The Royal Ballet: New Swan Lake Production, Summer 2018

[Lizbie1]

1 minute ago, bridiem said:

 

Poor old Muntagirov. I haven't recovered yet from seeing him cradling his dead Manon. (Or his dead Giselle for that matter.)

 

Hmmm. Perhaps the Police need to start looking into this... 

[RuthE]

Off-topic, but this reminds me of something Barbara Hannigan said in Wednesday's masterclass (an ROH Insight Event) - "this (Lessons in Love and Violence) is the first thing I've done in ages where I don't die!"

Edited May 18, 2018 by RuthE

[MRR]

1 hour ago, annamk said:

The only less than enthusiastic response I had was to Act 4 where I share Bruce's reservation. it may just be that it gets a while to get used to different choreography - I think I'm correct in saying that this act is the most changed musically and choreographically ? Is anyone very familiar with the score who can tell me what was dropped and what added - this new version is more true to the original Tchaikovsky? 

Act IV tends to be a free-for-all choreographically and musically.  Considering ABT's production has practically no 4th act, and the Grigorovich version ditches the apotheosis entirely, I thought Scarlett's at least brought closure to the production.  I have mixed thoughts on the ending, but I imagine with a new production there was great pressure to have an alternative ending from both jumping into the lake, and this worked well considering.  

 

The music for the Act IV pas de deux he choreographed is in many other versions but was not in the Dowell version.  It replaces "Un poco di Chopin" which in the Dowell version had Odette and Siegfried dancing together with all the swans onstage.  In Scarlett's version, the swans leave so only Odette and Siegfried are onstage until Rothbart comes in.  I quite liked this change: the current music for the pas conveys Odette's desperation and helps escalate the tension going into the final movement.  

 

I'm also thinking the Valse Blurette is cut (music for the beginning corps dance with two swans in Dowell's version) and replaced with "Dances des petites cygnets" in Scarlett's version.  Could be wrong on that, the music from act IV tends to blend together in my brain so I will check again tomorrow!

[RuthE]

11 minutes ago, MRR said:

I'm also thinking the Valse Blurette is cut (music for the beginning corps dance with two swans in Dowell's version)

 

Is that the one to which my imagination always set the words "Not another waltz again"?

[MRR]

Valse Blurette:  

 

[Sharon]

11 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

here are some photos:

 

 

Vadim Muntagirov
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

 

 

 

Vadim Muntagirov, Marianela Nunez, Bennet Gartside, and artists of the company
©  Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

 

 

 

See more... 

Set from DanceTabs: RB - Swan Lake 2018
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

By kind Permission of The Royal Opera House

Thank you for these 🤩

[Lizbie1]

Here's a question I always want to ask: who were Odette's doubles? I thought it was Leticia Stock on the Prologue, but can't be sure!

[zxDaveM]

12 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

Here's a question I always want to ask: who were Odette's doubles? I thought it was Leticia Stock on the Prologue, but can't be sure!

 

it was Leticia in the prologue. I have a sheet with the name of the woman in his arms at the end, but not with me. I'll check tonight

[alison]

Grr, just missed out on a returned standing for tomorrow night :(

[Alice Shortcake]

Another cause for celebration: at last we have a Von Rothbart who doesn't look like a walking compost heap!

[nevsky]

2 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

Yes, that's the saving grace! (Literally.)

 

Poor old Muntagirov. I haven't recovered yet from seeing him cradling his dead Manon. (Or his dead Giselle for that matter.)

 

And his Marguerite. In his last three ballets he has been on his knees, as the curtain falls, cradling the dead bodies of the women he has loved.

[Jane S]

Please tell me that amongst all this splendour they also took the Act 2 pas de deux a bit faster? (Better stil, a lot faster?)

[Sim]

Errr.....no!  I was actually commenting to someone last night that it is very slow.  She said if it were any slower they would have to extend the finishing time!!

