After two successful performances at Prokurative, the audience's and critics' positive reactions to the ballet Madame Bovary, choreographed and directed by the renowned ballet artist and choreographer Valentina Turcu, keep coming in.
In addition to the great reaction from the audience, who gave a thunderous applause to the ensemble and the creative team of the production Madame Bovary on the Prokurative stage, critics described the dramatic ballet, inspired by Gustave Flaubert's novel of the same name, as "aesthetically refined and psychologically profound" and as "a new major hit that thrilled the audience and elevated the ensemble to an entirely new level of performance perfection."
How Ballet Gladiators Defeated the Tiger-Hungry Tourists at Prokurative
By Bojana Radović for Večernji List
"Tonight, you are gladiators who must defeat the tigers!" These were the words choreographer Valentina Turcu addressed to the ballet ensemble of the HNK Split before the premiere of Madame Bovary as part of the 70th Split Summer Festival. They truly needed the strength of gladiators because, at the beginning of the musical score (a blend of Chopin, Glass, and contemporary composers), there is a delicate piano solo, disrupted by the clattering sounds of dishes from the restaurants around Prokurative. It's hard to immerse oneself in ballet while hungry tourists scrape their plates with forks, but fortunately, the Split Ballet had the strength to quickly draw the audience into the story of the modern-day Emma Bovary and her search for love.
Thus, Split received a spectacular ballet (following Zagreb, where the premiere of this title was in June 2022) that will be performed both in the theater and fill the audience, covering the fact that it had only two performances as part of the summer festival. However, much more important than that are all the benefits that all members of the Split Ballet and, subsequently, the audience have gained from this production. First and foremost, it provided the opportunity to work with Valentina Turcu, who, after her great success in Switzerland, where her ballet Hamlet was performed in Béjart Ballet in Lausanne in June, once again proved herself as one of the most significant European choreographers.
Criticisms that she repeated the choreography previously seen in Croatia are valid, but the choreographer was simply pressed for time and didn't want to ignore the invitation from Split, the hometown of her late mother, the great Croatian ballerina Maja Srbljenović. Honoring the fact that she was invited to be part of the celebratory 70th edition of the renowned summer festival, she gave her all and adapted her choreography to a much smaller ensemble than Zagreb's, with great help from assistants Milka Hribar Bartulović, George Stanciu, Sytze Jan Luske, and Anton Bogov. They managed to create a ballet that literally enchanted the audience.
They also brought out the best in the young dancers, convincing even them that they were ready for great and completely different challenges, as the ballets of this choreographer demand, to use a sports metaphor, to leave their hearts on the stage, to give their utmost strength, to elevate their ballet technique to a level of precision and expressiveness, and to be emotionally expressive and precise in every movement, while also becoming actors. This was especially achieved by young Danyil Podhrushko in the role of Leon Dupuis. Of course, this is also a ballet in which the greatest Split star, prima ballerina Irina Čaban Bilandžić, shone. She danced the role of her life here, relying on the support of experienced partner Tamas Darai in the role of Charles Bovary. The fact that Split witnessed a ballet star of his caliber, a star who began to shine ten years ago in the Zagreb Ballet when he danced Vronsky in Anna Karenina choreographed by Leo Mujić, is a great contribution to the popularization of ballet art in this city.
The arrival and work of artists like Turcu and Darai are the real achievements of this year's celebratory Split Summer Festival, as their influence will be felt in the months and years to come. This is especially important for the Split Ballet, which hasn't had a big hit since the ballet Death and the Dervish, choreographed by Igor Kirov in 2017, with guest Tomislav Petranović in the main role. That was the 63rd Split Summer Festival and a performance that marked the entire festival, days when the HNK Split Ballet ensemble was much larger and stronger. Therefore, there is hope that Madame Bovary is a step towards the old glory.
The HNK Split Ballet has a new big hit, which has delighted the audience and elevated the ensemble to a completely new level of performance perfection. Madame Bovary will fill the theater in the months and years to come, opening a new chapter in the development of ballet in Split.
Link to the original text in Croatian: https://hnk-split.info/Bovary-Vecernji-list
It’s true, we haven't seen anything more erotic than the ballet Madame Bovary. Principal dancer Irina Čaban Bilandžić triumphed.
