ith Roland Petit’s cool,cabaret-style choreography and chic costumes by Yves Saint Laurent, Notre-Damede Paris has been a modern ballet hit ever since its 1965 premiere. Petit’sdeft condensation of Victor Hugo’s epic and tragic novel is now renewed by twostars of our own time, Roberto Bolle and Natalia Osipova: a stunning tribute toPetit’s genius after his death in 2011. ‘Petit’s Esmeralda is a cousin of hislandmark Carmen, and there is no better enfant terrible to play her today thanNatalia Osipova’ (Financial Times); Bolle ‘manages to instill Quasimodowith a tragic air that is both fierce and tender’ (Herald Tribune).

Review: Roland Petit’s cabaret-style version of the Hunchback of Notre Dame story was premiered in 1965, with chic costuming by Yves Saint Laurent. It’s been a modern ballet hit ever since, and since Petit died in 2011, this new production with current ballet stars is a fitting tribute, and very well done. It is beautifully danced, staged and filmed, with some fascinating overhead camera shots. The score by Maurice Jarre is really similar to one of his great film scores and a nice alternative to the usual ballet score. The orchestra is unusually large, with many harps and percussion, and the music is well reproduced on the DTS surround track.

Osipova is perfect in her role as Esmeralda and quite a different and sexier creature than the Esmeralda in Lon Chaney’s 1923 silent film, which we recently reviewed. She is most striking in her rapid leg and arm movements, and does many of the amazing jumps for which she is acclaimed.

Bolle speaks in the extras about his difficulties dancing the part of Quasimodo since first of all he had been the handsome lead price and such in other ballets, and secondly because his costume and makeup really don’t fit the hunchback theme. For example, he has no hunchback. His motions have to convey his disabilities, and he does a fairly good job of it. During a pas de deux with Esmeralda he does lose some of his strange arms-in-the-air postures, but that illustrates his sort of rebirth realizing that someone actually loves and appreciates him for a change.

Tracklisting:

Maurice Jarre (1924-2009)
NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS

Esmeralda - Natalia Osipova
Quasimodo - Roberto Bolle
Frollo - Mick Zeni
Phoebus - Eris Nezha

Milan La Scala Ballet
Milan La Scala Orchestra
Paul Connelly, conductor

Roland Petit, choreographer
René Allio, set design
Yves Saint-Laurent, costume design
Jean-Michel Désiré, lighting design

• Recorded live at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, March 2013

Bonus:
- Behind the Curtain - Interviews with the cast and crew
- Cast Gallery