BALLET
,,New York City Ballet." (Covent Garden.) The Prodigal Son, created by M. George Balanchine for Diaghilev in 1929, raises the interesting question whether or not " easel " painters are suited to theatrical designing. And this ballet is one- which confirms my opinion that the greater the artist the less wise it is to invite him to collaborate in a production on the stage. Rouault's costumes and decor for The Prodigal Son could not fail to be impressive, but it seems that his personality has been too strong for the choreographer, and that the ballet, instead of being the free invention of M. Balanchine working hand in hand with designer and composer, has suffered through being dominated by the middle partner. Apart from this, and for all its merits and invention, The Prodigal Son is not as telling as it should be. M. Balanchine is apt to work up to ,a splendid climax and then immediately to negate it through lack of timing. In the scene of the Prodigal's debauchery, after a most effective hurling of the Siren across the feasting table into the arms of the Drinking Companions, the revelry—without a pause—continues at the same fast and furious pace, and the choreographer throws away the point
up to which he has been building. The pas de deux between the Siren and the Prodigal is tedious in its length and in its over- striving for novelty ; the best parts of the ballet are the opening and closing scenes where the dignity of Lew Christensen as the Father evokes the tender atmosphere of parental understanding.
Only two of Jerome Robbins's ballets are being shown to us during this season, and both have left me with a desire to see further work by this interesting young choreographer and dancer. One of Robbins's finest qualities is his ability to capture a mood, and in The Guests, to music by Marc Blitzstein, he has done this in the most economic and direct manner possible. As in The Age of Anxiety, he has chosen 'a human problem for his theme—this time a conflict between two peoples. Their antagonism may be the result of opposing class, colour or creed—as the spectator chooses to interpret—but the subject is so clearly stated within its own medium that no explanatory programme notes are necessary. In a ballet with a story this seems to me to be one of the most important attributes, for it means that the subject matter is stripped of in- essentials and kept in its right proportion to the work of art as a whole. Robbins has shown an exact sense of balance throughout the composition of The Guests. The work is of just the right length for its content ; the detachment with which it is approached allows it to embrace the entire universe ; while the human aspect is not denied, being beautifully realised in the love passages between a man from one group and a woman from the other.
* * *
The Duel, by William Dollar, to music by Raffaello de Banfield, is an improvement upon the version presented in London by -the Roland Petit company. The role of Clorinda is feelingly danced by Melissa Hayden, but Francisco Moncion does not sufficiently realise the tragic moment when Tancred, having fatally wounded the girl he loves, discovers her identity and is beside himself with grief. Moncion also needs to improve his footwork, and as he is a dancer of fine calibre I hope he will not, at this stage, merely
Previous page
