Sets

Sets of La Esmeralda Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Sets of La Esmeralda Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

For the most parts you don’t really notice the sets in this Ballet, mainly because so much of the attention is focused on the dancing, as it should be. If you do happen to  look at the sets you would see they are quite lovely.

The only set that is noticeable  would be  drop cloths that are used as transitions. They usually appear when characters are crossing the stage so there is little dancing taking part. The designs on the cloth is typically maps and   they have a nice cross hatching on them that make them feel like antique book illustrations. The concept of a basic though nicely done dropcloth does seem a little on the amateurish side but it does help set a tone.

The other sets are very well detailed and are more representational opposed to symbolic of Paris and Notre Dame. Meaning it looks like Notre Dame  instead of  columns and a gargoyle like  in Notre Dame de Paris. Neither approach is wrong just a style choice. Also Notre Dame is for most always seen in the distance. Always omnipresent. The realistic sets are also a good counter to the symbolist representation of the story through dance.

 

Lighting

Lighting of La Esmeralda Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Lighting of La Esmeralda Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

This is one of the strongest aspects on the show. It always convey the right mood and drama for the scene. The best use of lightening is during Frollo’s meltdown with  dancers bathed in red contrasted in cold blue of Frollo. Also the Pas de deux between Quasimodo and Esmeralda at the end in a wash of blue added to the tragic ending.

 

Music

Conductor of La Esmeralda Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Conductor of La Esmeralda Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

Not as crazy about the music. It sounded like it was trying to be the Dance of the Hours even though Ponchielli composed Dance of the Hours in 1876 and Pugni composed La Esmeralda in 1844. I don’t know much about 19th century music but the music didn’t to move me.  It wasn’t bad or incompetent by means. If you like the music that’s great but I do not. I  could just have unrefined tastes in music. 

Frollo and Esmeralda, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Frollo & Esmeralda, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

This iteration of Frollo is pretty by the book except for the lack of backstory and alchemy. He doesn’t have a brother but since the ballet doesn’t go in Frollo’s motivates for looking after Quasimodo there is a little point to Jehan as character. Not complaining, never liked Jehan.

Frollo and Esmeralda, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Frollo & Esmeralda, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

This Frollo is a priest and hangs out with Quasimodo. This Frollo does all the classic thing you would expect from a fairy straightforward Book, like obsesses over Esmeralda but feel tortured over the lack of control and then gets pulled down into committing terrible action against her and Phoebus.

Frollo, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Frollo, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

I’d say it was pretty standard although half the time Frollo is a creepy villain instead of creepy villain who was good yet stern guy who tried but couldn’t beat his own chemical impulses when he saw a really pretty girl. I’m trivializing Frollo’s internal struggles but even with the limitations of a ballet this version does get the point of Frollo across.

Esmeralda & Phoebus, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Esmeralda & Phoebus, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

Ballets unlike movie have to convey all the story element through only motions and  gestures. This makes ballets more like a silent movie without the intertext panels. For the most La Esmeralda does tell the basic story of The Hunchback of Notre Dame/Notre Dame de Paris however it does have some weird differences that don’t really impact the narrative but should be mentioned.

Esmeralda begging Phoebus o spare Quasimodo, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Esmeralda begging Phoebus o spare Quasimodo, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

There is no pillory scene and so Quasimodo is never punished for Frollo’s crimes. He does nearly get arrested and Esmeralda begs for his release. This takes the place of the pillory scene as it’s the kindness of Esmeralda he falls in love with. Is it as impactful? No but it’s gets the job done.

 Quasimodo as The Pope of Fools, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Quasimodo as The Pope of Fools, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

Quasimodo is crowned the Pope of Fools nearly halfway through the performance. Not sure why they bothered moving this scene so late in the show. Would have been better easier as at this point the division of Quasimodo and Frollo have already started and this felt tacked on and unnecessary. Sure it’s a very important scene in the story but to place it after Quasimodo expresses a love and loyalty for someone other than Frollo shows a misunderstanding of the characters.

Frollo and Esmeralda, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Frollo & Esmeralda, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

Another weird odd change is the movement of the Red Door scene. I didn’t even recognize it as the Red Door scene, or the scene where Frollo tries to force himself on Esmeralda during her sanctuary in Notre Dame, I thought it was an additional scene for the Ballet and I JUST figured it out was the Red Door scene. It’s a bizarre placement as it occurs right after Frollo tries to abduct Esmeralda and she returns to her  dwelling. Frollo hasn’t even stab Phoebus yet, his torture, lust and lack of self control hasn’t gotten to this point yet.  It comes off like an old cartoon from the 1930’s where the villain chases an innocent maiden around a room till the hero bursts in and Quasimodo does bursts in saves Esmeralda.  Don’t misconstrues this, the choreography is lovely but it shows that the people who originally did this Ballet lack an understanding of the characters, mostly Frollo and Quasimodo.       

