THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
PRODUCER: CTCB artistic staff
CAST: Members of CTCB
VENUE: Artscape Opera House
UNTIL: August 18
RATING: ****
A synthesis of spectacle, romance, fantasy, Petipa’s classical choreography and Tchaikovsky’s lyrical score… no wonder The Sleeping Beauty has a hallowed place in the ballet repertoire.
This production from Cape Town City Ballet serves the work handsomely, and its visual impact is sufficiently impressive to compensate for occasional inadequacies in the calibre of ensemble dancing and secondary pas de deux and pas de trois.
The key to its success is the leading partnership of Laura Bosenberg and Thomas Thorne, particularly the former: as the eponymous heroine, Bosenberg not only dominates the stage, she also achieves that tour de force of combining youthful radiance with seasoned proficiency – and her well-established partnership with Thorne grows more authoritative with successive performances.
Thorne excels in princely roles, and since that of Florimund demands more technical than dramatic ability, he is in his element, showing to best advantage in the extended solo of act three, while his pas de deux with Bosenberg in the finalé confirms his partnering skills and discipline. The pair have a complementary elegance of line which enhances their aesthetic appeal.
The third major role of The Sleeping Beauty, that of the Lilac Fairy, was filled on opening night by Angela Hansford, who brings the requisite assurance to a persona amounting to a deus ex machina, neutralising evil, promoting virtue and blessing the union of the young royals.
From her grand entry in act one to her final airborne pose in act four, she sustains the dominance attendant on the role. Her sound technique and confident portrayal underpin the sterling leads pro- vided by Bosenberg and Thorne, and in well-matched partnership with Daniel Szybkowski she shows that her strength is not confined to solo performance.
Carabosse, impersonated by Johnny Bovang, gleams with malice as she casts her spell on the baby princess in act one; her extravagant gestures and the excessive antics of her minions bring this intervention to the level of comedy, perhaps intentionally.
Ensemble work from the corps is suitably rigorous in the opening act, but loses cohesion towards the end of the ballet.
The pas de trois of the finalé on opening night did not come up to expectation, appearing under-rehearsed, but its individual executants offered elegant and eye-pleasing solos in the variations, notably Jane Fidler.
The pas de deux of Red Riding Hood (Cleo Ames) and Xola Putye (Wolf) is more of a comic romp than a dance, and this duo attacked it with gusto.
Ultimately it is the opulence of costume and spectacular tableaux that audiences recall with pleasure when reviewing the merits of CTCB’s latest offering.