La Sylphide

Image: www.queenslandballet.com.au

Queensland Ballet open their 2015 season with a revival of Peter Schaufuss’s adaptation of August Bournonville’s adaptation of a very early French romantic ballet, La Sylphide. Such is the way of classical ballet, that different choreographers from different centuries and generations can transform works to suit the tastes of different times and cultures.

La Sylphide is a classic example of the best and worst of the genre. Several folkloric elements are extracted from their cultural origins (continental Europe), woven together and situated within a different cultural setting (19th century Scotland) to tell a very silly story in the most beautiful way. James and Effie are engaged, and on the evening that their wedding is to take place James falls madly in love with a Sylph, or tree spirit, who persuades him to follow her to the forest. An old lady, Madge performed by Mary Li, appears at the party and foretells that Effie will marry Gurn, James’s rival, so James throws her out. Her ensuing curse comes true when she and her witch companions create a deadly scarf which James foolishly gives to the Sylph. She drops dead, Effie marries Gurn, then James drops dead.

The slightness of the story is compensated by the exquisite choreography of the group of sylphs, who embody that style of ballet immortalised by the French Impressionist, Edgar Degas. Act One offers swirling tartan kilts in the muted pastels of the Scottish countryside, and Act Two in the forest is rich with the soft green knee length tutus of the sylphs, whose flowing arms and graceful movements constantly transform the stage from one charming image to another.

Schaufuss himself is credited with this production, which uses the set and costume designs created by David Walker for Schaufuss’s original 1979 London Festival Ballet production.  

There is considerable commitment on stage to recreating the style of Bournonville and the imagination of Schaufuss. Certain technical aspects serve to distract the eye and undermine the intention. The Playhouse stage is on the small side for such a grand enterprise, but the corps de ballet keep the background energised and interesting during the solo moments. There is a lack of precision in the corps work, significant because the style depends upon great precision of execution.

Performing on the night as James was Qi Huan, who has a charming, albeit inconsistent presence on stage. Principle dancer Yanela Pinera as The Sylphide is beautiful to watch, but I missed any real connection between the two supposed lovers. Gurn and Effie bring moments of genuine passion to the mismatched love trio. Mary Li as Madge is exceptional. Every moment, every movement reveals her nature, her motives and her intentions, and she is a delight to watch.

Finally, mention must be made of the strange placement of the kilt pins, which warps the line of the garments and hence distracts from the clarity of movement when the men are in motion. And no self respecting Scot would keep a purse behind his sporran. The sporran IS the purse. This may seem petty, but actually such lack of attention to detail is emblematic of the whole production, which aims high but fall short .