Yet again has Mlle. Adeline Génée made welcome reappearances at
the Coliseum, especially in “La Danse”--first produced, I believe,
at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York--which formed a series
of representations of the dances and dancers of the historic
past--forming practically a collection of little cameos of the dance,
having a distinct educational value and presenting a veritable
re-creation of all the great stars of Ballet in the past, from Prévôt
to Taglioni; in all of which the world-famous dancer exhibited the
same high qualities of artistry that she had ever done.
But among the many dance productions seen at this handsome house
probably the two most satisfactory judged as ballet were the
production of Mr. Wilhelm’s “Camargo,” with Mlle. Génée in the
title-_rôle_; and M. Kosloff’s production of “Scheherazade,” the two
forming an outstanding contrast in one’s memory. The former, with
the quiet dignity, soft light and sumptuous stage embellishments
of furniture and _décors_, and the dream-like quality assumed by
the characters in this rich and harmonious setting. One found in it
something of that visionary quality which gave the peculiar charm
to the “Versailles” production which I spoke of in referring to the
Empire. The music and the acting were so expressive that one did not
miss the words, and yet half-consciously one knew they were not there
just because of the dream-like atmosphere which the music itself so
helped to create.
The royal grace and dignity of Louis-Quinze, the butterfly vivacity
of Camargo herself, and the more vital and quieter actions of her
young soldier friend for whose misdeeds she pleads for pardon from
the King, were all but dream figures in a dream, and it was as if
the veil of the past had been suddenly drawn aside and one had a
glimpse of a century seen through the half light of early dawn. Once
more Mlle. Génée excelled herself in doing apparently impossible
things with consummate ease, and once more one was glad to welcome
the sensitive, expressive and scholarly work of so accomplished a
musician as Miss Dora Bright.
There was nothing of the cool and dream-like quality, however,
about Mons. Kosloff’s “Scheherazade.” Exotic, bizarre, palpitant
with warmth and colour, the production stormed the imagination with
its extravagance of hue and tone, even as the tangled rhythms and
seductive melodies of the music captured the hearing and through it
subdued the mind to a sort of dazzled wonder. It was a stupendous
achievement, the more so in that it was brief.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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