Romeo and Juliet at the Point is reviewed by Christine Madden
At this time of the year you can get enough of sweets and develop a hankering for something more substantial and nourishing. This goes for shows as well as food, and the three courses of Perm State ballet's performance of Romeo and Juliet quickened the spirit better than any amount of chocolate. The dancers brought all their expertise to Nikolai Boyarchikov's very expressive and emotive choreography, and no detail was too small for precise attention, down to the trompe l'oeil paintings on the background and wings to simulate the architceture of the early Renaissance.
The high level of accomplishment on the part of the corps de ballet complemented the evening's several highlights. The dancers, portraying the non-noble townspeople in their bright costumes, brought the Shakespearean light relief to the drama enacted in playful style. In great contrast, the members of the Capulet family, cloaked in flowing blood-red robes, strode across the stage, posturing disdain and conceit, keeping perfect balance along the knife-edge between hauteur and ridiculousness. The jewel in this was Tybald (Radiy Miniakhmetov), whose magnificent performance projected arrogance, malevolence and thinly checked aggression with the hot-headedness of youth. His cousin Juliet could not have been more different. Prima ballerina Elena Kulagina transformed herself into the quintessential 14-year-old heroine of the piece, combining the light-heartedness and innocence of a young teenage girl with the sweetness and fervency of a first passion - and with such total mastery, control and grace. Partnered by an able Roman Geer as love-struck Romeo, their pas de deux portrayed the depths of romance without sentimentality.
Conductor Valery Platonov directed the National Symphony Orchestra in Prokofiev's score. Although not as well-known as Tchaikovsky's version, this rendition of Romeo and Juliet nevertheless creates the perfect mix of sentiment and the horror of pride and violence. It expresses faithfully Shakespeare's juxtaposition of the beauty of this innocent and all-consuming love against the ugliness of a pointless, childish hatred. The Perm's inspired production of this classic provided an experience that can only be described as sublime.
