Pulcinella at Rishon

Pulcinella is a one act ballet, which includes also singing.

By MAXIM REIDER
The Rishon LeZion Symphony under Dan Ettinger, together with dance ensemble Fresco and opera singers Sharon Rostorf-Zamir, Felix Livshitz and Noah Briger, present the one-act ballet Pulcinella, set to modernist great Igor Stravinsky's score. Pulcinella, a traditional hero of commedia dell'arte, captures the hearts of all the local girls. Their fiances plot to kill him, but he outwits them and arranges marriages for everyone. Serge Diagilev, the famed impresario of the Ballets Russes, commissioned the piece from Stravinsky, suggesting to the composer that he write a ballet based on Pergolesi's music. The ballet premiered in Paris in 1920. "I tried to create a triangle of music, dance and singing, all of them in the same style, with the same approach," says Fresco choreographer Yoram Carmi. "The music is Stravinsky at his best - passionate, emotional, with crazy rhythms. His dialogue with Pergolesi is charming. The story is told by the opera singers, yet in my production I do not relate literally to the story - there's no such a character as Pulcinella on stage. It is rather about the specific humor of commedia dell'arte, about love and love games," explains the choreographer. "There are very beautiful fragments of court dances, gavotte and minuet, and there I decided to go against the Baroque style to show a more modern twist. We are not a classical ballet ensemble, but the dancers possess excellent technique and the entire performance is a mix of improvisation, contemporary body work and classical touches. It was important to me to make the opera singers a part of the ensemble, as they drive the storyline. In some fragments they sing and the dancers dance together with them." The program also features Sheherzade by Rimsky Korsakov. Heichal Hatarbut Rishon LeZion, Saturday, Sunday and Monday at 20:30, and the Tel Aviv Opera House, Wednesday at 20:00.