Australia Dancing - Bayadere, La

Bayadere, La

McFarlane, Jim: Darcey Bussell and Damien Welch as Nikiya and Solor in 'La Bayadere', the Australian Ballet, 1998

La Bayadere (The Temple Dancer) premiered at the Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg on 4 February 1877. It heralded choreographer Marius Petipa's trademark fusion of European Romanticism, evident in the exotic setting and supernatural elements, with Tsarist Russian classical style. Petipa set the ballet in four acts to music by Ludwig Minkus.

Audiences outside Russia were not introduced to the work until 1961 when the Kirov Ballet performed an excerpt at the Palais Garnier, Paris. Rudolf Nureyev made his Western debut in the role of Solor in this season, during which he famously defected from the Soviet Union. The scene performed, 'The Kingdom of the Shades' from the second act, depicts the opium inspired vision of the warrior Solor. It is now frequently presented independently by companies throughout the world. The first full-length staging of the ballet outside Russia was by Natalia Makarova for America Ballet Theatre in 1980. Her production had its roots in the revival for the Kirov Ballet by Vakhtang Chabukiani and Vladimir Ponomarev in 1941, and she reconstructed Petipa's final apocalyptic act that had disappeared from the Kirov version when the scenery was destroyed during the Russian Revolution.

Australian audiences were introduced to La Bayadere when the Leningrad Kirov Ballet performed 'The Kingdom of the Shades' in 1973. This excerpt was then staged for the Australian Ballet in 1987 by the Rumanian ballerina Magdalena Popa who was ballet mistress of the National Ballet of Canada at the time. The music for this production was arranged by John Lanchbery, and lighting was by William Akers. At the premiere, Christine Walsh danced the role of Nikiya, David Ashmole as Solor, and Elizabeth Toohey, Sian Stokes and Ulrike Lytton as the Shadows. 'The Kingdom of the Shades' has remained in the company's repertoire, most recently being staged as part of the 'White' program in 2005.

The first full-length staging of La Bayadere in Australia was presented by the Bolshoi Ballet in 1994. In 1998 the Australian Ballet invited Natalia Makarova to stage her latest production for the company. The set, costume and lighting design for this production (by PierLuigi Samaritani, Theoni V Aldredge and Brad Fields) were all courtesy of the American Ballet Theatre, and the musical arrangement of the Minkus score was by John Lanchbery. On opening night at the State Theatre on 20 February 1998, Nikiya was danced by Nicole Rhodes, Solor by Li Cunxin, Gamzatti by Miranda Coney and the Bronze Idol by David McAllister. Royal Ballet principal Darcey Bussell appeared as a guest in some performances dancing Nikiya during this Melbourne season.

Rudolf Nureyev produced La Bayadere for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1992. This was his last choreographic work for the company, with its premiere just four months before his death. Nureyev's production was performed by the Paris Opera Ballet in Brisbane in 2009.

Research Materials

Picture

Other resources

Find more about Bayadere, La in:

Internet - Google
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
Pictures - Picture Australia