Ludmila Pagliero, as Naïla, is a dancer of regal polish, plangent grace and classical conviction, though Myriam Ould-Braham as the second cast Naïla brought more visible heartbreak to the spirit's sacrifice.
Nouredda, the woman Djémil loves, is so passive it's hard to bring her alive, but Isabelle Ciaravola and Muriel Zusperreguy did well in their respective casts.
Karl Paquette, as Djémil, is a refined dancer but if you ask him to beef up for the big moves he has no problem with that.
The Nymphs are adorable, the Elves a real crowd-pleaser, especially the oustanding Mathias Heymann as Naïla's elf Zaël.
The Paris company as a whole exhibits the cultivated style it is famous for.
via The Times
Photo : Isabelle Ciaravola by Anne Deniau/Opéra national de Paris
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.
