Olga Konosenko beautiful in La Sylfide with the Lithuanian National Ballet, Vilnius, December 18th 2008. Foto Martynas Aleksa

As I appreciate good professional handwork, and do enjoy when new directors or choreographers not are trying to spoil a good history by trying to renew it.

I do enjoy the wonderful classical August Bournonville ballet, staged by the famous Danish balletsoloist and choreogapher Johan Koborg with the Lithuanian Natinal Ballet. In the titelrole one of the companys most wonderful primaballerinas, Olga Konosenko

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August Bournonville

founded the Danish ballet tradition, which is still the visiting card of  The Royald Danish Ballet in Copenhagen
. It looks so easy for the audience. It is so difficult to make perfect for the dancers. The steps are each having their special way to be done.  Therefore I most honestly admit, that after a dificult start with this production early in the spring, February 27th 2009. The production is now first class. I am shure that if her Royal Majesty Queen Margrethe II has had the time, and possibility, when she visited Vilnius to the 1000 years Anniversary Celebration July 6th, she would have enjoyed to see it so well performed
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In the titelrole Olga Konosenko is showing all her beauty, lightness, and not to forget the mimic, the right making of the Bournonville steps, the sadness, and together with a beautiful and well dancing Eligijus Butkus as James, and a great Gurn, splendid performed and danced by Martynas Rimeikis, who is being better and better every time i see him. And a beautiful and lovely Ruta Kudzmaite as Effie, the girl who really loves James, all these together with the great corps des ballet did a very good August Bournonville performance, that they all can be proud of. Aleksandras Molodovas had the right Bournonville feeling for the mimical parts and the little girl Gabriele Bernotaite was a dream.   Bournonville would have loved it.

The stage sets and costumes are brilliant made in the original scottish style by Peter Farmer, who knows his handwork.

THE MUSIC

The music by Herman Severin Løvenskiold sounds so easy and giving a lot of the good imprssion so the dancers really enjoy to dance this music. But the usic is demanding to play. First it has long brilliant and very difficult soloparts for the flute, 1 violin, horn and trumpet. The flute succeded wonderfully, and the first violin too, but when we are listening to the horn and trumpet
. This was not good enough. Allread in the first slowly part of the brilliant ouverture, some thing was lacking. The conductor didnt suceed in getting the wonderful horn solo to sound good and as a leading tune, It sounded like a first horn solo played by a 5th horn. And a lot of the way it continued like that from both the horn and the trumpet. I was feeling pittyfor the conductor. He did his best, the tempi was good, the feelings of the charateristic music very well. Now, the orchestra has had La Sylfide on the repertoire since February, and it still sounded like the first time these two soloists played these demanding and importent solos. That is not acceptabel.

In this case the musical director should have send them home to reherse.

We all have to prepare our self for a job. I have to pepare my self to write about a performance
. When I shall play piano for a balletcompany or a ballet class I have to be well prepared, that is what I am being payed for. That is the job. It is not just to come jumping in and start like it is first time the soloists, and the rest of the orchestra, is seeing the notes.

I do sincerelly hope that the Music Director will do a job, so next time on La Sylfide, and I will come back for it. It will be first class. Because the music has so much beauty, and when well played, it is a pleasure to listen to, as forexempel the brilliant flute an first violinist, who were wellprepared, they showed. Another thing is that not coming wellprepared is not poligh towards the colleagues in the Orchestra.