[aliceinwoolfland]

5 stars in the Independent! https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/swan-lake-royal-opera-house-ballet-review-liam-scarlett-marianela-nu-ez-a8357406.html

[Indigo]

4 hours ago, Sim said:

I think that after only one viewing I too prefer Dowell's Act 4;  at least, the last 10 minutes (I love Liam's pdd and the reinstated music, and what he has done with the corps).  For the ending, to me, the music indicates some kind of apotheosis, or some kind of uplifting spiritual resolution.  That second when the music stops then goes really slowly, building up to the final crescendo, and all the swan maidens, on pointe, arms outstretched to the side,  turn to face Odette and Siegfried as they go off to swan heaven.....that is an image in ballet that always makes me choke up and get goosebumps.  I don't think this new Act 4's ending will have the same effect....but it's a good one anyway, and I love that the ghost of Odette still remains.  Poor old Siegfried....I much prefer it when he dies too, then at least he and Odette are together for eternity.....!

 

3 hours ago, Mary said:

I agree Sim. Of course in the music it's an apotheosis. This new ending is a little too bleak. The rest of the production listens to the music and follows it, so well, up until that moment.

 

3 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

I completely agree with this, Sim. I'm happy with the choreography of the new Act 4, and dramatically it all works very well, but the denouement is not cathartic and uplifting and I think that the music dictates that it should be. So I have to push myself to find what should be there by right. Thanks to the magnificent performances and production, I can do that; but I would prefer it to be less effort!

 

 

On initial viewing, this was my feeling about the ending too.  I wasn’t swept away emotionally as I have been by the previous production’s Act IV.

 

I also struggled to suspend my disbelief at the culmination of Act IV.  I didn’t read the plot synopsis on the cast list beforehand, so when Seigfried goes off behind the rock to retrieve Odette's body, I had a moment of confusion & started wondering whether he was wading out into the lake to drown himself.  When he reappeared, it prompted questions such as: hadn’t Odette jumped off that rock to kill herself?  So is the water deep enough to drown in below it, or was it the fall that was fatal?  How did he retrieve her body so easily?  I realise this is fairytale / magic ☺️, but I was working very hard to focus on the tragedy & not the practicalities, which is something I don’t usually have to do in Swan Lake.   

 

As Seigfried reappears from behind the rock with Odette’s body, I also experienced a jolt of exasperation: not AGAIN.  The ending felt too similar to Manon, Giselle, Marguerite & Armand…  Curtain falls on lead man cradling / carrying / weeping over dead female lead.   I preferred Seigfried dying too & being reunited with Odette in some other magical realm.  

 

The above is my only real gripe with the new production on first viewing. Magnificent dancing, performances, sets, costumes...  I appreciated the improved, coherent narrative & clever set transitions between the palace & the lakeside.  So having got that out of my system, I hope to get fully swept away by the other performances I’m booked to see.

 

Edited May 18, 2018 by Indigo

[Sim]

Funnily enough, Indigo, my daughter and I had that same discussion the way home.  He disappears altogether, then reappears.  My daughter wondered whether he walked on water!!!    We were also saying how the rocks are on the shore only just above the water line, so she can't have drowned, unless she was swept out and then back for retrieval very quickly!! But then I told my daughter to stop over-thinking things, and just let it wash (pardon pun) over her.  She made a good point and said that it was easier to do that in the previous version because Dowell had made it more of a magic story, whereas here she felt there is much more a touch of reality about it.  But as you say, Indigo, we won't be thinking about that in the next few performances!! 

[Sim]

Not a review as such, but just some random jottings-down of my thoughts on the production itself as they occurred to me this morning:

 

Swan Lake Random Thoughts

Prologue:  In the true Gothic tradition.  Quick but effective…..really liked it.  We see Von Rothbart turning Odette into a swan, although we don’t know why.  All is revealed later as it is clearly part of the monster’s grand plan to grab power from a weakened, widowed and  grieving queen.  By ensuring that Siegfried can’t be king, this opens the way for him.   But we don’t know all this until the end of Act 3.

