Bolshoi Ballet: Swan Lake, Royal Opera House, 2016

[billboyd]

It would seem to be a minority who do not like the Jester. He always receives huge applause. I hope the new RB production has a Jester.

[Nina G.]

I’m just channelling my ‘inner Russian’ and going with the flow (I do draw the line at the rhythmic clapping though).

 

 

I just cannot stand the rhythmic clapping. It is a cultural thing yes, very Russian, and it turns ballet into a cheap circus spectacle. I have attended a few performances and as other posters have said, give me the RB, BRB and ENB anytime.

 

Bolshoi dancers are technically superb dancers but I do not like their flashy/showy style, milking the audience for applause at any given time, and their lack of ability to combine dancing with emotion. I know that's the typical Bolshoi style... I just go in order to watch the dancers 'technic but there it stops for me. 

[Jan McNulty]

 

"Change for change's sake" I thought when I saw the ballet on Saturday and indeed in the cinema last year and I don't take kindly to that. But at least there was a Siegfried. Odette and Odile were danced by the same person. No new characters like Simon, Anthony or Odilia and, above all, no bikes! 

 

 

 

The overall production would probably be improved by the introduction of some bicycles and more British sounding names!

[Beryl H]

Denis Rodkin replaces Artem Ovcharenko tonight as Siegfred, I was really looking forward to Ovcharenko but like Rodkin too, he will actually end up dancing 4 of the 8 Swan Lakes, Smirnova and Lantratov sounded lovely! Tonight I should see Igor Tvsirko 's first appearance of the season I think, he is a fantastic jester on the Zhakarova blu-ray, I don't normally like jesters but this rather dreary production needs him.

 

The Grigorovich scenario sounds good, but in reality doesn't work, it just seems the same old fairy tale to me, but I'll give it a go tonight, Rothbart is Siegfried's darker self and the lake scenes purely his dreams!

[RuthE]

I missed the story telling and never felt emotionally moved in the love story. I didn't like the ending at all!

 

One element of the "story telling" which did work very well for me in this production was the start of the Odile act, with the presentation of the five national dances each led by one of the foreign princesses who then team up for their waltz.  Made far more sense than the recently-retired Royal Ballet production, in which the (six) visually-undifferentiated potential brides do the waltz first, and then the national dances take place with no suggestion that they are meant to represent the princesses' nations.

[FLOSS]

It seems to me that the Petipa's ballets and his Swan Lake, in particular, have proved a wonderful resource for lesser choreographers. Ivanov's white acts have generally suffered less "improvement" over the years than the sections created by Petipa but in this production everything is up for grabs as far as altering the choreographic text is concerned. It is interesting to see Siegfried's role expanded by giving him every dance opportunity that can be provided by the score but it has the effect of reducing Odette to a supporting role and Odile into a sort of cabaret turn in act 3.An abstract or near abstract distillation of Swan Lake is interesting as a one off but it is not something that I would want to see on a regular basis as, in this production, it results in the audience being shown little more than a display of technical expertise.

 

Here is a ballet that was created by two major nineteenth century choreographers to tell a story using the ballet techniques of mime, classical dance and character dance reduced to a one dimensional display of a single style of dance. It gives the audience plenty of time to observe the technical skills of the dancers on stage; it provides opportunities to identify the occasional familiar gestures and sections of choreography that belong to more traditional versions of the work but the problem is that everything about it is cool,distant and un-engaging. 

 

I don't ask that the national dances in act 3 "make sense" by making their dancers the supporting cast for each of the potential brides but I do ask that they be danced with the sort of vigour and panache that I associate with this form of dance and the Bolshoi in particular. The national dances are included in act 3 to provide a real contrast with the other forms of dancing that the audience sees during it By putting the female corps on pointe in the national dances and reducing the involvement of the male corps the contrast is eliminated and everything is reduced to a monochrome account of the act

 

I know that when I see a Russian Swan Lake  I am not going to be told about the lake full of tears and the angry enchanter who has bewitched Odette but I do expect to feel considerably more involved with  what is happening on stage than I was here. There is no doubt that the role of Odette/ Odile suits Smirnova in a way that Kitri does not but neither she nor Rodkin made me feel particularly involved in their performances or the rest of what was happening on stage.I find it strange that so far the Bolshoi season has been far more subdued and far less engaging than it usually is I know that the new director was,at one time in charge of the Mariinsky, but there has scarcely been enough time for a change at the top to effect the sort of change in performance style that we have been seeing on stage since the Bolshoi season opened.

