Shostakovich - The Bolt
Bolshoi Ballet; Orch. of the Bolshoi State Theatre / Sorokin
Bel Air BAC020

Release date June 2007

Shostakovich’s ballet The Bolt is something of a rarity. Banned after its dress rehearsal in 1931, it received its first stage performance in 2005, using choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s revamping of the plot. Bel Air’s DVD of that production is fascinating. The Bolt’s original scenario revolved around a lazy worker who puts a bolt into a factory machine, lays the blame on another worker but is found out and punished. Shostakovich and his choreographer persuaded the librettist to embellish the story with workplace aerobics, dancing machines, a drunken priest and such like. The resulting satire on factory and village life did not meet with political approval, and the ballet was banned. Ratmanksy’s dazzling production is colourful, amusing, beautifully danced and, although retaining many absurd elements, somewhat more believable than the original story-line, admittedly at the expense of satire. However, I suspect unless you’re an expert on Soviet political and dance history, you’ll need to watch the accompanying interviews and read the booklet notes to begin to understand it!

Reviewed by Anne McAlister