Shostakovich: The Taming of the Shrew *****
Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Opera House, 3rd August 2016
“If I be waspish, best beware my sting.” Thus the feisty Katharine warns off Petruchio in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, but he’s irresistibly drawn to her – or to the tasty dowry attached to her hand in marriage, having come “to wive it wealthily in Padua”. I’ve already enjoyed one balletic version of Shrew this year – John Cranko’s at Birmingham Royal Ballet – but Jean-Christophe Maillot’s for the Bolshoi is altogether superior. It is no quaint doublet-and-hose period drama, but a slinky, sexy, sardonic take on the Bard’s prickly comedy.
Vladislav Lantratov (Petruchio) and Ekaterina Krysanova (Katharina)
© Elena Fetisova | Bolshoi Theatre
Read the full review on Bachtrack.