Near perfect· Frederick Ashton has skillfully remade William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream into a delightful ballet. Ashton trims much of the details from the play leaving a superb fairytale (which of course it is)· The essence of the plot remains· The dancing sent shivers up and down my spine·
Inevitably, Ashton's version is compared with Balanchine's (see)· Put simply, "Ashton tells a story better; Balanchine tells a better story." (NY Times)· Ashton's one act tells a simpler story well suited to ballet; Balanchine's two acts is more nuanced and encompassing of Shakespeare's story· The dancing in both of the filmed versions in my collection is very good, although I found ____ 's Oberon in Ashton somewhat more expressive and athletic than ____'s in Balanchine· My personal preference is Ashton·
I speculate that Ashton did not know quite how to deal with the Mechanicals· For Shakespeare they were a bit of slapstick entertainment for the audience, and a vehicle for bringing Bottom into the plot as a donkey· While Ashton needs the donkey, the mechanicals other antics have a place in Shakespeare story arch in a way not found in the ballet· Their appearance is a somewhat jarring, and made me wonder "What are they doing here?" I knew, of course, since I am familiar with the Shakespeare; but much of the audience may not·
The Dream offers a rare opportunity to see a male dance en pointe-great fun·
Another detail-Ashton's treatment of the play's epilogue, delivered by Puck in the original play as a monologue· While Balanchine's ballet has a more complex epilogue sung by the fairies, Ashton leaves it out, merely having Puck appear in the final scene·
(The Puck's ending monologue is Shakespeare's final little joke; it you still think there is something serious in what you just saw, forget it· This play is meant to be mostly an entertainment and a joke on the follies of our human romances)