliant back was effective in his sensational landings on the knee at the end of his variations.

The third act is something of a letdown after the Shades scene, but it is nevertheless satisfying to know how the story ends. (The Russians--and Nureyev's staging for Paris-- all do away with this act.) Makarova's reconstruction places the dance of the Bronze Idol at the start (Joaquin de Luz danced creditably). Again Gamzatti comes to the fore here, Makarova having fashioned a solo which makes its impression with elaborate arm movements that mimic Indian dancing. Alas, arms are probably Herrera's weakest points, so this Gamzatti proved a no contender when Nikiya's ghost appears (Nina giving various nuances to a series of grand jetés) and disrupts the wedding. After the destruction of the temple, we are shown a final vision of Nikiya and Solor reunited in death, with Nikiya ascending cloud-wreathed steps with Solor following, bound to her by a long white veil.