AK03: The Lady of the Camellias at Civic Theatre

By BERNADETTE RAE

Think Verdi, and a potent amalgamation of work from a selection of his opera scores.

Think love story, and the essence of La Traviata, neatly adapted for dance.

And think 19th century, as in mannered and courtly, and ballet in the neo-classical style.

Choreographer Neng-Sheng Yu's Lady of the Camellias, performed by the Taipei Ballet, sat prettily amidst the rococo splendour of the Civic Theatre for the opening weekend of AK03.

And although it had some competition in the shape of a rhythmic thumping from the street celebrations outside on Saturday night, it told its famous story well.

There were plenty of sweet moments along the way: the courtesan Marguerite's frivolous flirting in the opening ball scene; the riveting moment when Marguerite and Armand first meet; the freshness and freedom of their duet set in the countryside of their new life together.

There was fiery passion aplenty: jealousy from the Baron, Marguerite's patron; the terrible demand of Armand's father, that if the worldly Marguerite really loved him she would leave this innocent son; and later, Armand's bitter insults in the form of money flung at Marguerite's feet.

The final death scene is tragic, with its shower of falling blossoms, but beautifully softened by a misty replay of the initial love duet in the background.

The casino scene provided an interesting twist in the story, with the introduction of fantasy characters representing both luck and the lack of it, and the similar dealings of fate.

The Taipei Ballet Company is young and of modest means and includes dancers at varying degrees of development.

They rose well to the occasion, and Chen Wu-Kan as the Baron and Hong Jia-Ling as Nanina both danced splendidly.

Yo Otaki and Daniel Cimpean in the leads both looked beautiful and showed some fine technique, but remained a rather stylised pair of lovers outside the intimacy of their duets.

Herald Feature: Auckland Festival AK03

Auckland Festival website