Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-03-30
DIAGHLEFF'S BALLET
IN SECOND PROGRAM
Fantasy, Humor and Tragedy
in Dancing, Sets and Music
at Metropolitan

Again, after n brief Teutonc upheaval,
the Russian ballet! Again the over
whelniing Of the senses with color, light
and movement, in the fantastic, the gro
tesque and the tragic moods of the dance
and pantomime. For the "Scheherazade"
of the opening program there was CLEO.
patre," for '1'Oiseau de Feu" there was
"Soleii de Mutt" and to add to "Carna-
val" which was repeated, there was La
Spectre de la Rose" 1t was a program
not more varied not more Immediately
pleasing and not all the separate numbers
of 1t were as effective as their counter
parts of the first night.
This time there was however, some-
thing added in the "Solei de Mutt" (The
Midnight SUM, which was intensely racial
could have sprung from nowhere outside
of husband II turned out to be the
high-light of the evenings program. Ger
tainly the edge was taken off cleopatra
by the more daring, the more beautiful
and the more dramatically effective story
of the Arabian nights in which also love
and death are mingled. The story of the
youth who is dazzled by the fatal enchant-
ment of the Queen of the Sapphire Nile,
who deserts his lowly love for the Queens
passing favor and, gratfied, drinks the
cup of death. is emlnently fitted for the
mining of the Ballet Russo; but the
Egyptian setting Is hard and the sensu-
BUSINESS, tle ufeauIul NOlupluOudHtSS VI
Zobeide and her paramour could not be
paralleed SO that It was only tragedy,
without much of passion or of beauty,
which filled the gloomy halls with their
monstrous and mlsshapen pillars and huge
gods. Even the dancing here was not
perfect; the music, by many hands, was
interesting, and the costuming superb.
But 1t did not go!
Tho lovely dream of the Spectre OF the
Rose" set to Weber's familiar Invitation
to tho Dance" was an interlude which
combined with the final piece. the Car
naval" set to Schumann's music NJ. Alex
andre Gavrllof was the incarnation OF
the rose summoned In tho young girls
dream and was possessed Of a fine, fan
tastio grace. Yet Il was Mile Lydia Lopo-
kova, the adorable and adored. who was
the spirit of the dream. Her fragile and
tender beauty, her ineffable grace and
loveliness of spirit were enough even In
the few fleeting moments or the dance
Hers Is the head upon which all the pe-
ginnlngs of earth have begun to fall and
the eyelids will never grow weary. we do
not wonder that Euripides exclaimed, And
shall not Lydia be loved forever"
There Is in the program tomorrow eve
ming another example of the Russian folk
dance In "Petrouchka," which opens with
n street fair in Petrograd. 1t Is tragic
episode, but "Soleil de Mutt" Is all fun
ton of Halloween. Before a sky of rich
est, darkest blue In the wonderful set of
Larionoff there stands a leerinE totem
pole and around and about this wild SYM
Dol the games and dances of Russia take
place. overhead hang crazy pumpkin
heads, with strange triangular eyes all
red and kindly and familiar. The sinister
little men of "The Firebird" are here
transformed into the good spirits, the imps
are elves and the ugly figures of bad
dream are here the puffy, honest-faced
men and women of a hamlet, met for their
one night off
They dance and play, in their absurd
headdresses and large skirts and queer
blouses and the village stupid, with
hands tied out of mischief in long bag
sleeves comes to dance and play with
them. Then the midnight sun himself
flashing red garments and huge cymbals
on his hands, dances the rout of his pagan
religion, until in merriment and activity
they are too tired to do more. 1t Is alto
gether Russian, simple, joyous and free,
The figures leap and gather in groups,
scatter and join in romping rings, all with
an unaffected enjoyment, freshness ana
vigor which no sophisticated age can re-
store
Except for this the evening served only
as a reminder of what had gone before
1t serves also as interlude, for tomorrow
"Scheherazade" is danced again, with
"Petrouchka" and Les Sylphide," far
more characteristic set OF pieces. Friday
evening has the most notable bill of all
and the two Saturday performances are
largely made up of repetitions. There
was sufficient beauty in last nights work
for an ordinary ballet; for the Russians
il was not enough They live and prosper
on more violent things, on passions more
hot. Last night not even Bakst glowed.
G. V. S.