Altynai Asylmuratova
and Roland Petit, a new Swan Lake, the Kirov Ballet

	Read the Synopsis & Credits

MARSEILLE, France - By any measure, March 23, 1998 was a special day for the Ballet National de Marseille.

In the Amphithéâtre du Centre des Congrès, Parc Chanot, it was opening night of Le Lac des Cygnes et Ses Maléfices (Swan Lake and Its Evil Spells), a new version of the world's most famous ballet, Swan Lake, conceived and choreographed by Roland Petit.

Le Lac des Cygnes et Ses Maléfices also marked the farewell of Roland Petit to the company that he has successfully directed for more than a quarter of a century. His energy and talent have made Marseille into an important center for ballet in Europe.

Petit’s farewell work is extra special, because it was created for one of the truly great ballerinas of our time, Altynai Asylmuratova.

For three consecutive seasons since 1995, Ms. Asylmuratova has been a contracted guest artist with the Marseille company. I had the pleasure of seeing the ballerina twice in the new production, though I was unaware that I may have attended her final performances in Marseilles.

After the new ballet’s week-long run, Ms. Asylmuratova devoted some of her time to speak to me about the new Swan Lake, about her work and relationship with Roland Petit, and about the Kirov Ballet.

MANY, MANY SWAN LAKES

"Swan Lake is really a special ballet for me," she begins. "It was my first ballet at the Kirov, and I have danced Swan Lake... I don’t know how many times. Not just the Kirov version, but also different productions: in London, in Germany, with American Ballet Theatre... Misha Baryshnikov’s production. But every time it was basically the same. There were some small differences, but the basic idea was the same.

"[Petit’s] version is absolutely different. It’s not a classical ballet. The story is different... the style also. For me it’s very interesting to do something like this. I love classical ballet, but I need something new. It was an interesting experience."

MALE SWANS

And absolutely different it is. Most remarkable is that Ms. Asylmuratova does not dance the Swan. This part is danced by a man (Massimo Murru), and the ballerina is simply called "Elle," or in English, "She." Her role is comparable to that of the Prince in the original story.

"Roland Petit takes the story, but he puts everybody in a different place," Ms. Asylmuratova explains.

"For once, Altynai has swapped her white tutu, her crown and her pointe shoes to interpret a contemporary choreography which fits her like a glove," comments Roland Petit in the program book.

The swans are all male, and a comparison with Matthew Bourne’s adaptation for Adventures in Motion Pictures naturally comes to mind. Yet, unlike Bourne, who styled an updated version of the ballet, Petit’s latest creation is more like a fantasy inspired by Swan Lake.

Anybody familiar with the original story will easily find points of recognition. (For example: a human being, victim of an evil spell, is turned into a swan; there is the love story, with the continuous confrontation between good and evil, white and black; every act contains a pas de deux.) However, more often Petit leads the audience through unknown waters. He mainly tells a tragic, though intriguing story of unrequited love, and unfulfillment which results in obsession, madness and death.

It is not a pleasant trip that Petit offers, yet his Swan Lake does wonderfully fit Tchaikovsky’s music.

(click for larger version)
© 1998 Marc Haegeman

NOT ON POINTE

This new Swan Lake is danced entirely without pointe shoes.

Ms. Asylmuratova: "Actually, it was I who decided to dance it that way. We spoke about that. Roland was not sure at the beginning, and he asked me if I wanted to dance with or without pointe shoes.

"I have danced many different productions, and sometimes they weren’t so good, because the original is always better than the copy. I think that if you want to do something like Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty, it’s better that you do it completely differently."

MUSICAL STYLE

The famous music by Tchaikovsky is preserved, though not without some notable adaptations by Rumanian-French conductor and composer Edgar Cosma. He uses four musicians on the stage (piano, cello, double bass and harp) together with a taped orchestra.

In some of the music Cosma switches high and low registers, thus creating unusual, grotesque effects which add to the atmosphere of decadence. In one instance the familiar violin melodies in the pas de deux are played by the double bass.

