Siu Wang-Ngai, Simon

Synopsis:

The ballet La Bayadère is a tale of forbidden love, jealousy, betrayal, and redemption, set in a mystical, exotic India. It follows Nikiya, a beautiful temple dancer (bayadère), who falls in love with the noble warrior Solor. Their love is mutual, but doomed by fate and deceit.

The High Brahmin, who also desires Nikiya, becomes jealous and reveals her secret affair to the Rajah. The Rajah, wanting Solor to marry his daughter Gamzatti, conspires with her to eliminate Nikiya. When Nikiya is offered a poisoned flower basket at Gamzatti’s command, she dies in agony, heartbroken by Solor’s perceived betrayal.

Consumed by grief and guilt, Solor dreams of Nikiya in the ethereal “Kingdom of the Shades” scene—one of the ballet’s most iconic moments, where the spirits of the dead bayadères appear in a hypnotic procession. There, he is reunited with Nikiya's spirit, expressing eternal love.

The ballet ends with divine retribution: the gods destroy the temple during Solor and Gamzatti’s wedding, killing everyone and reuniting Solor and Nikiya in the afterlife.

La Bayadère is a dramatic, visually mesmerizing ballet that explores love beyond death and the spiritual consequences of earthly actions.

劇情大綱：

芭蕾舞劇《舞姬》（La Bayadère）是一部充滿禁忌之愛、嫉妒、背叛與救贖的作品，背景設定在神秘異域的古印度。故事講述了美麗的廟舞女尼姬婭與高貴的戰士蘇拉之間一段注定悲劇的愛情。

尼姬婭與蘇拉彼此深愛，但他們的戀情招致多方嫉妒。愛慕尼姬婭的大祭司在得知兩人的秘密後，憤怒地向國王揭發。國王希望蘇拉娶自己的女兒金薩蒂為妻，於是與金薩蒂密謀除掉尼姬婭。在一場慶典中，金薩蒂借送花籃之機，將毒蛇藏於其中，尼姬婭在舞蹈中被咬傷，痛苦死去，心中充滿對蘇拉背叛的絕望。

悲痛與悔恨中的蘇拉吸食鴉片後沉入幻境，在那極具傳奇色彩的“陰影王國”場景中，蘇拉與尼姬婭的靈魂重逢，表達了他們跨越生死的深情。

結尾，神明降下懲罰，在蘇拉與金薩蒂的婚禮上摧毀了神廟，眾人喪命，蘇拉與尼姬婭得以在來世團聚。

《舞姬》是一部充滿視覺震撼與情感張力的芭蕾巨作，展現了超越生死的愛情與因果輪回的主題。