RUSSIAN BALLET

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21200, 24 August 1940, Page 13 (Supplement)

RUSSIAN BALLET

“COPPELIA” IN SYDNEY REVIVED AFTER 30 YEARS Many people in the audience at the Theatre Royal were seeing the ballet “ Coppelia ” for the first time, says a Sydney paper. It is 30 years since Genee did it in Australia. One of the earliest stage pieces to be based on the idea of a doll coming to life, it is taken from Hoffmann’s pretty story, “ Der Sandmann.” Several people have had a hand in shaping it for dance interpretation. Nuitter and Saint-Leon adapted the story for the stage, and the original choreography was done by the French maestro, Louis Meraute, Adeline Genee introduced this ballet to London when she took the part of Swanilda at the Empire Theatre in 1908. Meraute’s pattern has been preserved, although variations have been made from time to time. The present version, arranged by Anatole Oboukhoff, Professeur de Danse with the de Basil Company, captures with complete success the gay and whimsical note, which is essential. The opening act, in the square of a little town in Galica, is a bright and merry affair. SKvanilda and Franz are troubled about their love affairs, but the whole company goes in for a riot of dancing, the high spot of which is a vigorous interpretation of the Hungarian Czardas. The second act, in the Doctor’s workshop, is full of humour and gaiety. It is here that Riabouchinska, who took the part of Swanilda, shows her remarkable versatility. In dancing, she was a miracle of grace; in mime she displayed a rare sense of comedy drama and allure. Tchernicheva made a glamorous Francesca in the dramatic “ Francesa di Rimini,” and Rostoff and Petroff, as the brothers who fought over her, put fire and passion into their parts. The decorative “ Pavane,” which is like an animated oil painting ,completed the programme.