PETIT RESIGNS

During the week that the new Swan Lake was on stage in Marseille, earlier reports that Roland

had resigned from the company were confirmed. It was announced that Petit's successor had been found — Marie-Claude Pietragalla, étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet.

For Ms. Asylmuratova the departure of Roland Petit is a sad and troublesome event:

"It was my third season with this company. I respect Roland because he has talent, and we don’t have many talented choreographers in the world now. I respect him very much, and I don’t like this situation. Maybe he is not so easy, but he has talent and he did everything for the ballet in Marseille. He also opened a studio, a school. He has been there for 26 years. That’s a lifetime."

ASYLMURATOVA & PETIT

Ms. Asylmuratova remembers with fondness her collaboration with Roland Petit:

"Yes, I like him, and I am happy, because my generation, especially at the Kirov, didn't have the chance to work with different choreographers like in the past. Before me the young Yuri Grigorovich created a lot of very good ballets especially for the Kirov... and there was Leonid Jacobson. But my generation didn’t have these opportunities. That’s very sad and very bad.

"It’s very important to work with choreographers. If you want to be good in classical ballet, it is necessary to try different things. That’s why I am so happy I had the chance to work with Roland. He is an interesting man, not only to work with, but also to speak with. He is a very important person."

After seeing her performances in Petit’s Swan Lake, it is very clear that Ms. Asylmuratova adapted herself marvelously to the basically different vocabulary of his choreography. It is further proof of her versatility as a dancer.

Her usual enthusiasm is enhanced by an obvious joy in exploring the possibilities offered by a different style and alternative ways of expression. One can only regret that the Merry Widow project, a creation Petit had in mind for her, remains unfinished because of conflicts over musical rights.

Clearly, the resignation of Roland Petit severely dims the hope of future guest appearances by Ms. Asylmuratova in Marseille.

"I was in Marseille," she says unequivocally, "just for him. If he’s not there, it’s not interesting for me. Maybe we’ll work with Roland elsewhere. I don’t know."

(click for larger version)
© 1998 Marc Haegeman

PETIT AND THE KIROV

For the moment the collaboration with Roland Petit is resumed at the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

In 1978 the Kirov mounted Petit’s Notre-Dame de Paris, dating from 1965. This year, at the end of April, other productions are scheduled.

"This time it will be Carmen and Le Jeune Homme et la Mort," Ms. Asylmuratova says. "After that, next year, we would like to have something special for our company. For us and for him it’s more interesting to do something new."

COMMENTS ON THE KIROV

When the Kirov was mentioned, the subject of the new generation of dancers in the company came up.

Ms. Asylmuratova speaks with admiration of Svetlana Zakharova, the young dancer who has made an good impression in the West during her touring appearances.

"I like her very much and I think she has a good future. She has a wonderful physique. Of course, we have a lot of good girls now, but Zakharova is absolutely different. She is a lyrical dancer."

However, despite her enthusiasm, Ms Asylmuratova talks about some of her concerns for the Kirov that she has expressed in the past. For one thing, the rapid rise to stardom of the newest generation of dancers without the living example of experienced artists is worrying.

"I was in the corps de ballet, and I didn't jump like everybody now from school immediately to ballerina. This is good and not good at the same time. Sometimes you are not ready mentally. It takes time. But yes, now it's a different life. Everything happens so quickly.

"Today in the Kirov there is a new generation, and there is no one between the old and new. When I started, I saw many different ballerinas. It was a slow process, it was tradition, it went slowly. Now everything changes."

ASYLMURATOVA’S FUTURE

Ms Asylmuratova expresses determination when asked about her future plans.

"I know one thing. I don’t want to dance a very long time. We’ll see how long I still can dance in a good form. After that I want to work with a young dancer, a young ballerina. I have worked with different companies and have gained a lot of experience. I want to give everything I know to a new generation."

The young dancers who may one day be coached by Ms. Asylmuratova are certainly fortunate. For the moment, however, let's hope that this exceptional ballerina will be able to dance in good form for a long time to come.

—Marc Haegeman