California Ballet Company.

California Ballet Company and the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus joined forces to present a program called Dance, Magic, and Madrigal Fables (Mandeville Auditorium, La Jolla, California, February 3-4 & 10-11, 1996). CBC principal dancer Patrick Nollet provided the choreography for Gian Carlo Menotti's The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore, a fanciful curtain-raiser, and for Carl Orff's Catulli Carmina. David Chase led a chorus of one hundred in addition to the orchestra and guest soloists. Nollet decided not to bury the musicians in the pit and came up with several clever solutions--thrusting singers into the kinetic mix and keeping instrumentalists in sight but out of everyone's way. In terms of dance logic, Catulli was the more interesting work. The small, hand-picked ensemble of dancers was in top form, despite occasional lapses in emotional depth. Nollet wisely cast ex-Bolshoi dancer Max Chernecshev and company principal Sylvia Poolos in leading roles. The two flung themselves into the earthy moves with abandon. Manuel Alcantara's invigorating athleticism was also showcased. Although the dance motifs in The Unicorn were almost throwaways, the piece very successfully combined singers and dancers.