Artemis & Apollo(?), Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Artemis & Apollo(?), Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

One thing that was really annoying about the ballet is the padding out it does especially with Fleur de Lys’ party scenes. There is one scene where Fleur de Lys is have a performance done  of Artemis and maybe Apollo. I can only guess at Apollo because it would be a clever call back to Phoebus. Performances in performances are intriguing as it makes the audience part of the performance but here it just dragged things on. It could be for a practical purpose of allowing the principal dancers a ten minute breather but again I do not know the ins and outs of ballet. As beautiful as the performance of the myth was it interrupted the flow of the story.  

Esmeralda & Quasimodo, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Esmeralda & Quasimodo, La Esmeralda, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

For most people these changes are not going to impact their overall enjoyment of the ballet as it does capture the emotional impact of the story but the seemingly minor changes does suggest that someone in charge at some point didn’t have a great working knowledge of the finer points of the characters and the story. 

(Note- Not all the ballet version of La Esmeralda depict the story like this.)

Carlotta Grisi and Jules Perrot, La Esmeralda picture image

Carlotta Grisi and Jules Perrot, La Esmeralda

Well break is over, I can’t hold off anymore on not reviewing another Hunchback version. So here we are instead of some stupid annoying dumb knock-off Disney animation waste of time that makes me dumber as I watch it over and over instead we’re going a classy upscale version of Hunchback, a Ballet. Even though if you have seen The Forsythe Saga, Ballets aren’t cliche as opera because it’s young women dancing. I digress in today society Ballet is more an upscale art form and it something I know nothing about. The closest thing I got to a dance class was tap dance and I got run out the class by the mean students and the incompetent teachers.

Let’s just start with some basics. The ballet is called  La Esmeralda  and it’s done in three acts and five scene. It was originally choreographed by Jules Perrot to music by Cesare Pugni, with sets by William Grieve and costumes by Mme. Copère. It was first presented by the Ballet of her Majesty’s Theatre, London on 9 March 1844, with Carlotta Grisi as Esmeralda, Jules Perrot as Gringoire, Arthur Saint-Leon as Phoebus, Adelaide Frassi as Fleur de Lys, and Antoine Louis Coulon as Quasimodo.

Alexandra Timofeeva as Esmeralda, La Esmeralda Bellet, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow picture image

Alexandra Timofeeva as Esmeralda, La Esmeralda Bellet, Kremlin Ballet Company, Moscow

The first time it was performed in America was in New Jersey in 2004. Most Western ballet companies only perform two Esmeralda-related pieces—La Esmeralda pas de deux and La Esmeralda pas de six—and the Diane and Actéon Pas de Deux, which is actually not excerpted from the ballet, but often mistakenly credited as having been added by Marius Petipa to his 1886 revival of La Esmeralda. So it’s not a very common ballet to American but you do seem the part performed for like ballet competition. It’s a good allegory of Hunchback a piece work that is superficially  known by the general public but the story isn’t understood.

 

The version we’ll look at and review is by the Kremlin Ballet Company of Moscow. Alexandra Timofeeva plays as  Esmeralda. While I could be wrong this production was done in April 2016. Though there were performs in 2014, so it could something they perform periodically. 

I feel very much out of my  depth with this one.

So Notre Dame de Paris will return to Crocus City Hall November  2013. Performances will be on the 8th, 9th, 10th, 15th, 16th and the 17th.  There will be two performance a day. It will be in French. No word so far on casting (as far as I could find).

Source – http://www.crocus-hall.ru/en/events/notre_dame_15_2013

Source – http://shachnev.com/en/

Source – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fOLXixunAE

Source –  http://www.notre-damedeparis.ru/index.php/component/content/article/2-newsheader/85-notre-damereturninmoscow.html

The performances of this seems to have been canceled.

 

There will also be A Victor Hugo Musical Gala Concert in Seoul on May 24 through 27th. Notre Dame de Paris Alumni  Matt Laurent, Nadia Bel, Richard Charest, Robert Marien and Bruno Pelletier will be performing.

Source – http://www.mattlaurent.ca/

Source – http://www.brunopelletier.com/calendrier/concerts/liste.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfIyr03BM94

So these concerts have been in happening in Kiev, Moscow, and St Petersburg for the past 3 years. They have only happen outside these cities twice, in Paris and Beirut.  And while is this great, I think it’s unfair they keep occurring in mostly the same three cities. I know it comes down to the person organizing and to get it other locationa mean someone has to make it happen. But still Notre Dame de Paris seem to be popular world-wide and it’s unfair to the fan who can’t make it to those locations. I hope there more concerts in other places,  hopefully in either Montreal or New York City (both are “close” to me ^_~).

But where would like you to see the Notre Dame de Paris Concert Tour?

Still from the Crocus City performances in Moscow.