The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre delivers a traditional and magical version of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake’ with a stand out opening night performance from leading ballerina Irina Kolesnikova.
It’s a rare treat to see a ballet performed in a very traditional way, without changes to the storyline, new settings, innovative set pieces or gender bending role reversals. The last time I saw Swan Lake it was British Choreographer Mathew Bourne’s version where the traditional female swan roles were all played by men, and while that production was mind blowingly good – it’s nice to return to the classics.
The visiting Russian company deliver a straight forward traditional take on the ballet, and it includes a captivating portrayal of the duel role of Odette and Odile by ballerina Irina Kolesnikova.
Without any doubt Kolesnikova was truly transformed into a swan, magically and subtly mimicking the moves of the long necked bird. Also delivering standout performances in this production is Dimchik Sakeev as the villain Rothbart, a perfect combination of dancer performance and theatricality. Solid performances came from leading man Dmitri Akulinin and Erkin Rakhmatulaev was always catching your eye as the Jester.
The quality of the corps de ballet was good overall, but a few of the dancers at the back of the room clearly had much less skill than the leading performers and there were moments that the dancer fell out of sync.
Swan Lake has all the things that make this ballet that little girl’s love, filled with tutus, tiaras, heroes and princesses. Is there another ballet that has as many tutus on stage at the same time?
It also features Tchaikovsky’s wonderful and lively score. The stage sets for this touring production are quite old fashioned; in that they are made solely of fabric, but it’s is done so well. Each time the curtain was raised on a new act the audience would let out a gasp of wonder, reminding us that a lot can be achieved with simplicity.
The downside of this production is the music is per-recorded and there were moments where the cast were left waiting for the music to begin, creating odd and awkward silences. Overall this is a first rate traditional telling of one of Ballet’s best story’s delivered by some first rate dancers at the top of their game.
Swan Lake is playing at His Majesty’s Theatre until Sunday 11 August. Tickets are available from Ticketek.
Graeme Watson