.

[ENBlover]

I'm going to say I was actually rather moved.  All the clapping, coughing, sneezing and talking aside, it was a marvellous night when I could completely relate to what I saw on stage.  Yes it was technically sublime and sometimes flashy, but I found the "white acts" especially to be emotionally arresting.  Although I can't say I enjoyed Bolshoi's Swan Lake in 2013, last night was different. Just my 2 cents.

[Amelia]

 I was less impressed by the extra work he gave "the evil genius" or indeed the name change. What's wrong with von Rothbart? 

"Change for change's sake" I thought ... But at least there was a Siegfried. 

 

Poor Yuri Grigorovich has been rebuked enough for many “sins” committed by him against “Swan Lake”. Please allow me to clear him of the "Change for change's sake” charge.

Dear Terpsichore, as long as I remember there were no German names in the Bolshoi’s cast lists since 1940s. 

Ziegfrid was called Prince and Rothbart was Evil Genius. The reason for that was that German names stirred strong negative feelings at that time. No need to remind about what the German army did on the Russian soil. The worst abusive word to a person at that time was not an ‘idiot’ or ‘bastard’ or… but “Fritz”, an allied name for Germans, like “Jerry” in English. The Russians were shuddering from German names for a long time after the end of the 2WW.

Grigorovich was still at school then. So let’s exonerate him from changing the names. 

Edited to change the font.

Edited August 2, 2016 by Amelia

[alison]

I hope the new RB production has a Jester.

I think that would have to depend on what was done with him. If he was only there as an excuse for a flashy solo, or to be annoying, then no. OTOH, if he were to be used as some sort of Benno-replacement friend/confidant, in a similar way to his purpose in Ashton's Cinderella, that might work. 

 

Made far more sense than the recently-retired Royal Ballet production, in which the (six) visually-undifferentiated potential brides do the waltz first, and then the national dances take place with no suggestion that they are meant to represent the princesses' nations.

I think the point in the RB's production, and indeed every production which uses virtually identikit princesses, is to represent Siegfried's point of view: that they might as well all be identical as far as he's concerned, because they're not Odette and there's no reason why he should pick one over another. Might as well go "Eeny meeny miny mo". It does make sense to me for each princess to be associated with a different nationality, because I doubt you'd send two prospective brides of the same nationality, but equally it makes sense to me for the national dancers to be under the control of Rothbart if he's going to use them in his campaign against the prince. I don't mind which

[Terpsichore]

Many thanks and how fascinating.

It occurs to me that the Soviets could have russified his name. "Rothbart" is almost "Red Beard". Or they could even have called him "Barbarossa" after the emperor and of course the code name for the expedition. That really would have conjured evil immediately after World War Ii."

Or if they wanted something more prosaic "the wizard" or "magician".

The main thing is that you have added to my general knowledge of Soviet ballet history for which I am grateful.

[Terpsichore]

"Manchester" thanks should of course read "many" thanks. Perhaps a moderator will correct that.

 

Still not yet used to my new mobile phone.

[bangorballetboy]

"Manchester" thanks should of course read "many" thanks. Perhaps a moderator will correct that.

 

Still not yet used to my new mobile phone.

 

You can edit posts yourself within 30 minutes of posting.

[Sim]

All done, Terpsichore.  I also hid your first two posts because they were duplicate and also they didn't make any sense....that blasted new phone, no doubt!!  

[Indigo]

Well, I had intended to only see one performance on this Bolshoi tour - Don Q on opening night. But as I left feeling underwhelmed by that & thinking that I just wasn’t ‘getting’ the Bolshoi yet (in both senses), I found myself booked in for three Swan Lakes as well thanks to some returns.

 

While it’s been wonderful to experience The Bolshoi live, which I’ve never done before (far better than at the few live cinema relays I’ve seen), I’ve been somewhat relieved to read about other people’s reactions. As I had been wondering whether it was just me that tended to find Bolshoi Ballet performances on the cold side.

