Paquita (Agnes Letestu-Jose Martinez, Paris Opera Ballet, 2003)

The melodies are tuneful and immediately forgettable, lots of accented beats, charm frothing from the orchestra pit like a bubble bath. The story is preposterous nonsense, but the final-act wedding festivities make for a happy ending with lots of anything-you-can-dance-I-can-dance-better splash and dash. Much of Marius Petipa’s trademark choreography is included, the fouettés ad infinitum, so the viewer is assured of a visual spectacle. The Paris Opera Ballet has not only rescued this work from near extinction, but has given it a first-class production.

It is the dancing which makes or mars a production and this ballet has some excellent examples of Parisian technique at its finest. Both Jose Martinez and Agnes Letestu, the principals, turn in fine performances, as does Karl Paquette as one of the villains. Lucien is obligated to marry Serafina, who’s considered a good match. A band of gypsies arrives. Their leader, Inigo, wants to marry Paquita, but Paquita has some mystery concerning her uncertain past. She has a locket containing the portrait of her deceased father, a man she never knew. Inigo steals the locket so no one will discover her true identity, especially Lucien, who is much more interested in Paquita than in his fiancée Serafina. Let’s skip to the end: the locket is recovered (people in plays never destroy incriminating evidence), and lo and behold, Paquita is not a gypsy after all. She’s the daughter of Charles d’Hervilly, a nobleman who was slain in a massacre precedent to act I. This news improves her marital eligibility. Lucien dumps Serafina and all dance happily ever after. Agnes Letestu, José Martinez, and Karl Paquette are outstanding as Paguita, Lucien, and Inigo, respectively. Three members of the company deserve praise for their featured work in the act I Pas de trois. The choreography throughout the ballet is inventive and interesting, and frequently exhilarating.