Ballet Theatre of Maryland revives rare Romantic treasure
When is a revival also a premiere? When the piece in question is a landmark classic of the Romantic ballet repertoire that has rarely been seen on European or American stages in more than a century. Such is the case with Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s current production of La Esmeralda, an action-packed but also sweetly charming 19th-century adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
The novel, of course, has sustained uninterrupted global fame almost since its initial publication. This has included adaptation into nearly every conceivable performance medium (film, stage, television, animation, and more) as well as many others aural and visual. The translation from page to stage began with an 1836 opera, for which Hugo himself helped create the libretto; notably, he not only condensed the story in setting and cast to suit the demands of the stage, but also shifted the narrative focus to the tribulations and trials (literally) of Esmeralda.
The turbulent, tumultuous tale of this gentle, generous Romani dancer who finds herself unexpectedly and unwillingly the center of a complicated pentagon of passion seems tailor-made for the ballerina-driven choreography of the era. Sure enough, by 1844 a London theater had commissioned a ballet based on the Hugo opera libretto, which premiered with legendary Carlotta Grisi (aka, “La Grisi”) dancing the title role to music by Cesare Pugni and choreography by Jules Perrot. Initially a tragic tale, the story was reimagined and revived with a happy ending at the end of the 19th Century in a new version choreographed for the Russian ballet by Maurice Petipa.
Somehow, at that point, it slipped from the western repertoire and nearly vanished, despite boasting a cavalcade of glorious, technically demanding solos and pas-de-deux as well as substantial roles and dancing for the entire company and corps de ballet. All that and a plot featuring truly unhinged Romantic geometry that includes (in addition to the gentle, kind-hearted Romani dancer Esmeralda) the crippled bell-ringer Quasimodo and the lustful and vengeful villain, archdeacon Frollo–as well as a handsome-but-shallow soldier and his spiteful aristocratic fiancee, and a handful of others who all become entangled in the narrative twists.
Through it all, Esmeralda remains steadfast, compassionate, and undeterred; and despite throwing every conceivable obstacle and setback, disappointment and reversal her way–a series of truly unfortunate events that see her seemingly betrayed by her true love then framed and sentenced to death for a murder she never committed–the ballet also embraces her love of dance, her sense of joy–and even opportunities for charming revelry.
My conversation with BTM artistic director Nicole Kelsch about this rarely seen classic is here:
Read more, or find dates, times, and tickets, at https://www.balletmaryland.org/la-esmeralda
