CASANOVA RIDES AGAIN.CASANOVA RIDES AGAIN PARIS OPERA BALLET The Paris Opéra Ballet is the official ballet company of the Opéra national de Paris, otherwise known as the Palais Garnier, though known more popularly simply as the Paris Opéra. PALAIS GARNIER PARIS Paris, in Greek mythology Paris or Alexander, in Greek mythology, son of Priam and Hecuba and brother of Hector. Because it was prophesied that he would cause the destruction of Troy, Paris was abandoned on Mt. , FRANCE France (frăns, Fr. fräNs), officially French Republic, republic (2005 est. pop. 60,656,000), 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe. JANUARY 25-FEBRUARY 6, 2000 Besides his reputation as a masterful womanizer wom·an·ize v. woman·ized, woman·iz·ing, woman·iz·es v.intr. To pursue women lecherously. v.tr. To give female characteristics to; feminize. , Casanova, the eighteenth-century Italian seducer, was known for his lifelong battle with syphilis. It has been said that he actually took pleasure in pain, and after each healthy period, yearned for illness to strike him down. The ensuing path to recovery was, for him, profoundly inspirational. It was this recurrent struggle that intrigued French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj when in 1998 he created Casanova for the Paris Opera Ballet. The piece, which premiered on the 200th anniversary of the legend's death, was revisited by the Ballet in February 2000, and once again it was strikingly topical for this new millennium. Rather than place the Casanova character at the heart of his ballet, Preljocaj chose to evoke the corporeal Possessing a physical nature; having an objective, tangible existence; being capable of perception by touch and sight. Under Common Law, corporeal hereditaments are physical objects encompassed in land, including the land itself and any tangible object on it, that can be world in which he lived, guided as he was by desire and by his love for the opposite sex. Beneath oversized X-ray cross-sections of the human torso, to the-electronic score of singing electrocardiograms and bleeping heart monitors, the dancers convincingly evoked the mysterious pleasures of the flesh. Bouncing Ping-Pong balls fell from sweaty palms and heated trousers served as constant reminders of the ill effects of a life in pursuit of the characters' carnal bliss. The choreographer's will to awaken spectators to passion's potential hazards could be felt in Marie-Agnes Gillot's informative speech about chlamydia, gonorrhea, and other sexually transmitted diseases Sexually transmitted diseases Infections that are acquired and transmitted by sexual contact. Although virtually any infection may be transmitted during intimate contact, the term sexually transmitted disease is restricted to conditions that are largely , and in Wilfried Romoli and Laurent Hilaire's breathtaking death dance. Nevertheless, Casanova remained a jubilant ode to the titillating tit·il·late v. tit·il·lat·ed, tit·il·lat·ing, tit·il·lates v.tr. 1. To stimulate by touching lightly; tickle. 2. To excite (another) pleasurably, superficially or erotically. pleasures of desire. Subversively sexual, the piece offered such imagery as ballerinas dressed in shirts and rubber phalluses, beguiling deer-headed businessmen, and a sulfurous sul·fur·ous adj. 1. Of, relating to, derived from, or containing sulfur, especially with valence 4. 2. Characteristic of or emanating from burning sulfur. evocation of the Indian Kama Sutra. While such portrayals provoked jitters among the dancers during 1998's premiere, this interpretation was confident, powerful, and beautifully executed. A remarkable performance was given by Aurelie Dupont who, only one year after her promotion to principal dancer, proved the elasticity of her skills, flawlessly mastering the movements of this contemporary vocabulary. She was a kinetic presence on stage, at the same time playful, serious, and seductive. Once again, the crowds at Garnier demonstrated their enthusiasm, cheering the cast on in a round of applause that echoed long into the night. |
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