zxDaveM Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 The swans are back in town this week, opening on Tuesday 10th Feb, with Sarah Lamb as Odette/Odile and Carlos Acosta her Prince Siegfried. Here are a few photos from the dress rehearsal last week: Swan Lake - Swans (Anna Rose O’Sullivan)© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / FlickrSwan Lake - Carlos Acosta and Sarah Lamb© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / FlickrSwan Lake - Carlos Acosta and Sarah Lamb© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / FlickrSee more...Set from DanceTabs: The Royal Ballet - Swan Lake Courtesy of DanceTabs / FlickrBy kind permission of the Royal Opera House 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 It looks like the whole run pretty much sold out, so if you're ticketless - watch out for the returns! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Lovely pictures, Dave, but looking at them reminds me how much I dislike the costumes for the Swans in this production. This ballet is the one ballet that must have tutus, IMO. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 I'd disagree - I think they look much more swan like in the long ones, rather than plate tutus. No doubt I'll be one of the few disappointed if the replacement production goes for plates, rather than fullsome skirts. Happily discard most of the Act 3 costumes though... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) Tutus for me any day but I do take the point/agree that they DO look more like swans in the drippy dresses. A mere detail.... Edited February 9, 2015 by Don Q Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Cast change for the 10th: Sarah Lamb replaced by Marianela Nuñez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I like the swans in the longer dresses except that it does make Odette stand out. The one place I think tutus are necessary and hardly ever worn is in the snowflake waltz in The Nutcracker, since they're meant to be snowflakes, not snowdrifts. I also like the way, in this production, that in Act IV some of the swans' dresses are partly black. It shows the taint from Rothbart's trick and helps make that act more dramatic. I know some people don't like it but I hope that survives the next redesign. I really like the design of the Odette/Odile tutu in this production, especially the way the skirt isn't stiff, so it does tend to echo the longer outfits of the swans. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Cast change for the 10th: Sarah Lamb replaced by Marianela Nuñez. Oh no. Another injury? Edit: Oh, yes, another injury And she still has another Onegin to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 When I saw this, I thought Odette being dressed differently from the other swans made the parts when Siegfried is trying to find her in the flock not work! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Also, when you can fully see the legs of the corps, it makes their symmetry of movement even more amazing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunrise Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I love the feathery costumes and they are a nice change from tutus that are in every other production of SL. I think it helps to make Odette stand out bit more for newcomers who are unfamiliar with the story and won't know one dancer from the next. I'll be rather sorry if the costumes go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 When I saw this, I thought Odette being dressed differently from the other swans made the parts when Siegfried is trying to find her in the flock not work! Many are the times I've resisted the temptation to shout out "She's the only one in the short skirt, idiot!" to Siegfried Welcome to the forum, cavycapers. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Yes, it does seem a bit daft to have Odette dressed completely differently to the rest of the flock. I am quite surprised so many of the people on here like the long skirts. I agree they look very beautiful, but I don't think they look very swan like, myself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 The swans in David Nixon's Swan Lake (for Northern Ballet) do not wear tutus. There is a photograph on this page. Although you can't see the back of the costume the "petals" of the skirt fold over each other a bit at the bottom reminiscent of the way swans wings lie when they are sitting on the water. I liked these costumes very much but I would guess they are quite hard to dance in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunrise Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) I guess I like how floaty and fluffy the skirts are and I do think they make the dancers look more swan-like, even though their plumage doesn't really resemble swans. Maybe I like them because the way corps are almost dripping with feathers, they look more fantastical, and I find that more captivating than a more traditional SL. The tutus are beautiful for sure, but they seem relatively stiff by comparison. Tutus are in almost every SL production out there, so I love the RB's production is a bit different. For some reason this thread has me wondering what a stage full of Bjork type swans prancing around Act 2 would be like. Really should get back to work! Edited February 10, 2015 by Sunrise 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodlandGladeFairy Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Really excited to seeing Steve McRae & Evgenia Obraztsova on the 21st March in Swan Lake! I just love the music as well, so romantic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I don't like the shaggy, greyish-looking tutus, the black swans or the baby swans. IMO, some of the power and beauty of the corps dancing is lost when the swans don't wear the pristine, white pancake tutus. Plus, you can't see the swans' legs so well in the longer tutus. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Also the "pancakes" look better from above. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I’m so very sorry to say that I don’t like the RB’s Swan Lake decor and costumes for most of the dancers AT ALL. To be honest, I only have seen the DVD – there the stage looks cramped and the costumes seem fussy, it might be different on the big stage? Odette/Odile’s tutus and the Prince’s uniform in Act 1 and 2 are nice, though. Nevertheless I am very much looking forward to the cinema broadcast in March! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I recollect that the stage looks cramped live. I suspect that some of the 'excesses' of the production (decor and carousing courtiers in Act 1) are not as evident in the cinema broadcasts as there are more close ups which cut a lot out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I don't like the shaggy, greyish-looking tutus, the black swans or the baby swans. IMO, some of the power and beauty of the corps dancing is lost when the swans don't wear the pristine, white pancake tutus. Plus, you can't see the swans' legs so well in the longer tutus. Maybe this is why they wear them then - you don't really see real swans' legs either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Also the "pancakes" look better from above. Very nice but I doubt you'd see anything approaching that angle, even from the most extreme seats at Covent Garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Well, neil, we'll just have to agree to disagree on matters of personal taste. I don't accept your point about not seeing real swans' legs. Ballet is fantasy not an attempt at recreation of the natural world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Well, neil, we'll just have to agree to disagree on matters of personal taste. I don't accept your point about not seeing real swans' legs. Ballet is fantasy not an attempt at recreation of the natural world. I find your comment quite condescending. I didn't say what my preference was as I recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I don't see why. I expressed my opinion(s) and you expressed yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Well, neil, we'll just have to agree to disagree on matters of personal taste. I don't accept your point about not seeing real swans' legs. Ballet is fantasy not an attempt at recreation of the natural world. Ergo it doesn't matter whether you see the legs or not - the fantasy is in the designer's eyes. I myself have wondered why, since being a frequent visitor to Martin Mere and having seen Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, women are ever cast as swans as they are such powerful masculine looking birds! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Yes, they can be quite aggressive and ungainly birds on dry land, it's only when they are in the water and gliding that they look so beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Isn't it amazing? We're up to 28 posts on here and the show doesn't open until tonight!!!!!! Looking forward to some 'reviews'............... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPD444 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Yes, they can be quite aggressive and ungainly birds on dry land, it's only when they are in the water and gliding that they look so beautiful. I quite agree from personal experience. I was fishing some years ago on a lake and I must have chosen my spot to fish which was a landing place for the swans that lived their. They showed their displeasure by "attacking" me and they sure can be aggressive. I moved!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I believe that a swan can break a human arm with its wing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Their wings are very noisy in flight. Chunkydog and I had the fright of our lives a couple of weeks ago when a pair flew past us within touching distance about 4 feet from the ground as they were coming in to land on the lake. It was a very close call indeed! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 There is a clip of Yanowsky and Kish in the Black Swan pdd here: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/swan-lake-dance-highlight-the-black-swan-pas-de-deux 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I think Odette being dressed differently from 'the flock' takes away that bit of pleasure that newcomers get when they realise that Odette is the only one with a crown on her headdress. When I saw the ENB's Swan lake last month, Alina Cojocaru came to the stage door still in her swan costume (pointe shoes and all!) Which was lovely to see. And she was delightful. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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