Word: baryshnikov
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...flight of ten R.A.F. Red Arrows jets streaked across the sky in a perfect E, for Elizabeth, formation. Tenor Luciano Pavarotti warbled Happy Birthday over champagne at a cozy luncheon. At Covent Garden, Dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov leaped through the air in a new ballet created in her honor. Bonfires glowed on the Kent and Sussex coasts. Cannon boomed from the Tower of London...
This is not a gambol for just any dancers. The work is dominated by Mikhail Baryshnikov, who is appearing as a guest artist. Ashton has created unexampled leaps and spins (and combinations of the two), as if he saw in Baryshnikov the spirit of Paganini, who raised violin virtuosity to a demonic level, and of Rachmaninoff, who did much the same for the piano. The charm of the work is that it never becomes the visual equivalent of piano busting, a mere showcase...
...Baryshnikov appears first, dressed in gold, before a simple colonnade. He dances the theme and is then joined by his friends, six girls and six boys, who start to perform harmonious variations. These have a serenity and symmetry that recall court dancing. Baryshnikov's solos-some intricate, others almost blasting in their power-are threaded throughout. Like a young god, he summons up one girl (Lesley Collier) for himself. They dance divertissements that are like games. Baryshnikov is thrown high into the air. He lands, turns and gives the audience a shrug similar to the one Puck gives...
...that masterpiece of innocence, The Sleeping Beauty: Collier might be Princess Aurora as she appears in the vision scene. Mostly, though, the ballet stays close to the music and its own fresh nature. That makes the gaudy, tacky costumes, designed by William Chappell, all the harder to understand. Baryshnikov has a golden garter and a necklace. The other men have little glitters sewn onto their tights. The women look less camped up, but they do wear quantities of rhinestones. The kindest conclusion is that it was all intended to convey some imaginary land where, as Yeats said, there are "silver...
...true tribute to Rhapsody is that one does not leave thinking what on earth will they do with it after Baryshnikov has gone? Although no other dancer will be able to execute all his cadenzas of flight, the Royal still has a good addition to its repertory. Rhapsody is valuable for the members of the corps because they must stretch into an expansive, lyrical style while dancing complicated steps. The ballerina part is lightly glamorous, but it requires a whipping allegro technique. Ashton, as usual, has thought of the company as well as the star...