Swan Lake

Not my favourite Swan Lake (one of my all-time favourite ballets and pieces in general) by all means, (the Natalia Makarova/Anthony Dowell performance), but there is an awful lot to recommend and it is a thoroughly enjoyable production.

It is a good-looking production on the whole, the embellished Faberge –inspired production design won't be for all tastes, this viewer found it had a real sumptuous elegance that added a lot to the ballroom atmosphere of particularly Act 3. The costumes are equally beautiful, and who can't help love the haunting, intimate atmosphere of Acts 2 and 4? That is not to say that the visuals come off completely successfully, some scenes are lit too darkly and when some of the performers have dark costuming on it does make it a little difficult to see what's going on, particularly in Act 3 like with Prince Siegfried's entrance where he should be the centre of attention but you can only just about make out his face and the overly fussy and too long skirts for the Corps De Ballet, despite the lovely movements they made, slightly took away from seeing the precision of the footwork and seemed like it was an obstacle for the dancers. Rothbart's costume looks on the cheap and too over sized-owl side, which I have found true of most productions of Swan Lake.

The video directing is also uneven, sometimes it does have an intimacy and serves particularly well for Osipova and how she conveys all the emotions she displays , and there is at least an expansive view of the action ,but too often there is an over-reliance on close-ups and not enough showing of the footwork.

Choreographically, the production is mostly very impressive, it is always entertaining and has a lot of emotion, heart-wrenching in Act 4 thanks to Osipova. The Act 2 Pas De Deux is just exquisite as it ought to be, the children bring a real charm to the production, the mime is fun and is not over-used and the national dances in Act 3 are very well-done, the Neapolitan dance is particularly good and the Czardas is appropriately rousing. The only reservation is with Benno and the hunting party, there is a little too much of them and they are over-directed, their scenes have a lot of mystery that doesn't quite come across as much as it could due to the over-business of their stage direction.

Musically, the production is rock-solid with superb orchestral playing, with the orchestra playing with plenty of forceful power, mystery and nuance. Boris Gruzin's conducting accommodates the story's action and performers beautifully and he lets the music breathe, while also giving the drama pace. The Corps De Ballet perform impeccably and with a lot of grace, there are parts like the Dance of the Swans (one of the most famous parts of the score along with the Scene) that contain a lot of traps but any hurdles are overcome solidly in this production.

As are the two leads. Natalia Osipova shows an enviously phenomenal dance technique, dancing her steps with real elegance, beautiful line (her legato is heart-melting) and confidence, her fouettes (very challenging to do) have such remarkable control and speed. She is a great actress too, Odette can be a remote character that I have seen some ballerinas play a little coldly but Osipova plays her very poignantly, the emotion she conveys in Act 4 is done so understatedly but it's heart-wrenching. Her Odile is a lovely contrast, a cunning and seductive performance and very easy to fall under her spell. Matthew Golding works wonderfully with her, and while the choreography doesn't allow him to do enough dancing in Act 1 he is appropriately masculine and does show effort to show a journey from boyish youthfulness to a man and is a powerful and graceful dancer, as well as a sympathetic dancer to Osipova (which is part of what works so well with the Pas De Deux). Gary Avis also doesn't do a lot of dancing, here Rothbart is more an acting role, but he is menacingly charismatic as this villain and despite his appearance does strike fear into one's heart when he first appears. Ryiochi Hirano is entertaining as Benno and Alastair Elliot is a lively Tutor. Elizabeth Magorian also deserves mention as one of the best-acted Queens in any production of Swan Lake I've seen, it is an incredibly dignified performance with so many subtle emotions.

In summary, a more than worthwhile performance of Swan Lake with the performances of the two leads being its main high points. 7/10 Bethany Cox