Shostakovich's The Golden Age was, alas, to
prove something of a misnomer, but as the final piece
in the jigsaw of the Kirov's centenary celebrations in
London, it struck many a true note about the composer
and the difficult artistic conditions in which he
somehow flourished.
There never was a 'golden age' - the result, once
again, of Soviet politics, where plotlines were
unexpectedly altered and Shostakovich's music
denounced.
As a consequence Shostakovich's first stage
work, after a few initial performances, lay dormant
for the remainder of his life.
That this was a brand new production, choreographed
by Noah Gelber, heightened the expectation,
with the musical numbers dropped in Grigorivich's
production of the 1980s reinstated, together with the
central theme of football that the authorities had
such a problem with.
The plot crossed between 'then' and 'now', the
'now' coming up from the outset in the form of an
unexpected reunion between Sophie (Daria
Pavlenko) and Alexander (Mikhail Lobukhin).
They reminisced on past times as gymnast and
footballer respectively, aided by a giant camera whose
front end preserved the present, and whose back
cleverly showed images of their past.
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Set in three acts, Gelber's setting brought vibrant
colour to the first two and an overbearing grey to the
third, which concerned itself with the devastating
effects of war. Since Shostakovich was 23 at
the time of writing the piece he was not to know the
full extent of the forthcoming horrors, but his music
nonetheless provided a chilling soundtrack as the
football team as prisoners began to be killed off.
Before that, the mood was far more positive, the
football scenes offering a convincing blend of
athleticism and grace, like watching Barcelona rather
than Shostakovich's chosen team Dynamo Moscow.
Alexander's first venture on to the dancefloor with
his new love was appropriately with two left feet,
with amusing consequences. Not that he stumbled as
badly as Andrey Ivanov's Mr Von Klein though,
the host of the ball becoming the comedy turn of the
ballet.
With the bright football team colours - red and
white versus an Antipodean green and yellow - it came
as a shock when the curtain rose for Act Three. The
giant camera hulked alongside the stadium ruins,
images of war projected onto it, the football team
held prisoners at the front of the stage. Still there
was time for healing of old wounds, though, the ending
coming as the two main characters rediscovered their
feelings, some seventy years on.
Just as poignant was the projection of a young
Shostakovich onto the back of the giant camera for the
orchestra's Finale, the culmination of a score that
had at turns flirted with jazz, tango, swing and
foxtrot. It was a rare chance to see the composer's
first ballet, and in the clichéd spirit of the
football press conference, one that hit the back of
the net!
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