Too many cooks usually spoil the bouillabaisse and borscht. The production, based on a 1997 Boston Ballet version, is a fabulous machine for dancing. The first cast on Friday was led by Nina Ananiashvili as Medora, the Greek girl abducted by a slave dealer, and Giuseppe Picone, a revelation in his dancing as Conrad, Medora's pirate lover. Wonderfully assertive but careful to keep a clean classical line, Picone was all flair and flourish. Trained in his native Italy and most recently a member of the English National Ballet, he has slowly worked up to his matinee-idol image in this, his first season with Ballet Theater.
Sex appeal is the secret here.
But as with Rudolph Valentino in the tango, it's the dancing that counts. Not to worry. The jewel-like pas de trois for three odalisqes in pale blue tutus and bare midriffs is the supreme example and featured Gillian Murphy, a corps member who brought the house down on Saturday night with her triple and quadruple pirouettes as well as her astonishingly precise leg beats. But from the moment the curtain rose on Vladimir Malakhov, as the slave dealer bursting with energy in a Turkish bazaar, it was clear that this was to be an all-star evening. Angel Corella was Birbanto, a fiery pirate in a character-dance role that has been enhanced with extra bravura.