Act 1:  Costumes perhaps too white.  Should contrast more with Act 2.   But that’s just a pedantic niggle on my part.  Love the set.  No Tchaikovsky waltz (in any of his big three ballets), despite the most valiant attempts, has ever held my attention for more than a few minutes, and this is no exception.  Why are Tchaikovsky’s waltzes so darn long?  Must have been popular at the time.  The pdt, with the three principals, was wonderful, with Akane Takada’s classical technique on fine and beautiful fettle.  I like that they are Siegfried’s young sisters, and I like how we can see his misery and melancholia when he indicates that he doesn’t want to dance with them, so tells Benno to do so instead.  I also like the fact that Benno’s role has been enhanced.  I thought it was interesting how the Queen seems to almost just go through the motions in telling her son that he has to marry.  His father has just died, and she mimes that all this is now his kingdom, that he will soon be crowned king, and therefore has to marry.  She seems sad about having to make him do this.  This contrasts with the Dowell version where she is angry and insistent when he indicates that he isn’t interested. 

Interesting how Von Rothbart recoils and clutches himself when Siegfried says he is going to shoot some swans…it’s as if he realises he’d better get back into monster form to try and save all his evil plans from being scuppered!  That must be the quickest costume and makeup change I’ve ever seen.  Prior to this, we do get the feeling that VR, acting as the Queen’s advisor, is already machinating things in the palace prior to his takeover bid.  I want to know more about VR:  was he born a monster (literally/figuratively)?  Or is he also under a curse? 

Act 2:  Largely left alone.  All mime left in.  Thank goodness on both counts.  Love the set and the beautiful moonlit lighting.  I didn’t see Siegfried mime the ‘I swear’ sign to Odette, but I guess we are just supposed to guess that he has expressed loyal and undying love to her by that beautiful pdd. 

Act 3:  A real tour de force in all respects:  set design, costume design, choreography, music and lighting (thank you, thank you, for ensuring that the audience can see every minute of this beautiful production.  All other lighting designers please take note:  the audience pays to actually be able to see what they’ve paid for!).  I love how Siegfried has to be dragged to the party after Benno is sent to look for him;  he just doesn’t want to be there, and doesn’t want to meet any other woman.  Again, in the context of the narrative, this makes much more sense than the happy and jaunty way he enters the party in the previous version.  Loved the four princesses, and how they fit into the rest of the act:  each one sitting on a chair with her minder standing behind her, and each one giving filthy looks to Odile as they know they stand absolutely no chance with Siegfried with her around.  If looks and glares could kill, Odile would be dead on the floor and they might have a chance after all!  Really liked the national dances, but I wish Tierney’s fabulous Spanish skirt was just a bit shorter so we could see all the footwork happening under there.  I really enjoyed the pdt here as well, to reinstated music that was beautifully played.   Loved how at the end of the act VR steals the crown from the Queen’s head;  it gives a point to why he’s done all the things that he’s done:  he’s simply a power hungry megalomaniac.  Lots of black swans flooding the stage was also unexpected and very effective.

Act 4:  Beautiful lighting at the beginning, really giving the impression of a lake.  I love what Scarlett does with the swans, keeping the traditional style but making some changes.  Fabulous new pdd to that lovely reinstated music.  I love how the swans very slowly walk off the stage as the pdd is being danced, wistfully looking back at the couple as if they already know that they are doomed.  Very clever and very effective.  Goosebumps and a lump in the throat always accompany that glorious music when Siegfried runs onstage, and Vadim looked so utterly bereft that I just wanted to jump onstage and give him a hug!  But I digress from comments about the production itself….I really like all the little touches added here, such as the four cygnets reprising a bit of their Act 2 dance, but they break from each other almost immediately:  this is no longer four happy little cygnets;  they have had to grow up fast as the doom brought to the lakeside by Odette has cast a bleak pall over everyone.  They all believe that they are going to be marooned by the lake under this curse for all eternity.  Step in Odette, who dies for all of them.  I love the effect when Siegfried walks into the lake to retrieve her body;  he just disappears into the gloom, then reappears with Odette, in human form, limp in his arms.  As he grieves, the ghost of swan Odette appears, giving us hope that she will somehow always watch over the man she loved. 

