La Bayadère (Nureyev)
When Nureyev staged The Kingdom of the Shades – La Bayadère’s third act – for The Royal Ballet in 1963, he had already begun to plan his staging of the full ballet. This would mean recreating Petipa’s complex, opulent production largely from memory – to most, an impossible challenge. But Nureyev possessed what Julie Kavanagh describes as an ‘acute visual memory’. His ability to recall in minute detail the ballets he had watched and performed at the Kirov was legendary. However, three decades would elapse before his long-held dream to stage the complete La Bayadère could materialise. It wasn’t until 1992 that Nureyev finally produced his version of the full choreography for the Paris Opéra.
A richly melodramatic tale of India in the fifth century, Nureyev’s La Bayadère is set among Ezio Frigerio’s richly opulent designs, with costumes by Franca Squarciapino. It tells the story of Solor, a young Indian warrior who betrays his true love, a sacred temple dancer named Nikiya, by marrying Gamzatti, the Rajah’s daughter. At the end of Act I, Gamzatti murders Nikiya, so that when she appears later inthe ballet, it is as the result of Solor’s drug induced dreams. By the time Nureyev staged the ballet, it had evolved considerably from Petipa’s original 1877 production.
As with his 1963 production of The Kingdom of the Shades, Nureyev worked from the choreography he had danced in Russia. He recreated the steps in collaboration with Ninel Kurgapkina, one of his former dance partners at the Kirov. He instituted a number of changes, including dances for Solor’s companions in the Rajah’s palace in Act I. The dynamic variations he added for himself as Solor in 1963 remained, a poignant reminder of Nureyev’s technical brilliance at the start of his career in the West.
By the time Nureyev staged La Bayadère he was gravely ill, but his life-long work ethic still kicked in. He came to the theatre daily to coach the dancers and to supervise the details of the production. The leading dancers, Isabelle Guérin as Nikiya, Laurent Hilaire as Solor, and Elisabeth Platel as Gamzatti, were among the protégées he had carefully nurtured. Nureyev had hoped to lead the orchestra on the opening night, following a year spent developing his career as a conductor. This proved to be an impossible dream. Nureyev watched the performance from a couch in a box near to the stage, surrounded by friends.
The premiere was a tremendous success. After the curtain calls, Nureyev made a brief appearance onstage alongside the dancers, where he received a standing ovation. Afterwards, in a private ceremony backstage, he was made a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
La Bayadère was the last ballet that Nureyev staged. He died three months later.
Nureyev’s La Bayadère is still in repertoire today.