“Of Love and Rage,” Alexei Ratmansky’s ballet story based on an ancient Greek romance novel, is having a “Sleeping Beauty” moment. The film’s premiere took place in California in March 2020, just before the outbreak of the pandemic, when much of the world was forced into a stillness that, in a way, resembled a long, deep sleep. long.
But on Monday, it was as if the spell was lifted when this ballet, ambitious and daring with seductive, full-body dance, had its New York premiere with the American Ballet Theater. In doing so, it also wakes up the company. Last week – the first performances of the Ballet Theater at the Metropolitan Opera House since 2019 – the dancers became trapped in a musty “Don Quixote” play. With “Love and Rage,” they were transformed with a new sense of purpose and promise.
Although the ballet was inspired by “Callirhoe”, an early Greek prose work by Chariton of Aphrodisias (written from the first century BC to the second century AD), the This two-part piece exudes a fresh, air-filled grandeur that dances big without sacrificing positional sophistication, whether a wrist rests in a raised or stooped arm. a sprinter about to take off. There are many stories, perhaps too many – this is not the time to let go program summary – but Ratmansky relies on choreography to do it, not fake acting, overly choreographed.
“Of Love and Rage” is rarely static. When the ghost To be mime, it develops as a rich extension of the body. When the dance is soft and elegant, it extends beyond the fingertips. And when masculinity raged, bodies caught fire and blazed across the stage like a raging, chaotic fire. With pirates, prisoners and war, this ballet is a constantly stirring adventure – like a ballet. “Dangerous Island” or, really, any classic gripping movie — but underneath it all, “Of Love and Rage” is a meditation on love, loss, and forgiveness.
Set primarily in Philip Feeney’s musical arrangement by composer Aram Khachaturian from “Gayané,” a vibrant, vibrant ballet piece, “Of Love and Rage” reflects Ratmansky’s fascination with Greek art in choreographic forms and positions, as well as in Grecian-style light sets and costumes by Jean-Marc Puissant, who transported the ballet from Syracuse, a former Greek city Lap in the South of Italy, to Babylon. Looming in the background is Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who occasionally hangs her head over the back of the stage.
In Ratmansky’s portrait of the ancient world, jealousy leads to impulsive and cruel judgment when a young bride is murdered by her husband. At least that’s how it first appeared. The story, with its parade of characters, can be a bit complicated. (Say yes when reading the book, not only to better follow the plot, but because, violence aside, it’s like a game of twisting ropes.)
At its core, it’s the story of Callirhoe (Catherine Hurlin) – a woman so beautiful that everyone thinks she’s the goddess Aphrodite – and Chaereas (Aran Bell). They meet, they get married. But other men also loved Callirhoe; At first, the three Suitors make a plan to break up the couple. It works, and the effects are devastating.
Young lovers with matching gold bracelets; a copy used to make it look like Callirhoe was cheating on Chaereas. A seething Chaereas burst into Callirhoe’s quarters; when she was brought out, her body was lifeless. (In the novel, he kicked her; Ratmansky and his co-star, Guillaume Gallienne, omitted that detail.)
Chaereas was horrified, and Callirhoe was buried, even though she hadn’t actually died; She had just woken up when a pirate and his men were robbing her grave. They take her away with their spoils, and this is where the ballet, suddenly, turns into a great chase: Chaereas, accompanied by Polycharmus (Andrii Ishchuk), his loyal friend, set out in pursuit of Callirhoe, who was sold to Dionysius (Daniel Camargo), a noble and widower. This is Callirhoe’s fate, over and over: A man gives her one look and explodes! He is in love.
After she found out she was pregnant – by Chaereas – Callirhoe decided to marry Dionysius to keep the baby safe. Meanwhile, while searching for Callirhoe, Chaereas and Polycharmus are captured and taken to the palace of Mithridates (Jarod Curley, a member of the ballet company searching for a wounded Cory Stearns), who also loves Callirhoe and fights fight it with Dionysius. The king of Babylon was called to rule. But then who shows up? Chaereas, of course.
If Bell, with his manly looks and Curley, is sharp and authoritative, then the great Camargo – commanding, heroic, gentle, sad with a fate almost worthy of a sequel. But Hurlin as Callirhoe is divine, showing us how she’s grown from a pretty girl into a woman who realizes her misery: the kind of beauty that makes men, all men, want to possess possessed her like a glittering object.
Will the other Callirhoes measure? (There are many faces.) The simple elegance of Hurlin’s face, framed by layered curls, is as striking, as is the bold range of her unique, expressive dance. She danced with the lightness of a cat in Bell’s arms; The breadth of her sculpturally soft upper, especially the times when she spreads her arms like flowers, doesn’t allow for awkward moments or the stage to be overly embellished.
She To be Callirhoe – beautiful, yes, but also grimacing, intelligent, and exasperated by the way her life is unfolding before her eyes. Hurlin brings spontaneity to an unnatural role.
After winning a war, Chaereas – the scene of his battle with Dionysius, set to energize Khachaturian “Saber Dance,” is a horror film about choreography and textures – finding its way back to her. His remorse was almost unrelenting. When they rekindle their relationship, it starts off hesitantly, but Ratmansky gradually relives their initial passionate dance moments when their love was pure and simple. Twisting their wrists, their sparkling bracelets flickering together and then apart, their bond palpable. And the strangest thing happened to Hurlin’s face and body: Tension melted away and her dewy radiance was restored.
“Of Love and Rage” shows that while jealousy can infect a relationship, it does not always destroy it. Ratmansky, who was born in Russia and raised in Kyiv, has been devastated by war in Ukraine. In an interview with The New York Times, he say that the ballet “certainly isn’t me at the moment.”
However, in “Of Love and Rage,” created before the horrors began, Ratmansky also seems to be considering today’s world. It comes from a word in the title of the ballet: Rage. Its toxicity, its pervasiveness and indignation, is another plague of our times. But in Ratmansky’s adventures, rage is not victory. Forgiveness and redemption. And love.
Love and Rage
