BALLET REVIEW : Character Acting Focus of Third ‘Cinderella’

The surprises in the third performance of Rudolf Nureyev’s “Cinderella,” Thursday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, came from the strong emphasis on character acting by Paris Opera Ballet principals previously unseen in this engagement.

Unlike her predecessors in the role, Claude de Vulpian portrayed Cinderella not as a ballerina-in-disguise but as a spunky ‘30s working girl, very Jean Arthur in her determination to look on the bright side of her circumstances.

If there was a corresponding lack of glamour or romantic tenderness to some scenes, Vulpian always honored Nureyev’s concept of the ballet, and her dancing reflected the same integrity. Lightness and delicacy did not belong to this interpretation; instead, Vulpian capitalized on urgency, flow and an easy, natural elegance.

More conventional in his danseur noble manners and aristocratic placement, Manuel Legris as the Handsome Actor neverthless skillfully projected the character elements in the choreography. He also deftly acted the comic encounters with the stepsisters, though his speciality seems to be classical dancing of maximum speed, force and (especially) precision.

As the omnipotent Producer, the small but commanding Patrice Bart brought an edge of Svengali-like mystery to his manipulation of Cinderella and the others; you wondered what exactly was in that contract he made her sign at the end of the ballet. Only the playful Groucho Marx solo seemed out of place in his authoritative, magnetic performance.

Among otherwise familiar principals, Elisabeth Maurin proved a distinctively energetic addition to the cast as the Stepsister in pink and the Chinese nightclub dancer (with Thai fingernails).