English National Ballet: Swan Lake (in the round), Royal Albert Hall, June 2016

[MAX]

When Alina Cojocaru danced Giselle in the Paris Opéra many years ago her first act variation was a real mess !  

[LinMM]

I know we should not speculate about this but now others have brought it up I was wondering whether Alina has some sort of injury at the moment.

I only saw her at rehearsal so of course not everything has to be done flat out but at the end of Act one she did some very fast bourrees backwards as she come under the control of Rothbart which was perfectly acted etc but then she suddenly came off pointe and I wondered then whether she was masking a problem.

 

I do suppose though that as you perform less and less regularly with a Company and are travelling a lot to perform with other Companies maybe a certain artistic connection goes a bit.

[Fiz]

I do wonder if the awful strain Alina must be under is responsible? ????

[aileen]

Alina had a foot injury earlier this year and perhaps it is still troubling her.

[LinMM]

Ah that could well explain it.

It was the way she reacted when she came off more than anything .....as if she'd had to stop rather than accidentally come off ...difficult to explain but it's what I picked up.

[aileen]

There are now some tickets available for both matinee performances this weekend.

[jules_skichick]

Làuretta was amazing today! Gallery is best place to watch swans if you are not minted in the stalls! Well done all at enb!

[nottsballetlover]

Lauretta Sommerscales was superb this afternoon! As was whole show. Will write more tomorrow as it's been a long hot day in London! Dozing on train back to Nottingham Worth it though!

[Timmie]

Laurretta Summerscales was phenomenal yesterday. For me she totally nailed it as Odette and was very good as Odile.

 

It’s easy for an Odette to get a tear from me in Act 4 but to make me well-up in Act 2  takes a very special Odette, Summerscales managed it easily! She was so fragile as Odette and her dancing and musicality were sublime. Even from the circle she sucked me in emotionally.

 

I thought her Odile was very good but not yet fully developed. She didn’t wow me as Takahashi did last week.

 

In Act 4 when Odette and Siegfried had defeated Rothbart and did a big run to one another for a big kiss in the centre of the arena the audience burst into massive applause – even though I didn’t think it was an applause point – we were all emotionally involved. Brilliant.

 

The Swan Maidens from the Circle were stunning. I had enjoyed them from the Stalls but in the Circle you really get to appreciate the patterns. They work hard, when I’d got home and was tucking into my curry I realised that they’d just about be trotting back into the arena again. I hope Tamara gives them a bonus…

[Irmgard]

I attended the evening performance on 9 June.  From the immediate energy and joi de vivre exhibited first by the villagers and then the walzers, it was hard to believe this was the second show of the day and the tenth performance in nine days, and this ‘buzz’ continued throughout the show.  Coming back to the repertoire after an absence of three years, I was struck by the fact that, to fill the vast arena, the delicate beauty of Ivanov’s patterns in Act II is lost, particularly in the doubling up of the cygnets and lead swans, and the same applies to Petipa’s Act I pas de trois.  By quadrupling this, it dilutes the flow of the choreography, rather than enhancing it, although the actual steps themselves are beautifully danced.  On the plus side, if you are only able to see one show, at least you see four casts in one go!  On Thursday, there was some very refined dancing from Laurretta Summerscales (replacing an injured Anjuli Hudson), Begona Cao, Crystal Costa, Jung Ah Choi and Katja Khaniukova who outclassed their newer colleagues. Likewise, Junor Souza and Ken Saruhashi provided bravura with class amongst the men. Act II provided the luxury casting of Begona Cao and Ksenia Ovsyanick, two of the company’s loveliest Swan Queens IMHO, as lead swans, joined by the regal Jia Zhang, and eight cygnets in perfect unision.  In Act III, Crystal Costa brought her trademark vivacity to the Neapolitan dance, although Deane’s choreography comes a poor second to the Ashton version used in the proscenium production.  Where Deane triumphs is in his staging of Act IV which takes advantage of the huge arena to create stunning patterns for his forces of sixty swans.  The whole production was staged by Yuri Uchiumi, formerly Choreologist and Repetiteur for the company before going freelance in 2010.  Out of the sixty swans, possibly half are not regular company members and it is to Uchiumi’s credit that in just five weeks of rehearsal, she has them all dancing like seasoned members of the company, not just in forming the incredibly disciplined patterns (the clearest I have ever seen them) but also with a uniform sense of style, emotion and musicality.

