‘Petrushka’ w/ Dallas Black Dance Theatre @ Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
—Wayne Lee Gay
A little over a century has passed since a group of Russian emigrés in Paris turned the world of music and dance upside down with a series of epoch-shattering ballets. Firebird, The Rite of Spring, and Petrushka shocked and thrilled with storylines and choreography of a sort previously unseen on the ballet stage, while composer Igor Stravinsky's music incited riots with its daring rhythmic and harmonic gestures.
This weekend, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra joins the Dallas Black Dance Theatre in an updated version of Petrushka, marrying the enduring power of Stravinsky's music to the sheer physicality of an expert ensemble of dancers, and an intriguing staging based on but not limited by the original.
Choreographer Mikhail Fokine's version of 1911 (Nijinsky was its star) takes a traditional Petrushka narrative (the Russian version of Punch-and-Judy) in which the clown puppet Petrushka falls in love with a ballerina puppet, who is seduced by Petrushka's evil rival (a "Moor" in the original version, traditionally done in blackface). Fokine expanded that storyline outward, with a puppet master/Charlatan who manipulates the three main characters within a setting of a Shrovetide fair in Saint Petersburg in the 1830s. Elaborate crowd scenes and a supernatural twist of Petrushka coming to life give the tale a powerful ambiguity and psychological underpinning.
In this new version, choreographed with minimal scenery by Sean J. Smith, the DBDT ensemble of twelve dancers perform in front of the full orchestra. Sequined short gowns, tuxedo-ish attire and martini glasses suggest an upscale night club. Fokine's version was almost a parody of classical ballet, with drunken revelers and angular, deliberately awkward movements for the marionette characters. Smith preserves many of Fokine's gestures and showy moments, and, without the advantage of a large ensemble, creates an engaging sense of excitement, impulse, and crowd mentality. Chad R. Jung's lighting provides an essential and efficient backdrop to underline the plot points.
The result thrills and entrances.
The small company of dancers (individuals are not identified in the program book) relentlessly enthralls with quick characterizations and brilliant technique. Dallas Black Dance Theatre exists as a modern dance company, but these dancers successfully integrate aspects of the most demanding technique of traditional ballet.
The Fort Worth Symphony, with music director Robert Spano conducting, accompanies brilliantly. Spano guides the orchestra through the myriad complexities that give this score its jolting, evergreen power. The result is relentlessly engaging, thought-provoking, and profound. Here’s a taste of the performance from the FWSO Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/reel/272514912213775
The hybrid concert opens with an all-Mozart first half including the Overture to The Magic Flute and the "Jupiter" Symphony. Spano has chosen to utilize the orchestra's full 44-member string section onstage for the performance, contrary to the general practice among professional orchestras of reducing the strings for Mozart. An orchestra totaling thirty-five would have been large in Mozart's day; conductors since the middle years of the twentieth century have overwhelmingly opted for the clarity and lightness of a string section of thirty or fewer players.
In this case, the argument for a smaller orchestra is obvious. On one hand, the FWSO is in excellent form, with a warm, energetic string tone. There are some wonderful contrasts and soaring phrases—particularly in the Menuetto of the "Jupiter" Symphony—as well as a breathtaking delicacy in the counterpoint in the strings at the beginning of the final movement. Still, there are ponderous moments as well, when the over-loaded string section overwhelms the energy of Mozart's music, leaving the impression of a wool coat in summertime, with too much heaviness in the fabric.
WHEN: January 5-7, 2024
WHERE: Bass Performance Hall
WEB: fwsymphony.org
