Review: Mariinsky Ballet’s ‘Raymonda’ at Segerstrom: Why love story could use a little heart

On its eighth trip from Russia to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, St. Petersburg’s stellar Mariinsky Ballet brought a work from the classical canon that’s dogged with a story many consider beyond repair: the three-act, three-hour-plus “Raymonda.”

It’s from 1898, one of master choreographer Marius Petipa’s last works, and it is rarely done here. “Raymonda” has been in the Mariinsky repertory since it premiered, now performed in a production revised in 1948 by the late star dancer and director Konstantin Sergeyev.

On the plus side, it has a gorgeous score by Alexander Glazunov, with Hungarian-scented folk accents and stirring strings, and mesmerizing solos for harp and piano. Conductor Gavriel Heine elicited opulent sound from the Mariinsky orchestra.

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Then there are Petipa’s scenes of symmetrical magic for the corps de ballet. We look forward to those near-perfect rows of Mariinsky men and women, whose heads, shoulders, arms, fingers and toes are all placed neatly, specifically and simultaneously in intertwining groupings that translate to poetry.

The difference between a good night and a meaningful one, though, rests primarily with the lead ballerina, who is in just about every scene. Even if it’s a silly story (and of course it is!) set in medieval times, we must feel Raymonda’s struggle between her two suitors, the Hungarian knight Jean de Brienne representing goodness and the Saracen chieftain Abderakhman, a symbol of evil impulses.

At opening night Thursday, the heroine was Viktoria Tereshkina, and she delivered one of those middling nights. Tereshkina is a dark-haired beauty with alabaster skin and a reserved persona. Her dancing flows with an incomparable smoothness. She executed the character’s multiple solos with cool exactitude. She stirred admiration but not empathy or excitement. She exuded little warmth for her Jean, either, the boyish Vladimir Shklyarov, and, indeed, she seemed a little hostile over a partnering glitch. By the third act, Tereshkina’s jaw was set in determination during Raymonda’s signature variation of gliding bourres (little steps on point) and liquidy arms. What should have been moments of glory looked more like a test to ace.

Shklyarov, on the other hand, is an open-hearted dancer, with a high elevation and an ardent manner. Yes, there was some effort visible for those overhead lifts, but he remained a committed partner.

Konstantin Zverev was Abderakhman, and thank goodness for his fervor. He is the ballet’s raw character, but how nice it would have been if some of his emoting had rubbed off on the others. He stroked Tereshkina’s hand with such longing that the gesture became instantly intimate.

The empty stylistic veneer extended to most of the soloists as well. Renata Shakirova and Kristina Shapran portrayed Raymonda’s friends with a retiring attitude. The male variation was a highlight, with its staggered jumps and turns, as were the folk dances of the final scene.

These dances, grouped together as Grand Pas Classique Hongrois, are what’s often excised from the complete work. On this night, the dancers failed to make a persuasive case for doing “Raymonda” any other way.

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Mariinsky Ballet’s “Raymonda”

Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $29 to $159

Info: 714-556-2787, www.scfta.org

Also: Mariinsky Ballet will perform “Cinderella” Oct. 8 to 11 at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles; $34 to $125; (213) 972-0711, www.musiccenter.org

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