Review of John Neumeier’s dramatic masterpiece The Lady of the Camellias, performed and broadcast from the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, to select cinemas nationwide, presented by Fathom Events, BY Experience and Pathé Live

Review by: Jerry Nordquist

Once again, the Bolshoi Ballet has shown that it has mastered the art of HD Live performance like no one else in the World with a stunning  production of John Neumeier’s  The Lady of the Camellias.  How did the Bolshoi do it?

Well, they started by bringing in Neumeier  himself to choreograph, stage and light the production that he first created for the Stuttgart Ballet in 1978.  They added sets and costumes by Jurgen Rose, music from Chopin — also from the first production — and the ballet dancers and the orchestra from the Bolshoi.  Neumeier put this together to tell a compelling story of lust love and death.  The story, after a novel by Alexander Dumas, has been told over and over in plays, operas and movies.  Most of which I have found to be dull or dumb or both.  How does Neumeier do it?  How does he make this old story come alive?

Great acting by the large cast of dancers complements the thrilling contemporary/classical dance movement that is Neumeier’s signature.  The dancers stay in character, they become the character.  This particularly true when you see Svetlana Zakharova become Marguerite, an older, bored, courtesan.  Even better, for me, was Edvin Revazov as Armand.  He comes on as young, shy, hunk.  It is no wonder she is interested.  When things heat up, they dance some of the most difficult lifts I have ever seen.  They do it with ease, and they do it romantically, and they stay in character until the tragic end.

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www.fathomevents.com

Fathom Events, BY Experience and Pathé Live are delighted to bring John Neumeier’s dramatic masterpiece The Lady of the Camellias, performed and broadcast from the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, to select cinemas nationwide on Sunday, December 6.

“Neumeier’s character-rich ballet has found a company that is equal to its challenges” – Financial Times

A young bourgeois, Armand Duval, falls madly in love with Marguerite Gautier, a gorgeous courtesan celebrated by the Parisian high society. Despite her infidelity, Armand will do all he can to win the beautiful woman’s heart and convince her to leave her indulgent life. The Bolshoi breathes new life into John Neumeier’s tragic masterpiece, inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ novel and accompanied by Chopin’s exquisite score. This production assumes a new emotional and dramatic texture that only the Bolshoi’s dancers can deliver.