David Nixon, artistic director of Northern Ballet Theatre, is one of countless westerners to have been captivated by the story of the innocent Japanese geisha who is seduced by an insincere US naval officer, bears a child who is neither oriental nor American and takes the ultimate measure to end her life with honour and dignity.
But Nixon had the means, the imagination and the muse with which to move the story onto a different level, translating the geisha mystique into a short, story-driven work, created on his wife, American ballerina Yoko Ichino.
He has since expanded it into a full-length ballet for the acclaimed Leeds-based company, whose trademark preference is for bringing its dramatic, stylised vision to adaptations of novels, plays and opera.
Purists of theatre, ballet and opera may complain that Nixon's visually sublime production is neither fish nor foul and that the storyline is stretched a little thin in places. But this is to ignore the superb production values, the stunning set-pieces, the narrative clarity and the expressive style with which it is presented. The choreography begins and ends with the delicate music and dance inflections of the ancient Kabuki tradition, from which Desire Samaai's fragile Butterfly has come and will gloriously return. But slowly, the focus shifts and passion takes over.
David Kierce is a muscular Pinkerton, sporting a veneer of charm, while supporting roles of the US consul Sharpless, the servant Suzuki, Pinkerton's warm-blooded wife Kate and the Japanese holy man/samurai, are given new dimension and significance by, respectively, Steven Wheeler, Michaela Paloacci, Amy Johnson and the incomparable NBT principal Hironao Takahashi. - Jane Coyle
Runs until Mar 18
