The Nijinsky ballet, makes its return to Sydney Opera House after 9 years in hiatus since its Australian premiere in 2016. Devised by German based, American Choreographer, John Neumeier, this contemporary ballet is a mammoth undertaking for any ballet company. The challenges are physical and mental, digging deep in the psyche and drawing out the visions of an artist sinking into insanity.
Who was Nijinsky?
He was the most famous ballet dancer in the world during the early 1900’s. Think about how fans screamed for The Beatles – yup, like that. They would scream so much when he arrived on stage, the orchestra would have to pause to let them settle down again. Fans would steal his clothes and queue for hours to get a glimpse of him. His dresser apparently made a tidy sum selling the silk rose petals that had been made for his Spectre de la Rose costume at the stage door. This particular costume was also altered to “shed” a few rose petals as he performed after it was discovered they created hysteria amongst audience members who scrambled to collect them.
Nijinsky was seen like a God in the world of Dance. He was an extraordinary talent that could not be constrained within the usual regimented choreography of the great Russian Imperial Ballet (pre- revolution) where he began his career. He was drawn into a newly formed ballet company, The Ballet Russes founded by impresario Producer Sergei Diaghilev who was about 20 years his senior. They became lovers and Diaghilev took over as manager of Nijinsky, paying his bills, managing his diary and publicity, though not paying him a wage.
Nijinsky’s years with the Ballet Russes touring North America, South America and Europe saw his star rise to the heavens. He became a household name performing the new ballets created for him such as Les Sylphides, Carnaval, Scheherazade, Le Spectre de la Rose as mentioned, L’après-midi d’un faune and Petrushka.
He was eventually fired from the company for marrying Romola de Pulszky. She remained his wife for the rest of his life and they had a daughter together. However, with zero training in how to manage himself, the challenges of running his own career left him cast adrift. The first World War erupted bringing years of horror to everyone in Europe. Nijinsky managed to get to America and patch things up with the Ballet Russes for a short time. However, his mental health was failing. He spent much of the rest of his life in and out of medical care.
His final public performance was at the age of 29 at a hotel in Switzerland using his own dance language and protesting the war which no one did anything to prevent. This dance is used as the opening and closing of Neumeier’s ballet. It’s a surprise to find members of the company arrive on stage talking like an audience arriving for a show – a rare occurrence with ballet dancers.
Interview with Principal Artists Dimity Azoury and Callum Linnane about putting the show together, waiting 9 years to perform it again.
Nijinsky (played by Callum Linnane) arrives and the stage subtlety lightens where he moves. He sheds his outer Kimono Wrap and begins to the accompaniment of an on-stage piano. Slowly the orchestra is introduced. During the performance, the characters from his most famous ballets appear and disappear like murky wanderings of a nightmare. The music is a montage Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky and Chopin reprising his earlier ballet successes.
Soloists arrive, though we don’t realise they are Nijinsky’s family. Characters fill the stage with too much to see at once. The corps de ballet from these productions mix and mingle, Scheherazade slaves, the faun and period ballet dresses… chaos giving way to the occasional pas de deux, pas de trois or quatre. Sometimes Nijinsky watches, other times he joins in. The story of his love affair with Diaghilev plays out with great love and passion yet, his relationship with his wife appears stiff and distracted. Nijinsky has an almost childish love for Diaghilev (beautifully played by Maxim Zenin) which is reciprocated with snide domination.
The second half of the performance features modern music that drags at the depths of despair and anxiety. The only light in this half of the program faintly appears during a dance with his family re-appearing. His mother reaches to hug him but they both have arms straight like 2 barbie dolls, so no warmth is expressed between them. It’s a harsh and low vibe expression of the horrors of war and Nijinsky’s declining mental health.
The production as a whole is an incredible undertaking. It feels like the dancers have been stretched well beyond any previous limitations. Certainly, they have succeeded in this stretch, rising to every challenge offered. It’s a harrowing work, physically and psychologically straining if not actually harmful.
Soldiers appear in underpants and soldiers jackets like a sort of gay fantasy. Nijinsky reaches for a few women during the story but never seems to fully connect.
The company dancers were all extraordinary, rousing a standing ovation at the close of the performance. Bravo to all. The men had the choice parts in this production. Linnane excelled in the title role which he played 9 years ago. Revisiting the role will have enriched his interpretation where there is plenty of scope for drama. His brother, played by Elijah Trevitt also had a meaty role, as actors would say, whilst Principal Artist Marcus Morelli was outstanding in his fluid and captivating Spectre de la Rose.
Grace Carroll was lifted from the coryphées to play Romola, Nijinsky’s wife – excellent work. Another who caught the eye from the Coryphées was Lilla Harvey with clean, accurate movements. Nijinsky’s sister and mother played by Jill Ogai and Isobelle Dashwood played their roles with abandon, perfectly fitting the context.
We could name all the dancers as being superb, there really was no obvious fault. They were all well rehearsed in character and movement.
If you love contemporary dance, this is definitely a show to add to your calendar. The season runs till 22 April 2025. If you are looking for lighter entertainment, consider the Australian Ballet’s production of Manon which open 30 April. Links below.
Cast
Vaslav Nijinsky – Callum Linnane
Romola Nijinksa (his wife) – Grace Carroll
Bronislava Nijinska (his sister) – Jill Ogai
Serge Diaghilev (Director of Ballets Russes) – Maxim Zenin
Stanislav Nijinsky (his brother) – Elijah Trevitt
Tamara Karsavina (one of his principal ballet partners) – Aka Kondo
Harlequin / Spectre de la Rose (his ballet roles) – Marcus Morelli
Golden Slave / Faun (his ballet roles) – Jake Mangakahia
Petruschka (his ballet role) – Brodie James
Léonide Massine (dancer who replaced him in Ballet Russes) – Benjamin Garrett
Doctor – Joseph Romancewicz
Eleonora Bereda (his mother) – Isobelle Dashwood
Related Links
Buy tickets for The Australian Ballet in Sydney https://australianballet.com.au/whats-on?loc=sydney
What’s On at Sydney Opera House? https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whats-on