 

The matinee on 30^th July with Nikulina / Skvortsov certainly fell into this category for me. To date, when watching a narrative ballet, I have never had the disconcerting sensation I did at certain times during this matinee, of watching a ballet being deconstructed into a series of performed steps. Normally, unless it’s a spectacular or showy series of moves, I don’t see the steps in isolation as the dancer uses their whole body to tell the story, show their character & convey emotion. But on the plus side, it did enable me to appreciate the building blocks of the choreography. Sadly, I didn’t feel this partnership had chemistry or engaged me emotionally at all, despite viewing from a good SCS place. I did wonder whether Skvortsov was perhaps having an ‘off’ day, as I’d previously enjoyed his performances in cinema relays.

 

The evening of the 30^th July with Krysanova / Chudin, I found much more enjoyable. They’re both terrific dancers too but I had more sense of character (especially Odette / Odile) & cared more about their fate, but frustratingly I still didn’t connect in the way I often do with the RB. This time I was sat in the front row of the Stalls Circle, very close to the stage & was able to pick up a lot of detail. The ensemble were all good & I particularly enjoyed Tsvirko’s portrayal of The Evil Genius. He is the only person I’ve seen dance this role who hasn’t made me want to substitute in Gary Avis. He had that same capacity to convey the sense that they aren’t just waving their arms about, but connecting to & physically moving energy (like you see in correctly demonstrated Tai Chi), so you can believe in Von Rothbart’s / Evil Genius’ magical powers.  

 

Monday’s performance with Smirnova / Lantratov was different again & this time, I felt really engaged: Hurrah! I was sat in the front row of the Stalls Circle again, very close to the stage & agree with Coated’s comments about this pairing. They brought lovely detail which made me believe Odette & Siegfried loved each other. Other things I think may have made the difference for me is that Lantratov appeared very relaxed much of the time (except during some partnering spins), to be enjoying dancing & especially being comfortable acting, giving Prince Siegfried more range & development of character within the limitations of the ballet. Smirnova also gave me somewhat of that impression, especially in her portrayal of the sultry Odile. Which was quite a surprising contrast to how her Kitri came across to me on opening night. Maybe she could relax more on Monday, with far less pressure on her (btw, I agree with others that her insouciant tambourine shake during a one-handed lift in Don Q was fab ). I felt she was really trying to bring out the multiple layers in her interactions with other characters as Odile. I loved her Odette, which when she first appeared had the strongest sense of a wild swan I’ve seen – I got quite a jolt by the evocation. I see a lot of swans on the rivers where I live & she really conveyed the essence of their movement.

 

Some other general thoughts:

• I must say thank you to the poster on the Don Q thread who remarked that to a certain extent, Lantratov’s dancing style was similar to the RB’s Muntagirov. I booked on that basis & wasn’t disappointed!
• I found the lighting in Act II had a strange red tinge, so that when the dancers moved at speed, the edges of their white costumes appeared to trail a red, phosphorent glow.
• Reading comments about the Bolshoi’s habit of stopping for quite prolonged applause, I wonder if they do it because that’s what’s expected of them when performing in their home theatre? I did get the sense that Smirnova & Lantratov  consciously did less of this on Monday night. Unless I’ve grown inured!
• I really admired all the corps swans. Though I was sorry to only see them from various angles in the stalls circle; I would have liked a full overview of the stage from the amphi to appreciate the patterns fully.
• By the third Swan Lake, I’d just about got the hang of which was which national dance. So my suggestion for improvements to the national dances, purely for the benefit of anyone like me, is during the initial introductions, for them to walk on carrying banners with the name of the country they’re representing, as they do in the Olympics!
• The Fool could be a much more interesting, more complex role in this more psychological Swan Lake, rather than a potential irritant, however beautifully danced. I felt Lopatin’s delivery / interpretation on Monday evening was more subtle than of those I saw dance the role on Saturday. From the way Lopatin‘s Fool interacted with Prince Siegfried, I thought there was more of a medieval / Shakespearean interpretation of a Fool – one who is licensed to speak unpalatable truths to power, rather than just a comically capering jester. But I’m not sure how well that would have come across if you were sat too far away to see the facial expressions & nuanced hand gestures clearly.

 

Personally, in a narrative ballet, I am far more concerned about whether or not the lead dancers & other key characters can act / convey a character, than I am about how sensationally technically skilled they are, or about whether they make a few minor errors. I agree with others that this production of Swan Lake isn’t one of the best around & doesn’t adequately explore / portray the potential of the psychological storyline dimension, but with the right cast, I would happily see the Bolshoi dance this again when they next visit.

