When it comes to transposing naïve Romantic fairy tales about impossible
love into intricate if not labyrinthine Freudian psychodramas,
no one can beat Milwaukee-born choreographer John Neumeier who has directed the Hamburg Opera Ballet since 1973.
Like many ballet directors, Neumeier has often been tempted to
tamper with the classics and try his hand at a personalized remake.
Whether it be “The Nutcracker,” “Sleeping Beauty,” Giselle or
the Sacre du Printemps, dancemakers from Roland Petit to Andy
Degroat have either spiced things up with satire, reversed the
protagonists’ genders, enhanced the original version with high
tech tricks, or simply used it as a flimsy pretext to stage their
own life story.
To be presented for the first time in Paris at the Châtelet-Théâtre Musical de Paris from February 19 to 27, Neumeier’s 1976 production of “Swan Lake” (Illusions) constitutes
an original and well-researched attempt to connect Tchaikovsky’s
life to his composition, while sticking to some of the original
tale and choreography. Using a cinematographic approach: scene 1 — “reality;” scene 2 — “first memory” (a flashback);
scene 3 — “reality” and so on... he juxtaposes historical fact
with imagination and escape from reality, all as an allusion to
Tchaikovsky’s lifelong inner struggle to repress his homosexuality.
Without being overly narrative, three stories are cleverly intertwined
and three characters, whose destinies and personal traumas run
parallel, seem to blend into one: Tchaikovsky, the legendary Prince
Siegfried and Ludwig II of Bavaria.
The reality sequences relate the story of Ludwig II of Bavaria, the King who went mad and was imprisoned in his own castle after
being bewitched by an alluring shadow and wanting to flee from
an arranged marriage.
The memory scenes retrace the cause of the madness and include
a ballet within the ballet during which Ludwig II attends a performance
of the real “Swan Lake.” This is Neumeier’s chance to prove his
loyalty to tradition and retain some of the brilliant original
footwork. In this act, the King imagines himself to be the mythical Prince Siegfried, the ballet’s original hero, who’s ill-fated love of an unearthly,
idealized swan-princess prompts his death.
Neumeier’s between-the-lines point is that in 1877, the year Tchaikovsky
composed “Swan Lake.” As a front, the composer was coerced into a disastrous marriage that caused him to escape all the more into his music — his sublimated
muse, which in turn led to health problems and his own untimely
death.
Because of the dynamic modes and mood changes in Neumeier’s “Swan
Lake,” and his contemporary handling of yellowing sentimental
19th century material that’s become alien to our Y2K-pragmatic
sensibility, he manages to pull off what could have turned out to be a dense
overplotted plot. As he explained himself during a recent press conference: “What’s
important is to find a way to illustrate the eternal theme of
impossible love with modern means, and ideally, to combine the
original choreography, theme and historical background with what’s
happening today in society.”
“Swan Lake” (Le Lac des Cygnes/Illusions), Feb 19, 21, 22, 24,
25, 26 at 8pm; Feb 20 & 27 at 5pm, Hamburg Opera Ballet (Choreography:
John Neumeier: Music: Piotr Tchaikovsky), Châtelet-Théâtre Musical
de Paris - 1, pl du Châtelet, 1er, M° Châtelet, RER Châtelet-Les
Halles, tel: 01.40.28.28.40.
