The Lady of the Camellias

Shanghai Ballet. LYRIC THEATRE, QPAC. Performances 5-8 December 2024

“Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought”. Thus wrote Percy Bysshe Shelley two centuries ago. This beautiful, sweet-sad ballet exemplifies that truth. It is the tragic tale of French courtesan Marguerite Gautier (danced exquisitely by QI Bingxue) and her troubled love affair with Armand Duval (danced finely by WU Husheng).

Armand Duval’s father (Ivan Gil-Ortega) is perhaps the villain of the piece as he convinces poor Marguerite to end the relationship with Armand for Armand’s sake.

Marguerite makes a bold effort to return to high Parisian society with a new benefactor, shocking the public. Alas, she comes undone and surrenders to death, finding peace as the angel arrives to take her away.

This is a moving, passionate ballet of love gone awry and the hardship of social disgrace.

This production reflects the close co-operation between the Queensland Ballet and the Shanghai Ballet. Significantly, it is performed shortly after the commencement of the 11th ground-breaking Asia-Pacific Triennial arts exhibition (initiated by the Goss government) nearby at GOMA.  Queensland leads Australia in forging artistic links with our neighbours in the Asia-Pacific. It is refreshing to see a strong artistic dimension to our relationship with our geographic neighbours, notwithstanding the regular focus on trade and conflict. Much credit in this respect is due to former Queensland Ballet Artistic Director Li Cunxin. Ballet is the archetypal international language. Perhaps it can leap with a grand-jete across divides not amenable to the world of words.

Reviewed by: Matt Foley

Choreographer: Derek Deane OBE

Composer : Carl Davis

Scenery and Costume Designer: Adam Nee

Lighting Designer: Friopjofur Porsteinsson

Assistant to the Choreographer: Ivan Gil-Ortega

Duration: 2 hours including one 20-minute interval