Influential Danish Choreography Hits Moscow

Danish choreographer August Bournonville was one of the most influential figures in 19th-century ballet. He was known primarily for creating a style called the Bournonville School within the art form as well as dozens of ballets that captured and reflected his distinctive approach to dance. Nonetheless, with the exception of "La Sylphide," Russian companies rarely perform his ballets, perhaps because they are so closely tied to the Danish national tradition. 

It was high time, then, that a Moscow theater undertook the task of mounting "Napoli," which Bournonville choreographed in 1842 following a visit to Naples -- hence the title. Under its relatively new artistic director, former Bolshoi Theater superstar Sergei Filin, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater's ballet troupe seemed perfectly suited to the job. It did everything possible to ensure that the Russian dancers would provide local audiences with an authentic Bournonville experience, starting with an invitation to Frank Andersen to stage the ballet. 

As the former artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, Andersen is one of the world's foremost experts on Bournonville's style and legacy, and he has an impressive ability to recreate the choreographer's masterpieces on dancers schooled in a different tradition, at least if the current production is any indication. Of course, the fact that the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko's "Napoli" looks much like "Napoli" should look is, in large part, because of Andersen's creative team, which he also brought to Moscow with him. 

The ballet tells the story of the fisherman Gennaro and his betrothed, Teresina. Following a day filled with village festivities, the couple sets off for an evening boat ride, which is interrupted by a violent storm. Gennaro manages to make it back to shore, but Teresina disappears, prompting the young man to go looking for her in the sea. He eventually rescues her from the undersea grotto of the sea god Golfo, who has transformed her into a water nymph. Upon their return, the entire village turns out for a huge wedding celebration.  

In the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko's production, which premiered on March 27, Mikael Melbye's sets beautifully capture the idealistic village settings of the first and third acts -- including the port of Santa Lucia -- as well as the mysterious underwater world of the second. Dairdre Clancy's bright costumes evoke 19th-century Italy as well; perhaps her only mistake was to dress Gennaro in an unattractive pair of striped shorts. The special effects, including the video projections by Wendall Harrington, are impressive -- the storm that breaks out at the end of the first act looks and sounds authentic, and there are two notable costume changes in the second act that happen onstage as if by magic. 

Despite all of these elements, what makes a Bournonville ballet a Bournonville ballet is the specific style of dancing that it is supposed to showcase quicksilver footwork, fluid phrasing, a stable upper body frame and pure lines. The choreography and movements can look deceptively simple at times, but what they hide is an understated energy and buoyancy that is often harder to pull off than it seems. 

The Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko dancers have been well-coached and well-rehearsed in Bournonville basics. Nonetheless, they did not all quite capture the more nuanced elements of the ballet. But that might have been holding them to an impossible standard. Suffice it to say that none of them were disappointing. 

Olga Sizykh, a lovely, expressive dancer with excellent technique, starred in the role of Teresina during the ballet's opening night. Her dancing had an understated elegance to it, mixed in with a bit of mischievous spontaneity that worked quite well in "Napoli." Georgi Smilevski, who danced the male lead, was more visibly out of his element. His leaps and turns were powerful, but they did not have the lightness, the quickness or the ease that Bournonville demands. His acting, which is so important to a number of the scenes in the beginning of the ballet, was a bit wooden and stilted at times. 

In the role of the sea god Golfo, Dmitry Romanenko did not have to do much actual dancing, but he had a powerful stage presence that commanded attention during the entire second act. Other standouts in the ballet were Boris Myasnikov and Dmitry Petrov, the men who joined the lead couple for the third act variations, supplying some of the much-needed trademark Bournonville buoyancy in their leaps and precision in their footwork. 

"Napoli" (Neapol) next plays April 27 at 7 p.m. at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater, located at 17 Bolshaya Dmitrovka. Metro Pushkinskaya, Chekhovskaya. Tel. 629-2835. www.stanmus.ru.