To avoid seeming too peachy it’s usual for critics to mention a few reservations about a show before running amok with applause. It’s quickly done with Le Corsaire, which is no more than two‑and‑a-half hours of fancy dress and flashy moves — the Strictly Come Dancing of ballet with a comedy plot and a mongrel score.
Indeed, so many composers had a hand, it would be easier to say who wasn’t involved than who was.
Having got that out of the way, I can breathe easy and tell you that American Ballet Theatre’s Corsaire will make you choke with laughter at its roistering improbability.
ABT doesn’t beat around the artistic bush but romps right through this silly story of pirates kidnapping slave girls and another lot kidnapping them back, with shipwrecks, sleeping potions and curly-toed slippers all part of the pre‑Johnny Depp pirate panto.
Unusually for a big 19th-century ballet where the women have the best moves, Le Corsaire has four meaty male roles. Our hero Conrad (Marcelo Gomes), his friend Birbanto (Carlos Lopez), their slave Ali (Angel Corella) and the bazaar owner Lankendem (Herman Cornejo) career around the stage with lavish panache.
There’s little about the choreography to shade character or reveal motive (fist shaking is as good as it gets) but why worry with such eye candy?
The women are as good, with the heroine Medora (Gillian Murphy) and her friend Gunare (Ziomara Reyes) knocking off double, triple, and what I think were quadruple pirouettes.
Anyone wanting finesse should avoid this ballet; likewise those with concern for authentic costuming and stylish beards. And I should report that the corps was only so-so.
Not that this should stop us. Le Corsaire is not often in London, and unalloyed jollity should not be missed.
Until 4 April. Information: 0871 911 0200, www.eno.org.
American Ballet Theatre: Le Corsaire
London Coliseum
St Martin's Lane, WC2N 4ES
