French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj’s 2016 ballet La Fresque (The Painting on the Wall) is based on an 18th-century Chinese fable in which two travelers named Chu and Meng take refuge from a storm in a temple, where an aged monk shows them a fresco that depicts a group of beautiful girls in a pine grove. Chu is immediately smitten with one of the maidens, and magically enters the picture, where he weds her and spends several rapturous years before being ejected by warriors. Chu suddenly finds himself back in the temple, where Meng tells him that he went missing for only a few minutes, but when the pair inspect the painting again, the maiden’s hairstyle now indicates that she is married. Preljocaj presents this rather simple tale in an elegant succession of ensembles and solos, in which Mirea Delogu dances with finesse as the young woman, Victor Martinez Caliz makes a pleasing partner for her as Chu, and the rest of the company offers fine support. Although Preljocaj is a modern dance specialist (and Nicolas Godin’s score is—with the exception of an interlude of synthesized Bach—decidedly contemporary), his work here also exhibits some classical stylistic elements. Constance Guisset’s sets are relatively spare, but her video projections are remarkably effective, and Azzedine Alaïa contributes striking costumes and masks. Extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette. Presented in PCM stereo, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)
La Fresque
(2017) 71 min. DVD or Blu-ray: $24.99. Naxos (avail. from most distributors). Volume 34, Issue 5
La Fresque
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