 

Odette/Odile was danced by Fernanda Oliveira, making her return to the stage after a year’s absence following a serious knee injury and subsequent surgery.  She might have been forgiven for being slightly tentative in this her second show of the run but there was none of this.  Instead, she was fearless, dancing with supreme confidence and her trademark musicality which reaches to the ends of her fingers and beyond.   In fact, her arms as Odette were even more achingly expressive than I remember them from her previous performances and there was a touching dignity to her heartbreak in Act IV.  Her Odile sizzled with just the right amount of sensuality to fool the Prince into believing she was Odette.  She was very fortunate to have Emilio Pavan as a fairly late replacement for Alejandro Virelles who had suffered almost the same injury at the same time as Oliveira but sadly has not yet fully recovered.  I was impressed by Pavan, who only joined the company in the autumn, in a pas de deux with Begona Cao in “Fantastic Beings” (or what I could see of it through the murky lighting). His dancing at present may lack the right amount of refinement required for the fiendish solo in Act I but his partnering is first class, being attentive and absolutely secure, so that when he effortlessly lifted Oliveira she really did look as light as swansdown. This was amazingly effective at the end of Act IV when he lifted her in a series of jetes so that it really did look like she was attacking Rothbart. The ending, where Rothbart is vanquished without the lovers having to die to achieve this and the spell is lifted on all the other swan maidens, really works in the atmosphere of the Albert Hall with so many members of the audience experiencing ballet for the first time.  As we left the auditorium, I was really pleased to hear various comments to the effect that they were going to book to see more ballets in the future.

 

All praise to guest conductor Helen Bayo, from Barcelona, for not only keeping the spread orchestral forces together but also for her sympathetic accompaniment of the dancers and for making Tchaikovsky’s beautiful score sing.  

[alison]

I hadn't realised that Fernanda had been off injured for so long - glad to hear she's back and doing well.

[aileen]

I also saw yesterday's matinee. Laurretta Summerscales gave a very assured performance. Constantine Allen was a little wobbly in the adagio solo at the end of Act 1 and I felt that some of his early lifts were a little effortful. I also felt that he could have shown a bit more passion and gone for his virtuoso work a bit more. He certainly looked the part though: tall, dark and handsome. Apart from Vadim Muntagirov (no longer with ENB, of course) and Isaac Hernandez can anyone dance the solo I've just referred to really well? It's obviously extremely difficult and to look really good requires beautiful phrasing and finesse right to the fingertips and toes.

 

I was thinking yesterday how much dancing you get for your money in this production, and all the corps dances went with a swing with everyone looking as if they were enjoying themselves. However, the swans are really the star in this production (IMO). I don't know how they manoeuvre into their positions when the dry ice is swirling around them, and the revolving cygnets are a marvel. It's an incredible thrill to see so many swans pour out of the wings and fill up the arena and Deane is very imaginative in the use of all the various configurations from concentric circles to long parallel lines to clusters of swans in various geometric patterns. Act 4 is particular strong even though some people may dislike the happy ending, which is actually very effective with Rothbart being swallowed up by the ground, fighting to the end. I agree with Irmgard about the treatment of the pdt and the Big Swans' choreography and also found the Neapolitan Dance rather bland despite a spirited performance by the two dancers (why do they only have the tambourines at the end? - and I usually moan about the tambourines in the proscenium version!). Yesterday I also thought how much I liked the atmosphere at the RAH. Despite its grandeur there is a wide demographic there and everyone seems to be very enthusiastic about being there. There's something rather democratic about most seats having the same unimpeded view, although I appreciate that the lower stalls seats have some disadvantages with dancers blocking the action, but this is (possibly) compensated for by the thrill of bring so close to the dancers. Coincidentally, I had been to see another 'in-the-round' production the night before, this time in the rather more intimate setting of the Young Vic - and with three performers instead of 120.

[capybara]

.Constantine Allen was a little wobbly in the adagio solo at the end of Act 1 and I felt that some of his early lifts were a little effortful. I also felt that he could have shown a bit more passion and gone for his virtuoso work a bit more. He certainly looked the part though: tall, dark and handsome. Apart from Vadim Muntagirov (no longer with ENB, of course) and Isaac Hernandez can anyone dance the solo I've just referred to really well? It's obviously extremely difficult and to look really good requires beautiful phrasing and finesse right to the fingertips and toes.

 

Unfortunately, I have to agree about Constantine Allen. I wanted to shout out to him during his Act 1 soliloquy, "You're mean't to be yearning and your feelings are not reaching me." Also, other dancers in this run have wowed the audience with their manege in the Act 3 pdd coda but, in this case, the energy was somehow missing. It just goes to show how hard it is to make an impact 'in-the-round'.

 

By the way kudos to the orchestra for quality and endurance.

Edited June 12, 2016 by capybara

[aileen]

Yes, well done to the orchestra and to Gavin Sutherland who had to conduct the orchestra side on at certain points so that he could keep an eye on the two leads.

[Terpsichore]

I saw yesterday's matinee with Erina Takahashi and Yonah Acosta in the leading roles and enjoyed the performance thoroughly. 

 

Takahashi was convincing as both Odette and Odile and Acosta was rumbustious and thrilling. They were supported well by Jane Howarth as Siegfried's mum, Michel Coleman as his tutor and MC and Fabian Reimair as Rothbart.

 

I enjoyed all the divertissements, especially the Spanish dance for it included Sarah Kundi and the Neapolitan one with Shiori Kase and Vitor Menezes.  I gather from the statistics page that there were up to 60 swans.  I didn't count them but there  were a lot of them and their numbers were impressive.  

 

The orchestra was conducted not by Graham  Sutherland but by Helena Bayo. It was the first time I had seen her. She directed the orchestra with passion.   

 

Although I enjoyed the performance very much I do have some reservations about ballet in the round.  While I like it occasionally I would not like to see too much of it.

