La Sylphide | His Majesty’s Theatre | Until 2nd June | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
La Sylphide is one of the great traditional ballets, originally performed in 1832 it is one of the most performed ballet works of all time, up there with Swan Lake, Coppélia, Giselle and The Nutcracker.
The West Australian Ballet last staged this production back in 2013 and it makes a welcome return to his Majesty’s Theatre.
The work was originally choreographed by Italian Filippo Taglioni, but when the Danish Royal Ballet wanted to stage the production in 1836 they couldn’t afford the fees demanded by the Paris Opera, so ballet master August Bournonville created his own version, and it is his choreography that has been passed down through generations of dancers.
To ensure the production follows the Bournonville style Dinna Bjørn, one of the world’s leading teachers in the technique worked with the company, and she has returned to Perth for this latest staging.
The story follows Scottish farmer James who sleeps in his armchair the night before his wedding to local girl Effy. He is awoken by a beautiful winged sylphide, a mythological air spirit. He chases the sylph around the house before she flies up his chimney.
The next day the guests gather for the wedding and a fortune teller invites herself to the festivities. She reads the fortunes of the guests at the celebration but tell James the affections of Effy will be stolen by rival suitor Gurn. The sylph returns and declares her love for James, perplexed by the situation James follows the mythical creature into the forest, leaving Effy in tears at the alter.
So begins a adventure in the forest, with love on the line, and evil intentions at play.
The opening night performance was engrossing, the energetic cast delighted the audience with dance that was filled with giant leaps, fast moving action and a healthy dose of fun pantomime.
On opening night Gakuro Matsui delivered an impressive performance as James, while Chihiro Nomura sent hearts aflutter as the sylph. Christian Luck showed us once again how he is a master of comedy dragging it up to play Madge, the witch fortune teller – a performance almost as comical as his turn last year as Captain Hook in Peter Pan.
Adam Alzaim was commanding as Gurn, while Sarah Hepburn delivered a faultless performance as the spurned bride Effy.
The highlight of this show comes in the second half when James follows the sylph into the forest and meets a large company of her sisters. The moment when this large contingent of dancers is white fill the stage is breathtaking.
Over the last few years the WA Ballet has slowly increased the number of dancers in the company, allowing them to stage great works with a full contingent of performers, it’s an epic production – delivered perfectly.
The Scottish themed costumes of kilts and tonnags designed by Lexi De Silva ranged from dark green tartans to royal blue hues, while the Sylph’s appeared in stunning white dresses, and the simple staging from Richard Roberts perfectly created the locations of a grand house and a dreamlike forest without taking away from the spectacle of the dance.
The work is being presenting with a rotation of casts, so different artists take to the stage each night.
Catch La Sylphide at His Majesty’s Theatre until 2nd June.
Graeme Watson, image: Emma Fishwick
