Reviews

Irish Times writers review The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Tim Hugh (cello), Polish National RSO/Gabriel Chmura at the Mahony Hall, The Helix and Blondie at Vicar Street.

The Sleeping Beauty

at  Mahony Hall, The Helix

Sunday's stormy weather delayed the ferry carrying the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra to Ireland. So their concert at the Helix Centre started some 75 minutes after the advertised time of 7.30 p.m., without any time for them to become familiar with the venue.
St Petersburg Ballet is a young company, only eight years old, but it draws on traditions much older than that. The Sleeping Beauty was premièred at the Maryinsky Theatre in St Petersburg in 1890 and the production presented at the O'Mahony Hall in The Helix on Monday night reflected that influence. When the Danish choreographer August Bournonville visited St Petersburg he stated: "I could not discover action, dramatic interest, logical continuity, something that even remotely reminds one of common sense".

The Sleeping Beauty has troubled many choreographers because of a lack of common sense. Balanchine, for example, questioned whether Sleeping Beauty's Prince Florimund, unlike Swan Lake's Prince Siegfried, deserves the princess, since the briar thickets surrounding passively sleeping Aurora is no dangerous Magic Fire. The key to the ballet's success probably lies in St Petersburg itself: Balanchine described the Maryinsky production not as a drama but a "long, lyrical poem in varied metres".

The St Petersburg Ballet spin out this poem, lingering on dances such as the pas de deux in Act 2 and then taking us quickly through the good versus evil conflict to get to the divertissements in the Wedding Scene in Act 3. This emphasis on dancing is well worth it as there are strong performances from the entire cast. Irna Kolesnikova embodies the role of Aurora almost perfectly, and was articulate and fluid throughout the night. With assured partnering by Yuri Glukhihk (Prince Florimund) in Act 2 and 3, she effortlessly commanded the difficult role. There were also notably polished performances from Andrei Stelmakhov as the Bluebird and Anna Podlesnaia as Princess Florina.

With opulent costumes by Galina Solovieva, it all oozes not just tradition, but idealism. This can take the form of good defeating evil with simply the presence of a good prince and a withered rose. But with the entire production committed to that idealism and with the excellent dancing and stylish playing by the orchestra under conductor Alexandre Kantarov, it is as close to the original as you are probably going to get.

Review by Michael Seaver

Swan Lake,

at Mahony Hall, The Helix

The second offering from the young St Petersburg Ballet Theatre displayed the same respect for tradition evident in their Sleeping Beauty. In Swan Lake the company are offered a dramatic breadth, particularly the two principals Irina Kolesnikova and Yuri Glukhikh, who performed with complete understanding of character and form.

Here their characters are more fleshed out. Odette is Queen of the Swans, a beautiful bird, except for the brief time between midnight and dawn when the sorcerer allows here to become a beautiful woman. Kolesnikova captures the essence of this character that seems immediately pathetic, but also shows dignity and courage. Her dancing as the Black Swan in Act 3 is also accurate, full of pride and arrogance as she earns the infatuation of Prince Siegfried.

Technically the pair's dancing is almost faultless, but every movement has dramatic purpose and mime gestures are included in one seamless movement. The Black Swan pas de deux appears in almost every ballet company's divertissement programme, but here, not only did we see perfectly executed partnering, but latent dramatic tension. At the end, when Siegfried kneels before her and she peers down at him from a high arabesque, the conquering seduction is complete.

Similarly the dance of the four cygnets is full-blooded and although perfectly co-ordinated still manages to portray awkwardness and childishness. Dmitri Chevtsov as the Jester and the pas de trios by Andrei Yakhnuk, Tatyana Ivanova and Anna Podlesnaya are also impressive, but it is difficult to find fault throughout the entire company. The shallow stage in the Helix meant that some scenes, with up to 20 dancers on stage, seemed crowded and led to the inevitable small steps and careful tempi from conductor Alexandr Kantorov and the orchestra . But in Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty the company are presenting works closest to the training that most of them have received at the Vaganova Academy.

Review by Michael Seaver

Tim Hugh (cello), Polish National RSO/Gabriel Chmura

at Mahony Hall, The Helix

Three Pieces in the Old Style, Henryk Górecki Cello Concerto, Elgar Symphony No 1 - Brahms

From the first seconds of the opening work, Górecki's Three Pieces in the Old Style for strings, and throughout the concert, this stood out. One can hear many front-rank or second-rank orchestras which produce a more homogeneous, tidy sound; but that did not seem a weakness. The strength of the PNRSO's playing lay in its character, in fullness of tone whatever the volume, and in extraordinary rhythmic tension. In some respects this was an unsubtle concert. The orchestra's conductor and artistic director, Gabriel Chmura, knows how to shape things over a long span in a purposeful, musicianly way. But things tended to be done in the most vivid, strongly-etched terms. The outer movements of Brahms's Symphony No. 1 were extraordinarily forceful; and even in the inner movements, a high-adrenaline charge simmered just beneath the surface.

However, subtlety was a real virtue in Elgar's Cello Concerto. Unlike so many soloists in this work, Tim Hugh never tried to milk it for perpetual intensity. He let phrases run, now powerfully, now intimately; and his willingness to range from strong projection to a pin-dropping whisper was impressive. It was a refreshingly natural approach, which in most respects was nicely matched by orchestra and conductor.

There were occasional problems of orchestral balance, which might well have been resolved if the musicians had had time. But the warm, clear acoustics of the Helix's Mahony Hall gave one plenty of opportunity to relish a characterful, invigorating concert which proved well worth the wait.

Review by Martin Adams

Blondie

at Vicar Street

Welcome once more to 1977, except this time out the protagonists are puffier, older, rounder. Thankfully, it isn't punk rock as portrayed through the eyes of a dated late 1970s television show, but punk rock as played by people who clearly still have the passion, the will and the wherewithal.

Blondie? In a nutshell, they were the runts of the 1976 NYC punk rock litter, a band deemed not as musically proficient or exciting as their peers.

The core remains vocalist Debbie Harry, guitarist Chris Stein and drummer Clem Burke, who each look as if they really wouldn't want to be anywhere else except on stage in front of a capacity audience.

Re-formed since 1998, it's apparent that Debbie Harry's flirtation with jazz (via her stint with The Jazz Passengers) has taken a back seat, as what we hear is mostly culled from the first five years of the band's recorded output.

Surprise number one is how the band treats this early material with such regard and circumspection; there's no messing about or reshaping songs such as Rip Her To Shreds, Call Me, One Way Or Another, Heart Of Glass, Union City Blue, Sunday Girl and Rapture. Surprise number two is the inclusion of almost forgotten but superb tracks such as Detroit 442, Fade Away And Radiate, Accidents Never Happen and Shayla. Surprise number three is the band's New York Punk Rock tribute section, which efficiently covers Television and The Ramones' blasts from the past.

Surprise number four? Well, it has to be Debbie Harry. At 58 next year, she is prime contender for The Irish Times Glamorous Granny Award - Rock Music Category.

In great voice, blowing kisses to the crowd (over here, Debbie, over here!) and looking, quite frankly, gorgeous in her 1977 top and above-knee boots she - and indeed, the rest of the band - proves that comebacks can be credible if you have the smarts.

Review by Tony Clayton-Lea