Bye

Distinguished Swedish choreographer Mats Ek created this impressionistic one-woman work in 2010 as a quasi-farewell showpiece for Sylvie Guillem, who was the prima ballerina of the Paris Opera in the late 1980s before moving to London's Royal Ballet and later to Sadler's Wells Theatre. Set to Beethoven's final piano sonata (in an eccentric 1983 recording by then-young Croatian wunderkind Ivo Pogorelich) and seen here in a 2012 performance, Bye is a virtuoso piece that straddles the line between ballet and modern dance, exhibiting Guillem's prowess in both. Guillem passes through a brightly lit door in mid-stage and then energetically struggles toward and away from other doors in which various human figures can be glimpsed—an expression of the mixture of trepidation and liberation that comes with any major life transition (as Ek explains in an accompanying bonus featurette). The role is demanding, and Guillem tackles it with passionate artistry, making it a fine capstone to her remarkable career. Presented in LPCM stereo, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)