[Richard LH]

4 hours ago, Sim said:

 Poor old Siegfried....I much prefer it when he dies too, then at least he and Odette are together for eternity.....!

 

Well, he can always catch up with her later.....just the rest of his  lifetime with  Odile to put up with first !

 

[Richard LH]

2 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

Here's a question I always want to ask: who were Odette's doubles? I thought it was Leticia Stock on the Prologue, but can't be sure!

Pretty sure it was Stock in the Prologue.

[aliceinwoolfland]

Leticia Stock really is tremendous. Time for a promotion to Soloist?

[Richard LH]

13 minutes ago, Sim said:

I didn’t see Siegfried mime the ‘I swear’ sign to Odette, but I guess we are just supposed to guess that he has expressed loyal and undying love to her by that beautiful pdd. 

 

Something I don't understand about Swan Lake in general....if Siegfried swears his loyal and undying love to Odette here, how come the spell isn't broken? She stills turns back into a swan at dawn at the end of Act II.

[annamk]

16 minutes ago, Sim said:

Act 2:  Largely left alone.  All mime left in.  Thank goodness on both counts.  Love the set and the beautiful moonlit lighting.  I didn’t see Siegfried mime the ‘I swear’ sign to Odette, but I guess we are just supposed to guess that he has expressed loyal and undying love to her by that beautiful pdd. 

 

 

I wondered about the "I swear" because I didn't notice it at either the rehearsal or last night. It's slightly awkward if it's not there because Rothbart refers to it so specifically in Act 3 but I guess I'm straying into nit-picking territory  

[Lindsay]

Agree with the general sentiments.  Still not sure I forgive Liam Scarlett for the time I spent sitting through Frankenstein and Age of Anxiety, but this goes a very long way towards making up for it.  My principal thought on the evening was that Muntagirov is really something very special these days.  I thought he must already be at the height of his powers, but that Act III variation was just phenomenonal.  Couldn't be a tougher act to follow for the rest of the Siegfrieds.  We are very lucky to have him in London.

 

The starry first night casting worked magnificently - irreproachable performances in the pd3, the swan variations were very clean (Magri is a standout - surely a future Odette) and some excellent dancing in Act 3.  Some of the supporting cast choreography is pretty tricky - Benno's Act I variation has a series of tours on the diagonal similar to that in the Prince's Act III variation.  Campbell executed very neatly last night but will be interesting to see how that goes throughout the run.  The whole production is really for a company dancing at the top level with strength in depth - it would be exposing of any deficiencies in technique. 

 

Agree that Tchaikovsky's waltzes are interminable but I thought Scarlett did a decent job of breaking it up with mini-solos for Benno and the Prince and sections for the four leading couples.  I also loved the Act 1 designs and my only quibble with the set was that it felt a bit tight and constraining at times - but perhaps spacing will get better once the ballet has more stage time.

 

If I were to be really picky, I wasn't quite so wowed by the swan acts as I had expected - I was in the front amphi last night so could see patterns and it never really felt that the corps were dominating the stage - it all looked just a bit empty, with the first entrance only taking the line of swans half way across the stage, and no dry ice covering the bare floor.  But perhaps the impression would be different from other parts of the house.

 

But this is a very assured, traditional and glamorous production (the back of Odile's tutu must be seen to be believed - Natalie Portman eat your heart out) and I look forward to seeing what some of the other casts do with it throughout the run.

