Khachaturian: Spartacus (Bolshoi Ballet) [Blu-ray]

Khachaturian: Spartacus (Bolshoi Ballet) [Blu-ray] Review

4.5 from 5

In recent years Yuri Grigorovich's 1968 "Spartacus" had become something of a problem child in the Bolshoi Ballet's repertory. Ever since Irek Mukhamedov stopped dancing the title role, they had a hard time finding somebody to tackle it in a satisfactory way. With guest star Carlos Acosta they finally did.

Cuban-born Carlos Acosta learned the role in 2007 with legendary Spartacus interpreter Mikhail Lavrovsky and danced it to great success in Moscow before he conquered the London Coliseum as well as the Palais Garnier in Paris (where this film was shot) with it. By the dynamism of his dancing Acosta gives the ballet its vitality back, by the sincerity of his acting he invests the character with a meaning again, and by his technical brilliance he upgrades Grigorovich's choreography. It's been some time since we saw a Spartacus so full of anger and hatred, putting his whole being into his leap for freedom. Although differently, Acosta gives sense to the choreography just as much as it first interpreters did. "Spartacus" has long since ceased to be the Soviet propaganda piece it once could be taken for and although its interpreters continue to move on this same outsized, superhuman scale, an artist like Acosta remains above all a very human Spartacus with whom we, today, anywhere in the world, can completely associate with. As a performance it is utterly exciting as well as profoundly moving, and it's great to have it preserved on video.

"Spartacus" isn't completely saved, though, because Alexander Volchkov's Crassus remains far too meek and gentle to portray the unbalanced Roman despot who mercilessly crushes the rebels. On the other hand, the female leads of Phrygia and Aegina are still in safe hands with the current crop of Bolshoi ballerinas. The petite Nina Kaptsova is an excellent Phrygia, fragile and expressive, while Maria Allash is in her element as Aegina. The Bolshoi company performs for the rest with plenty of energy and conviction.

Filmed live in Paris at the Palais Garnier in January 2008, it's a shame that the Bolshoi's own orchestra wasn't used for this release. Pavel Klinichev conducts the Orchestra Colonne, which lacks conviction and energy and cannot hide its unfamiliarity with Khatchaturian's score.

Directed by Ross MacGibbon and shot by the French Bel Air Media team, close-ups are sparingly used and aren't too distracting. Bonus features include clips of studio rehearsals and interviews with Acosta, his co-stars Kaptsova, Allash and Volchkov, choreographer Yuri Grigorovich, Bolshoi Ballet artistic director Alexei Ratmansky, and the Paris Opera Ballet's Brigitte Lefèvre. Acosta talks about his beginnings in Havana and his personal affinity with the role of the Thracian rebel.

All in all a fine new release. Collectors owning previous versions of the ballet with Vladimir Vasiliev and Irek Mukhamedov, can safely invest in it, as Acosta is a completely different Spartacus and on his own well worth the admission price.

Khachaturian: Spartacus (Bolshoi Ballet) [Blu-ray] Overviews

Following sensational performances in Moscow and London in 2007, the Bolshoi's production was re-staged and filmed in January 2008 in the Paris Opera's Palais Garnier, especially for Carlos Acosta. Carlos Acosta is one of the greatest male dancers of our time and has danced with all the major ballet companies of the world including American Ballet Theatre, Royal Ballet, Houston Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet With an image up to six times sharper than conventional DVD and superior high-definition sound, Blu-Ray lets you watch opera and ballet performances from the front row of the theater. Experience every detail, no matter how small, in the highest quality possible. With five times the memory of standard DVDs, Blu-Ray is a completely new way to experience the theater at home.

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*Product Information Stored: Dec 01, 2009 19:15:07