THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

Rather than turn The Taming of the Shrew into a macho how-to manual for ‘taming’ shrewish women, the idea was to stage the encounter between two powerful personalities who see themselves reflected in one another. Their antisocial and unpalatable characters stem primarily from their instinct for solitude. Two albatrosses in a flock of sparrows. This is love at its most unusual, and the proof is in the ending: although we might have assumed him to be interested in nothing more than his father-in-law’s fortune, Petruchio does not abandon his new wife after the wedding, but takes her with him, rather than helping himself to her dowry. He has a genuine interest in Katherine, and the real dowry and prize is her essence. Yet in reality, Katherine and Petruchio continue their merry, unusual dance in perfect harmony, and in a series of subterfuges and subtexts, succeed in forging a relationship far removed from the ordinary.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (LA MÉGÈRE APPRIVOISÉE) : Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot | Assistant to Choreographer: Bernice Coppieters | Music: Dimitri Chostakovitch | Scenography: Ernest Pignon-Ernest | Costumes: Augustin Maillot | Lighting: Dominique Drillot | Argument: Jean Rouaud, based on the play by William Shakespeare | Premiere by the Bolshoi Ballet, on July 4th 2014, Moscow. Premiere by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, on December 28th 2017, Grimaldi Forum Monaco| Durée : 1h50 (entracte inclus)