Not every story is meant to be a ballet. The Boston Ballet's latest production at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, is a testament to this tried and true fact. The company's "dance-drama" adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic story falls short of the tale's usual goal: imparting on the audience the difficulty of escaping fate. (This despite the word "FATE" dramatically set against a sketch of Paris' Cathedral of Notre Dame at the beginning of the ballet's first act.)
Hugo's tragedy, set in 15th century France, tells the story of the deformed and hideous bell-ringer Quasimodo and his unrequited love for the mystical gypsy dancer Esmerelda. Archdeacon Frollo, Quasimodo's heartless master, is also obsessed with the ethereal Esmerelda. She, on the other hand, falls in love with Captain Phoebus, resulting in inevitable tragedy for everyone involved.
Act I of the ballet opens amidst the Feast of Fools. A crowd of clearly impoverished and less-than-brilliant townspeople has gathered. Rather than listen to the poet Gringoire's play, they choose to engage in a competition for ugliest face. Quasimodo, danced by soloist Reagan Messer, is the undisputed winner and is carried off triumphantly.
The ballet starts off on the wrong foot with this first scene. Director and choreographer Michael Pink has chosen to use too many dancers, unnecessarily crowding the stage. It is impossible to expect such a pack of dancers to remain in sync. The result is a messy first scene that leaves the audience fearing that the rest of the ballet might also be so sloppily put together.
Act I continues at the Place de Greve where we are introduced to Esmerelda, danced by principal Larissa Ponomarenko. Frollo, performed by guest artist Dennis Malinkin, condemns her sinful behavior and provokes Quasimodo to attempt a kidnapping of the gypsy. But the dashing Phoebus, danced by principal Paul Thrussell, intervenes in time to save Esmerelda, and Quasimodo is dragged to prison.
The narrative-heavy story of the first act doesn't end there. In a confusing series of a events, Gringoire is sentenced to be hanged. To save his life, Esmerelda agrees to marry him. He discovers shortly afterwards that this is a marriage in name only. Meanwhile, while Quasimodo endures his sentence for the attempted abduction of the gypsy, Esmerelda takes care of him.
In short, Act I tries too hard to set the stage for the audience. With seven different scenes, it borders on being painfully long. There is very little traditional ballet in this first act, but there remains plenty of gesturing and elaborately choreographed fight scenes. That's the thing about a ballet - even fight scenes, which are meant to seem menacing and ugly, somehow end up beautiful. The fight scenes in Hunchback are no exception. Still, the ballet fails to give the audience credit for already being familiar with the story (be it from Walt Disney's animated adaptation or Hugo's novel itself) and gets caught up in trying too hard to tell it.
The second and third acts of the ballet restore the audience's faith in the company's ability to put on a good show. They are both much shorter, and rightfully allow the dancing to tell the story. There is an audible sigh of relief at the beginning of Act II, which begins at the home of Fleur de Lys, Captain Phoebus' fiancé. This first scene is what you might call typically balletic - Fleur de Lys dances with her five friends while they wait for Phoebus, each wearing long gowns and performing the traditional ballet movements, such as the pique turns and arabesques that you expected from the beginning.
While the pas de deux of Act II with Esmerlda and Phoebus is breathtaking, the highlight of the act is Scene four, aptly titled "The Nightmare." Following the passionate dance between Phoebus and Esmerelda, a dark figure (who we later learn is Frollo) emerges, kills Phoebus, and disappears into the woods. When the guards arrive, Esmerelda is arrested for the attack on Phoebus, and is escorted to prison. Quasimodo saves her and brings her to sanctuary in the cathedral.
Act III is equally engaging, full of fight scenes and attempted escapes. Despite the return of the rowdy townspeople to the stage, the ballet remains intact until the final scene that reveals Quasimodo mourning the loss of his one true love.
The highlight of Act III, and possibly the best scene of the entire ballet, is the pas de trois with Esmerelda, Frollo, and Quasimodo that precedes the attack on the cathedral by the villagers. Frollo is incensed by his own passion for Esmerelda and equally infuriated by Quasimodo's willingness to protect the gypsy. The choreography is smooth and flawless as Esmerelda falls from the arms of one man to the next, struggling to protect herself. The lighting design by Paul Pyant is also at its best here, conveying the eminent danger in which Esmerelda has found herself.
Larissa Ponomarenko is by far the saving grace of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She is instantaneously exotic and intriguing. Having trained at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, she takes advantage of her dance background to create a uniquely un-American style of movement that stands out on stage yet works seamlessly with the choreography of the Royal Ballet School-trained Pink.
Like the ballet itself, the score to The Hunchback of Notre Dame improves in the last two acts. Composed by Philip Feeney, the music stumbles in certain sections of the performance, becoming either too abstract or too predictable. The vocal ensemble used in the second and third acts, however, is creative and effective, adding to the haunting atmosphere created by the shadows of the cathedral.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
isn't your typical ballet - this is no fairytale, and you won't find any of the ballerinas wearing tutus. While some sections of the performance are difficult to sit through, the Boston Ballet should be applauded for tackling such an enormous and complex undertaking. The story itself demands a tremendous amount of creativity and innovation to produce a convincing and effective ballet adaptation of Hugo's tale. While not one of the company's best works, it is still some of the best Boston has to offer.
