International Feast Less Spicy Than Anticipated

Adriana Suarez is quite possibly one of the greatest things ever to happen to the Boston Ballet. Her dignified elegance shone in "Glazounov Classique," the preview selection to last spring's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." She sparkled as the soloist in "Passage," the world-premiere conclusion to this fall's "Boogie, Brass and Blue." And now, once again, she combines beauty and strength with fiery fervor on the stage of the Wang Center, this time as the lead role in "Carmen."

"Carmen," originally an opera by Georges Bizet, is the name and the story of a seductive young woman in Spain who flirts her way into a violent and ultimately fatal love triangle. At the start of the dance, she seduces a Spanish corporal named Don Jose (Lazlo Berdo), who is in love with a meek girl named Micaela (Larissa Ponomarenko). When Don Jose is jailed for refusing to arrest Carmen, his wild new love captures Escamillo (Gino DiMarco), a proud bullfighter, with her charms. (Music lovers--the "Beef: It's What's for Dinner" theme parades around at this point.) However, she runs away with Don Jose once he escapes from prison.

Unfortunately, when Micaela returns to bring her lost love word that he must see his dying mother, Escamillo appears as well and engages in a duel with the furious Don Jose. The fight is broken up by Carmen, who declares that she now loves Escamillo. After returning from seeing his mother, Don Jose begs Carmen to come back to him. She spurns him, and he stabs her to death in a mad rage.

Although the show is stolen by Suarez's seductively lucid performance, passion flows freely between every member of the ballet. With echoes of her role as the youthful Princess Aurora in "The Sleeping Beauty," Ponomarenko dances with the broken-hearted delicacy of an innocent girl losing her first love to another woman. Her mournful poignancy pulls at one's heartstrings so much that one cannot be completely sympathetic toward Carmen. On a more upbeat note, however, DiMarco and his fellow toreadors strut their stuff with a confident grace that compliments that of Carmen herself. Berdo, as the torn Don Jose, alternates well between his haughty, machismo corporal side and his madwith-passion lover side. And of course, Suarez and her various partners meld with a vibrant fluidity rarely seen in the ballet genre.

Deborah Newhall's mystically beautiful costumes help feed the flames of love in "Carmen." The sharp, well-fitting uniforms of the Spanish officers and toreadors compliment the proud, dashing style of the male dancers, while the blazing, feathery gowns of Carmen, the village girls and the gypsies make it appear that the female stars are dancing on air itself. The simple backdrop changes colors according to the lighting, creating the perfect set for "Carmen"--one that lets the audience fully enjoy the desire igniting onstage.

Unfortunately, "Carmen" is the only one of the three ballets that delivers Boston Ballet's publicity promise of an "international feast of fiery ballet." The first dance of the evening, a supposedly Spanish-flavored ballet entitled "Paquita," is little more than a traditional ballet--only more simple and repetitive. The children's number at the start is fairly adorable, as the Boston Ballet's young dancers usually are. Even the company dancers won much applause, usually due to a particularly difficult set of pirouettes or jumps. But by the sixth variation on the same few classic moves and poses, the self-dubbed "international" flavor had faded from mild to Taco Bell strength. Boston Ballet should be more careful with their marketing techniques.

The final presentation, a world-premiere ballet called "Flights of Fancy," frankly has no Latin flavor at all. But despite that flaw, the piece stuns, enchants and even raises giggles from the audience. Set to Mozart's 29th Symphony, "Flights of Fancy" fuses vivid color and classical music into a charming treat for both eye and ear. Against a pure white background, four female and three male dancers (each clad in a different shade of the rainbow) and a chorus in bright red recall the delightful simplicity of a Sesame Street skit. Daniel Pelzig's choreography is a welcome breath of fresh air. The piece utilizes conventional styles of dancing but while tosses in innovative ideas every so often. Like exotic birds on parade, the dancers create a dramatic feast for the eyes: the powerful solos, romantic couples, graceful trios and flawless chorus present the audience with a veritable smorgasbord of modern ballet at its finest.

Overall, the anticipated spice of the "Carmen" program falls a bit short of audience expectation. But keeping that in mind, the majority of the ballets are vivacious successes. "Paquita" is less than captivating, but the dancing is still elegant and refined. The blissfully unconventional "Flights of Fancy" will certainly capture yours. And last, but by no means least, "Carmen" wraps its audiences in a passionate spell that lasts long after Suarez's swan-like death onstage. As ballet, the program is a decided triumph. But leave the "international feast" up to the Newbury Street restaurant Tapas.