Review | The Royal Ballet’s Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov give supreme guest performances in Hong Kong production of La Bayadère
- Marianela Nuñez, Vadim Muntagirov and Berlin State Ballet’s Iana Salenko all danced magnificently in Hong Kong Ballet’s rendition of Marius Petipa’s masterpiece
- While the production showed Hong Kong Ballet’s talent, it also highlighted its lack of depth
Created by Marius Petipa in 1877, La Bayadère is one of the masterpieces of classical ballet. This lavish version by Ukrainian dancer Vladimir Malakhov is Hong Kong Ballet’s first full-length production since 1999.
The run featured magnificent dancing by three guest artists – Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov from Britain’s Royal Ballet and Iana Salenko of Berlin State Ballet – along with some fine performances from the company’s own dancers.
The story is set in a fantasy Indian kingdom where temple dancer Nikiya (the “bayadère” of the title) has a secret romance with Solor, a famous warrior. The Rajah orders Solor to marry his daughter Gamzatti and, despite his love for Nikiya, Solor agrees.
When the jealous Gamzatti tries to make Nikiya give Solor up, Nikiya is so enraged that she tries to stab her. The next day, Nikiya is forced to dance at the betrothal celebration and dies when she is bitten by a snake Gamzatti has hidden in a basket of flowers.
Solor tries to escape from his sorrow by smoking opium and, in the ballet’s most celebrated scene, The Kingdom of the Shades, has a vision of the afterlife in which he is reunited with Nikiya.