[aileen]

On the cast list for last Saturday's matinee there was a dedication to Dame Beryl Grey who apparently danced O/O for the first time on her 15th birthday. It seems incredible. I wonder whether she did the 32 fouettés, which are the subject of a discussion on the Dance Actress thread.

[Jan McNulty]

I was at the performance on Friday evening, led by Erina Takahashi and Yonah Acosta.  It is the first time I have seen this production and I just loved it.  I have to say that I didn't feel an emotional connection with Odette/Odile & Siegfried but probably because I was overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the production.  I think Derek Deane has created it so cleverly to make use of the amazing venue and dance space.  We were sitting on row 3 of the stalls near where the chairs are during the party scene and I thought they were great.  My view wasn't impeded by any of the dancers during the action.

 

I'd love to go and see it again next time it is on and perhaps go higher up to see the patterning of the swans from a different perspective.

 

I love this review from member To the Pointe:

 

http://tothepointemagazine.wix.com/tothepointemagazine#!Its-Swan-Magic-at-English-National-Ballet/cmbz/575f04450cf29542aa26e0e5

[Jamesrhblack]

On the cast list for last Saturday's matinee there was a dedication to Dame Beryl Grey who apparently danced O/O for the first time on her 15th birthday. It seems incredible. I wonder whether she did the 32 fouettés, which are the subject of a discussion on the Dance Actress thread.

If you watch the interview with her on the Opus Arte Swan Lake DVD (Nunez/Soares) she makes it very clear that she was trained to do them to both sides. Ms Nunez reacts in incredulity.

 

From much later in her career, there is video footage of her as Odile at the Bolshoi. The turned in arms look strange to modern eyes (well mine anyway) but her virtuosity is definitely impressive....

[Irmgard]

The last show of the company’s London season belonged to the Odette/Odile of the enchanting Erina Takahashi. From her first tentative encounter with the Prince, her Odette was a captivating combination of fragile vulnerability and dignity and the ACT II pas de deux received an especially sweet violin accompaniment from the orchestra’s Leader, Matthew Scrivener.  Her Act II solo was an awe-inspiring combination of delicate, precise footwork and beautiful, sustained balances that were perfectly matched to the musical line without ever distorting it.  Her Odile literally blazed across the Albert Hall’s arena with more astonishing balances and quicksilver footwork, and her fouettés were so secure and effortless that it seemed she could have done far more than the obligatory 32!  Her Prince, Yonah Acosta, partnered her securely and really came to life in Act III but I would have liked to see more emotional involvement in the previous Acts.  It goes without saying that his dancing is first class but he completely missed the yearning quality that makes the Act I solo the embodiment of the Prince’s state of mind rather than a series of fiendishly difficult adage steps.  ENB Dancers who spring to my mind as having succeeded in portraying this quality include Yosvani Ramos, Thomas Edur, Esteban Berlanga, Vadim Muntagirov and Ken Saruhashi (who danced the proscenium version on tour in 2014.)

 

As to the rest of the company, the corps de ballet of swans remained disciplined to the end of this marathon run of performances, moving harmoniously through the Act IV patterns which an almost heightened sense of melancholy. And since most of the regular ENB ladies had performed in all four Acts for most of the performances, it is to their credit that this performance looked as fresh and engaging as an opening night.  They thoroughly deserved the tumultuous applause and cheering from the packed audience.  Praise is also due to Fabian Reimair’s Von Rothbart who dominated the stage whenever he appeared, skilfully manipulating his huge wings so that he appeared to be a malevolent bird of prey hovering over the proceedings.

 

This performance also marked the last appearance with the company of soloist Désirée Ballantyne who joined the company straight from the school in 1999.  Her lovely, quiet elegance and exquisite, precise footwork have graced many a solo during her time with the company.  I had the pleasure of working with her on the role of Myrthe in the Skeaping “Giselle” in 2009 which gave her the chance to demonstrate her considerable dramatic abilities while serenely performing the exhausting choreography.  As her colleagues said after the performance, she will be very much missed.

[alison]

Thank you, Irmgard - I very much agree about Acosta, from what I saw of him in the matinee with Shiori Kase, although admittedly that was a rather late cast change and I'd guess they may not have had as much time as they'd have liked to rehearse together given his other commitments.

[Anna C]

Agreed, Irmgard. I thought Erina was stunning as both Odette and Odile. We were in the front row of a 2nd tier box so had a fabulous view of the patterns of the Swans who for me were the absolute stars of the show. All that work, the hours and hours of rehearsal, running miles every day - I would thank each and every one of them because their precision was outstanding.

 

We weren't too high to see faces though, and I thought Takahashi projected beautifully; we could feel her emotion. Unfortunately, I didn't really pick up on much emotion from Acosta which was a real shame. Even so, I loved Act IV and had a little tear in my eye at the end.

 

Our programme didn't have a cast list, but I spotted lots of familiar faces from the company. I do like the fact that the Principals get to dance other roles in this production. The Conductor (Conductress?) and Orchestra were brilliant too, and got a huge and well deserved cheer.