The Washington times., 1911-11-04
)uHa Mwdock Calls Imperial Russian Banet, With Mkaa
Mordkin, Most Beautiful Spectacle Of Kind EDer Seen Here
Ocular Opera" Scores Be-
fore Fashionable Belasco
Audience. |

No spectacle more beautiful has even
been presented in Washington than the
| offering last evening in the Belasco
Theater by the All Star Imperial RUS
sian Ballet, with Mikail Mordkin, who
Is himself again. after visit to. the
] operating table, and his well choseu
company OF artists. who presented the
beautiful ocular OPERA" Lac DeB
Cygnes" (the Lake of Swans), the fairy
! tale In four acts by Marius Petipa, with
music by Tschaikowski which has been
rearranged for a ballet by Mordkin.
Little or no occasion exists for dis
cussing the art of these Russian dam
GERS, for everywhere Is their superiority
] admitted. The supreme poetry of mo-
| tion OF these artists. combined with the
| genuine acting, Is their offering, and
their reception last night, not only BY
society, spelled with a capital 8. but
! by palmer people as well, shows in
what measure their work is appreci-
ated and admired. Those who had never
before beheld performance of ocular
opera. little guessed what they were
about to witness The public received
them with open arms.
New Art Causes
Stir In Paris.
For years the world has looked upon
Russia as country remote, semi-bar
barous, or II not quite that, semi CIV
ilized at least; country out of which
nothing artistic could possibly come.
! But when the Imperial Russian Ballet
went to Paris. that city woke UP and
rubbed Its eyes. Never before had the
city by the Seine grown 30 wild, never
was such enthusiasm, for the very .ex-
cellent reason that such dancing had
never been seen before. Paulowa and
Mordkin were acclaimed the greatest
artists Of their kind the world had ever
seyes ana mot moist only dia them
dramatic artists as well. Their per-
formances welded music and dancing
into one exquisite whole. The other
the grace and power of their movement
] being beyond description. Mordkin lie a
great artist. He is as light as a bird.
e far y nsH aMay the he % sehsss neass
beauty, the freshness of the faces Cf
the young women who form the bal
let, their wonderful pose, their extra
ordinary grace carries everything be-
Mile; Loupokowa. who shared hon
ors last evening with Mordkin In
of age. but she is already regarded as
one Of the greatest exponents OF the So
called danse classiques. Mile Sedowa.
q eo1star; is an equally talented artiste;
evening, she was given a great task,
yet even her most difficult numbers
were presented with a grace and free
dom which made them seem more like
childs play. She seemed to give no
thought or effort to the physical portion
Of her dance. which took form as natur-
story Of oTs hs ac des
concerns the quest of Prince siegfred
for wife. Accompanied by his tutor.
he appears upon the scene which Is laid
in the garden of his castle, where all
the beautiful maidens of the realm have
been brought before him, in order that
he may choose princes consort, only
task. His tutor yainiy endeavors to have
him return to his studies, but he has
seen swan-maiden. more beautiful
beautiful dancers. and has fallen in love
with her.
She's Under
Spell Of A Sorcerer.
The swan princess has told Seigfred
that she is under the spell of sorcerer,
and that in order to break this spell, she
must be the object of the constant af-
fection of some man. Just at this juno
} Seigfred deserts the beautiful woman of
his mothers court, and, accompanied by
party of courtiers, starts in pursuit Of
Lac des Cygne'' beautiful example
of scenic art. Here Seigfred meets
odette.. the queen of the swans. sur
| rounded Dy HeT train, Ill DeautlIul
dancers, dressed in robes SO filmy and
ethereal that they seem like dew
showered cobwebs The entire ballet
was represented in this act. moving
about the stage with a graceful. flying
motion. suggestive of q flock Of swans
in flight.
The third scene depicts the ballroom
, Of the palace where. again, the queen
mother brings the most beautiful maid
ems of her kingdom together in order
that Siegfred may make his choice, but
| again the swan maiden flies before
his eyes, and he deserts the palace for
the Lac des Cygnes.' where the fourth
and last scene is laid.
i Adding materially to the artistic sue
cess of the appearance of the Russian
: ballet was the work of the symphony
orchestra, which accompanies the CORPS
artist dancers
The leader is Vittorio Podesti, and
many-nearly all the members-have
been recruited from the orchestra OF
the Metropolitan Opera House. The
beautiful Tschaikowski music was won-
, derfully interpreted. All OF the stage
settings and costumes were as sumptu-
, ously beautiful as good taste and lavish
expenditure of money could make them
, Many of the brocades in the palace
scene were especially woven for this
production of the royal looms Of
Russia, and the embroidery of gold.
silver, and jewels, is all hand-work.
This afternoon. Delibes' beautiful
, opera of "Coppelia" was presented, and
Lac des Cygnes" will be the Offering
this evening. -,-,