This is a remarkable modern ballet after Victor Hugo's novel,
The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The production follows, exactly,
Roland Petit’s choreography laid down, in 1965, for the first performance by
the Paris Opéra Ballet. He had already made a name for himself – some
thought a notoriety – by his sensual, violent and energetic dancing for the
ballet
Carmen especially for his ‘rough, insensitive’ treatment of
Bizet’s music.
Here we have an unusual but very modern
Hunchback of Notre Dame
employing a large corps de ballet dancing anything but classical ballet
figures. Minimal sets are dominated by huge bells and a minimalistic
illustration of the façade of Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral lit and shadowed
dramatically. Maurice Jarre’s music is, in the main, hard, percussive and
angular.
The dancers' figures are correspondingly sharp, bony and raw; often
with legs far apart, knees bent and taken in small regular side frog-like
jumps. All dance in unison conveying a crowd with but one thought and
attitude. At some points they even suggest a giant insect, the sort with a
‘hive’ instinct.
The costumes of the large crowd resemble those often seen in books
covering the Middle Ages: single-coloured, rough peasant tunics – although
many different colours are represented through the large throngs. Esmeralda
alone wears softer, more appealing costumes as befits her kind, appealing
nature. Frollo, the wicked arch-deacon of Notre Dame who lusts after
Esmeralda, is dressed very darkly. A dark silk cross is made visible on his
all black costume. Add to this his devilish and sleek black hair and eyes
menacingly outlined in black. His dances are evil - menacing, jealous and
hate-filled. The central deformed character Quasimodo, is dressed in lighter
colours. His movements, as conceived by Roland Petit, are extraordinary and
very, very different to those that are normally danced by Roberto Bolle in
his more romantic hero classical ballet roles. Here he miraculously
demonstrates Quasimodo’s deformity through some very awkward, jerky,
lopsided movements. These are made appealing and humane when he is seen with
Esmeralda in their playfully innocent, childlike dance together after he has
rescued her from an angry mob stirred up by Frollo. One of the most dramatic
scenes, to Jarre’s music which at this point is quite reminiscent of
Copland’s
Fanfare for the Common Man, is that demonstrating
Quasimodo’s occupation as bell-ringer when he swings on the huge Notre Dame
bells.
An extraordinary and often riveting modern ballet with some very telling
if uncomfortable Petit choreography
Ian Lace