Written by Jasenka Leskur for Slobodna Dalmacija
Emma Bovary is considered one of the most intriguing female characters in literature, one that's hard to forget after reading Flaubert's novel. The story of a mundane marriage, boredom, and the banality of everyday life is remembered for Emma's naturalistically described extramarital sexual adventures, which scandalized 19th-century French society. Because of her, the writer ended up in court, accused by moralists of glorifying adultery and attacking the institution of marriage. However, the great French writer defended this seemingly frivolous woman from societal pressure. Emma has since inspired various films and even an opera.
"We are all Emma Bovary," the author proclaimed to the moral guardians, and the new ballet by the Split National Theatre, premiered at the Split Summer Festival at Prokurative, invites us to question what kind of heroine she seems today, a century and a half later. Is she still equally scandalous?
An idle and beautiful woman who views life through money and love, lost in shopping, partying, and the false happiness that glamour brings, indulges in passion and sex. In a desperate quest for magic, she cheats on her good and stable husband. Isn’t this the way many today seek love?
Are there among us those who have been crushed by desires and ambitions, mediocrity and limitations, and unfulfillment of oneself? Do people still live similar lives behind closed doors like the Bovary couple? The fate of this literary classic's heroine raises many questions.
The dramatic ballet or danced drama Madame Bovary, musically, dramaturgically, and choreographically set by the renowned choreographer Valentina Turcu, is a contemporary ballet production successfully staged at the Zagreb National Theatre and the Slovenian National Theatre in Maribor.
Aesthetically refined, psychologically deepened, and exceptionally synchronized with the music of Chopin, Glass, and other composers, glamorous costumes, and scenography, the ballet, viewed like a film, speaks of Valentina Turcu's exceptionally high artistic standards and creative power. Winner of significant international awards, she has been hailed as a creator setting completely new criteria for understanding dance art with works that mark a turning point in the quality of classical ballet expression.
And yes, it’s true—nothing more erotic than Madame Bovary has been seen on our stages. Emma Bovary’s dance is infused with sensual eroticism, and the scene of the naked couple in the bathtub, accompanied by Gainsbourg's music: Je t'aime moi non plus... vibrates with sexuality from the stage. A very impressive stage image, and let's be honest, as 21st-century viewers, didn’t we expect that? After all, who will shake us up if not Madame Bovary?
For such a bold Madame Bovary, a dancer with a strong dance personality was needed, and this was successfully achieved with the experienced Irina Čaban Bilandžić in the title role. Her dance creation drives everything that happens on stage—she is the catalyst for events, and throughout the performance, her life unfolds before the audience's 'public.' She undresses, bares herself, and changes moods. From a woman in love to someone bored with life with an unambitious husband, craving pleasure and a different life, a woman driven by illusions and insatiable lust, to her agony, psychological breakdown, and eventual downfall—the entire arc of emotions is followed in an uninterrupted rhythm. Irina Čaban Bilandžić's emotional expressiveness, always impeccable technical execution, is enhanced with gentle sensuality and eroticism in this performance. Passionate and tragic, the role is a true triumph of the principal dancer of the Split Ballet!
Her stage husband, Hungarian dancer Tamas Darai, in the role of the meek doctor Charles Bovary, along with her lovers, the young Leon (Danyil Podhrushko) and the heartless seducer Rodolphe (Valery Lyubenko), provide excellent dance support. The scene where the husband finally realizes he's "ruined" due to his wife's extravagance, as his body convulses in a spasm of suppressed anger, is a small masterpiece by Tamas Darai and showcases his great dance talent.
The roles of Charles' parents (Matea Milas and Igor Gluškov), the delivery woman Madame Lheureux (Kristina Burić), the slightly alternative Madame and Monsieur Homais (Eva Karpilovska and Leonardo Souza), and others from their social circle, sketch small but significant characters for building this story wrapped in melancholy.
Madame Bovary is a provocative production suited for contemporary audiences and ultimately essential for a more quality repertoire of the Split Ballet. It has been announced for the next theatre season, so it would be a great pity to miss it.
Link to the original text in Croatian: https://hnk-split.info/Bovary-Slobodna-Dalmacija