A story of love, treachery and redemption

Le Corsaire tells the love story of pirate Conrad and a slave Medora

By Jaimes R. C. Sumbilon

When a young pirate, named Conrad, along with his crewmates, wash ashore after a storm wrecks their
ship, he finds something more valuable than treasure — the beautiful Greek woman Medora. But the story doesn’t end there as more exciting adventures lie ahead.
This April, the Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT), in cooperation with Petron Corp., for the very first time will stage the story of Conrad and Medora in one of the classical plays titled Le Corsaire in a full-length ballet.
Based on the poem “The Corsair” by Lord Byron, Le Corsiare, which literally means “The Pirate,” is said to be typically presented in three acts with a libretto first created by Jules-Henri V. de Saint-Georges and originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Adolphe Adam. It was first presented by the Théâtre Impérial de l´Opéra in Paris, France on Jan. 23, 1856.
The story has a complicated plot in which the protagonist Conrad (character to be alternately played by Lemuel Capa and Nordic Caraig) is saved by young and attractive Medora (Veronica Ylagan and Regine Magbitang) and her companion Gulnare (Joanna Galeste and Lobreza Pimentel) after a sea tragedy that brings Conrad and crewmates on the Greek soil.
Their positions quickly change, however, as Conrad becomes the one who will save Medora after the Turk traders, in league with villainous slave dealer Lanquedem, capture her and the other girls to sell them as slaves.

Lemuel Capa and Veronica Ylagan

As the story unfolds, Conrad and his fellow pirates promise to rescue these poor ladies and they go all the way to a slave market in a busy Turkish Bazaar, where the rich, influential and powerful Sied Pasha is looking to purchase new, beautiful and young slave women.
When the payoff has started, just in time, Conrad and his comrades rescue the girls but, in the confusion that ensues, the pirates also take Lanquedem as captive and bring them to their hidden cave.
At the hideout, Conrad and Medora declare their love, while the former promises to release all the slave women, wherein Conrad’s pal Birbanto, along with his friends, protest, and a fight breaks out among the pirates. Conrad, however, keeps his word and frees the women.
This is the opportunity for which Lanquedem is waiting. He strikes a deal with Birbanto and his comrades in exchange for his freedom and the betrayal of their friend sets afoot.
Soon, Lanquedem, Birbanto and their cohorts kidnap Medora, Gulnare and other maidens while inducing sleep on everyone, including Conrad, using a certain potion.
When Conrad awakes, he feels resentful for being betrayed. So, he, together with his best buddy Ali, and the rest of his team vow to save Medora, Gulnare and the other women once again.
To cut the story short, Conrad, Ali and their colleagues are triumphant in taking revenge against their enemies and in rescuing the women. Conrad, Medora, Gulnare and Ali set sail together for new adventures, and certain this time of true and lasting hapiness.
To give the public a preview of PBT’s newest offering, a short yet entertaining performance was performed by the lead cast of Le Corsaire before media and visitors.

The media were treated to tantalizing excerpts from the ballet from its lead cast

Why Le Corsaire?
“This is a question we have been asked since PBT decided to stage this not so well-known ballet, except for the popular Pas de Deux of Medora and the slave,” enthused Felicitas “Tita” Radaic, one of the PBT founders during the media launch at the Cultural Center of the Philippines recently.
“For one thing, PBT, which is a classical company, would like to venture into lesser known ballets, since staging these would form part of enlightening audiences and students, aside from offering entertainment,” she added.
Radaic, however, said she hesitated to use the word entertainment, which would be misconstrued in its shallower connotation. “Ballet, especially the classics, should form part of one’s education, together with the other arts: music, drama, visual arts and literature... outside of the academic scenario. And because PBT believes in education, it is venturing further than the more usual offerings, and spending more than the usual to produce Le Corsaire. The financial risks are tremendous, some think foolhardy, but still necessary to flesh out an exciting and rarely seen classic,” Radaic, who is also part of the organizing committee, explained.
The official also related this ballet act to our historical events and even to our present times, which she noted that Le Corsaire will show us a glimpse into one of the oldest problems in our society, i.e kidnapping and human trafficking.

PBT's Tita Radaic

“The abduction of young maidens for sale as chattel in public markets/bazaars. It harks back to our own pre-colonial experience when men, women and children were kidnapped,” Radaic said, citing Pintados of Iloilo as perfect example.
The Pintados, according to her, were terrified people who escaped to higher grounds away from the coastlines, when marauders plundered their villages and carried off entire families for sale in the slave markets of Asia.
For Radaic, Le Corasire is not just entertainment, but also an educational presentation, which will take us into the history of the Balkans and the Middle East. “Yes, the dances look exotic, like the Middle East, surroundings are strange by our more modern experiences, a page different from the fairytale classics, yes, and romantic, too. For romance is always appealing and so human,” she averred.
Asked if the PBT is “intimidated” when it comes to its rival ballet companies that already performed Le Corsaire, Radaic stressed: “We are artists, and we are interested in what other groups are doing. We are happy that the other groups have done it, and hopefully we are doing it successfully in our own way... The appreciation of the arts is not limited, so if there are three or four or five companies that already performed Le Corsaire, we will do it for the first time with our very own interpretation.”
She encourages everyone to support this PBT performance. “Experience the magic of suspended belief for at least two hours... away from the more common and chaotic realities of our milieu. A healthy exercise in a world of dream. A momentary isolation from pedestrian noise,” Radaic, a ballerina herself, concluded.
Directed by Ronilo Jaynario, Le Corsaire runs on April 5 (gala night; 8 p.m), April 6 (3 p.m. and 8 p.m.) and April 7 (3 p.m) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (Main Theatre). For tickets, call/text PBT at 632-8848/893-1369/0917-9221515/09292482554; or CCP at 834-3704; or Ticketworld at 891-9999.

From left: Julie Borromeo, Joanna Galeste, Lobreza Pimentel, Veronica Ylagan, director Ronilo Jaynario, Regine Magbintang, Lemuel Cap and Nordic Caraig