Edited May 18, 2018 by Lindsay
Sorry - I meant "no" dry ice

[Sim]

34 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

 

Well, he can always catch up with her later.....just the rest of his  lifetime with  Odile to put up with first !

 

Well hopefully with the sudden demise of her father that puts paid to her power as well!! 

[Lindsay]

Also, did anyone else think that Von Rothbart's prowling around the widowed Queen at the court and making her son angry was supposed  to evoke Hamlet?

[Mary]

Remiss of me not to say how good Alexander Campbell was, thanks for reminding me Lindsay.

Very exposing indeed, as you say, and he was fully in control- as we have come to expect from him. Bravo.

 

I must say though, that on a night when the costumes actually made me gasp,  then grin like a madwoman with joy..I wasn't so keen on Benno's- the lilac one in act 1 I thought didn't quite go with the rest of the set and seemed  a bit ...weedy? and then he seemed to have borrowed the suit from the Nutcracker in that scarlet tunic, which I found distracting.  Probably just me.

 

[Richard LH]

I cannot compete with MRR's earlier cool technical analysis; all I know that the opening night of  Liam Scarlett's new Swan Lake was one of the loveliest things I have ever seen.

Some  of the lasting  impressions of a really special evening…

A wonderfully lit brief prologue,  dramatically setting the scene for what was to follow.

Revelation of the castle grounds scene – transfixing, and then   throughout Act 1 the whole staging, the movement, and the music - so beautiful I just sat there with a stupid grin on my face. 

My first live Nunez performance – so controlled and consummate, with Muntagirov such a great partner for her.

Super bonus – watching   the three amigos (Campbell, Takada and Hayward), all given prominent roles, dancing to perfection. Exquisite skill, warmth, and joy in dancing from all three, and more great characterisation throughout the production from Campbell.

Opening of Act 3 – the spontaneous thrilled applause, for the fantastic set.  Then the equally fantastic costumes for the whole cast. The applause after the challenging solo dancing – not the done thing, of course,  but when Nunez knocked out the fouettés with such apparent ease, sort of saying "there you go !" I don’t think the audience could help itself, and the same with Muntagoriv’s brilliant turns straight after ( - a sort of “anything you can do” moment).

The corps of swans in Acts II and IV – such beautiful perfection in synchronised movement and posture.

The curtain calls, to a lengthy standing ovation, and framed by a seemingly endless  rain of flowers from on high…. a mixture of shared exhilaration, grateful thanks and no doubt relief all round. Hayward glancing across at Nunez, looking so pleased for her.  And the lovely hugs between Nunez  and Muntagirov …

[Indigo]

28 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

Also, did anyone else think that Von Rothbart's prowling around the widowed Queen at the court and making her son angry was supposed  to evoke Hamlet?

 

I hope it's ok to quote a sentence from The Telegraph's review here (mods - please remove if not), as Von Rothbart gets a very different cultural reference to that of Hamlet!!!  😕  

 

"Bennet Gartside (also Scarlett’s manager) is one of the finest dancer-actors around but on Thursday, in the character’s disguised, courtly, perpetually scowling incarnation, he bore a distracting and comic resemblance to Gru from Despicable Me, and struggled to bring genuine menace to the part."

 

[alison]

Sim, I hope you don't mind, but I've put spoiler tags around your description of the end of Act III, just in case people want to be surprised :)

[alison]

BTW, how was the running time?  If I've done my maths correctly, the running time should be 3 minutes shy of 3 hours, which doesn't leave much leeway if anything goes wrong.  Do they really need 55 minutes of intervals?

[Lindsay]

Intervals were pretty short - 25 and 20 minutes.  I'm afraid I didn't notice the finishing time though - sorry

[zxDaveM]

it was a late finish last night -  mainly because of the long ovations at the end. Under 'normal' conditions, should be ended by 10.30, allowing for the curtain calls 

[Jillykins]

Thank you all for such interesting comments. So looking forward to next Tuesday when I get to see it!