The New York Philharmonic's residency at the Barbican offered wide array of performances for all ages as well as workshops, instrumental masterclasses and puppet-making sessions of their partners production company Giants Are Small. On their final evening, the orchestra and Giants Are Small showcased a firework of early 20th century ballets - a rare treat in concert halls. Claude Debussy's Jeux and Bela Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin preceded in the first part a visualisation of Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka.
Debussy's ballet originally choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky in 1913 for the Ballet Russe holds a marginal position in dance and was quickly overshadowed a few months after its premier by Le Sacre du Printemps and the theatre scandal it caused. Jeux's sexual innuendos of three tennis players seeks to follow on from Nijinsky's choreographic debut of L'apres-midi d'un Faun and its explicit eroticism of the previous year. Continuing with the theme of eroticism, Bartok's The Miraculous Mandarin originally premiered in Cologne, Germany, in 1926 narrates the story of a prostitute forced to seduce a wealthy man for three thieves to alleviate him of his money. Again, the performance caused scandal through its direct reference to sexual intimacy and violence and was immediately banned. With the 1942 version of La Scala, The Miraculous Mandarin secured its place in the dance repertoire through various choreographic versions, whilst a reduced suite of the score has become part of modern concert programmes. Perhaps, Debussy was correct in stating that 'where ballet is concerned, immorality escapes through the dancers' legs and ends in a pirouette'. The concert version of both ballets was beautifully performed by the New York Philharmonic. In a well-paced performance, the flow of the dance and contours of the scenic arrangements that are hard to achieve in concerts emerged skilfully.
Petrushka in contrast appears innocent to the other ballets of the evening. This performance based on the 1911 score included Giants Are Small who re-created the ballet through puppets and use of live and recorded film. Petrushka's original choreography by Michel Fokine incorporates his choreographic principles and shows the diversity of characters onstage. The story of a magician presenting a puppet show at the Shrovetide fair transcends the border between reality and fantasy. The puppets come to life, and Petrushka pines for the flirty Ballerina, but is eventually slain by his rival the Moor. Giants Are Small translated the ballet into a true puppet show, but did not stop at this. Alan Gilbert, conductor of the New York Philharmonic, is cast in the role of the magician and leads his orchestra with a flying magic wand. All musicians of the orchestra join the performance to have tea from a samovar or blini with caviar at the back of the orchestra, the harpist faints at the entrance of a bear, whereas the trumpeters look at a peepshow. Not enough with this, whilst playing their instruments, the musicians change seats and a juggling violinist joins the puppeteers. Postmodern elements invade such as a hashtag for Orientalism and a post it in the score. Through clever use of two portable cameras and film projection, the performance constantly changes focus and takes flight. An entertaining highly visual take on an iconic ballet that keeps audiences entertained and musicians swapping seats.
