S.f. Ballet Review: A Rousing 'giselle’ From Kochetkova

The San Francisco Ballet and its Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson set out on one of the dance world’s most significant adventures Thursday evening at the War Memorial Opera House. During the next 10 days, no fewer than seven of the company’s principal dancers will attempt the most formidable challenge in the Romantic repertoire. The women who will dance the role have come from or worked in a range of ballet traditions. Only when she realizes the deception of her suitor Albrecht does she freeze in silence and melt into dementia. Vitor Luiz and his clean, ardent technique cannot be denied; the flood of entrechats in his Act 2 variation and his airborne forays reap ovations. [...] the Brazilian performer, in danseur ignoble mode, delivers the most charmless, even thuggish interpretation of the role I can recall. Once again, Sofiane Sylve’s Myrtha embodied imperiousness as this Queen of the Wilis (ghosts of dead, deceived maidens) slipped onto deep arabesque, soared across the stage and used her back to eloquent effect. De Sola united with Clara Blanco, Koto Ishihara, Daniel Deivison-Oliveira and Hansuke Yamamoto for a lively peasant pas de cinq, which Tomasson substituted for the original pas de deux for the only reason that he has the dancers to bring it off. Mikael Melbye’s sun-dappled Rhineland village and brambly lakeside forest are still serviceable, while the score, which adds rare bits by Adam, Burgmüller and Minkus, to the standard version, falls easily in the ear.