 

[Edited: Missed a sentence out]

Edited August 3, 2016 by Indigo

[Terpsichore]

You can edit posts yourself within 30 minutes of posting.

 

Not with this mobile phone. Believe me I tried. 

 

Thanks for editing the post and also hiding the others, Sim.

Edited August 3, 2016 by terpsichore

[taxi4ballet]

 

• I really admired all the corps swans. Though I was sorry to only see them from various angles in the stalls circle; I would have liked a full overview of the stage from the amphi to appreciate the patterns fully.

We were in the centre of the Amphi last night, the swans were magnificent.

[Mousem40]

 

Some other general thoughts:

• [*]

I must say thank you to the poster on the Don Q thread who remarked that to a certain extent, Lantratov’s dancing style was similar to the RB’s Muntagirov. I booked on that basis & wasn’t disappointed!

[*]I found the lighting in Act II had a strange red tinge, so that when the dancers moved at speed, the edges of their white costumes appeared to trail a red, phosphorent glow.

 

 

[Edited: Missed a sentence out]

That poster was me, I'm glad you agree. Hopefully Muntagirov will flourish and one day exceed Lantratov's talents, as I'm sure he can.

 

I was sitting in the middle in the row behind you (behind the mother and son) and also noticed this disconcerting lighting anomaly, it was akin to watching a 3D film in the cinema without the 3D glasses, very very odd. First time I've ever seen that.

[Indigo]

That poster was me, I'm glad you agree. Hopefully Muntagirov will flourish and one day exceed Lantratov's talents, as I'm sure he can.

 

I was sitting in the middle in the row behind you (behind the mother and son) and also noticed this disconcerting lighting anomaly, it was akin to watching a 3D film in the cinema without the 3D glasses, very very odd. First time I've ever seen that.

 

Interesting you saw the lighting anomaly too, I had wondered if it was just me!  My forum member radar obviously wasn't working very well, as I had no idea a member was sat nearby. It's been lovely to come across various members when I'm at the ROH (quite a few in the past couple of months by chance, but only two via the blue badges) so if you could recognise me again, do say hello if you spot me!

 

Seconded about Muntagirov    There were also various elements, such as Lantratov's tenderness & gentleness as Prince Siegfried towards his Odette, plus the way they gazed at each other, which reminded me of the fabulous recent performance of Giselle with Muntagirov & Nunez.  

 

I'm actually hoping to get an inexpensive return for Le Corsaire on 11th August, so I can enjoy Lantratov's dancing again. It'll help make the wait until I see Muntagirov dancing in Fille seem shorter too

[Mousem40]

Hah I'm seeing Lantratov for the third time tonight at the Taming of the Shrew, same seats, say hello if you're there. I hope he won't think I'm stalking him

[Timmie]

Interesting you saw the lighting anomaly too, I had wondered if it was just me! ...

 

I noticed the lighting effect as well, I thought I was having some sort of episode – possibly brought on by the “medically dangerous” (© Lindsay) Don Q lighting the week before .

[Indigo]

Hah I'm seeing Lantratov for the third time tonight at the Taming of the Shrew, same seats, say hello if you're there. I hope he won't think I'm stalking him

 

Enjoy!  I didn't book for Shrew so hope to hear what people thought of the ballet / performances.

[godots_arrived]

 

No need to remind about what the German army did on the Russian soil. The Russians were shuddering from German names for a long time after the end of the 2WW.

Grigorovich was still at school then. So let’s exonerate him from changing the names. 

Edited to change the font.

 

 

If we're going to get into cod history, let's also not forget what the Red Army did in Prussia...and Berlin...and what they didn't bother to do in Warsaw, etc. Once a war is over, culture should be a conduit for peace and reconciliation. Not a haven for continuing the worst traditions of enmity. Let's face it, if Barenboim can find the courage to play Wagner in Jerusalem, Grigorovich surely doesn't need to hide behind decades old war crimes?

[John Mallinson]

Let's not go down this route.

[FLOSS]

History may explain the names chosen for the characters in this version of Swan Lake but it does not explain the decision  to reduce the ballet to an almost abstract evocation of Swan Lake. The choreographic choices make Prince Siegfried the all dancing centre of the ballet and reduce Odette/Odile to supporting roles. If nothing else this type of treatment of the Petipa/Ivanov ballet provides ample justification for Ratmansky's decision to reconstruct the work so that it is performed in a form that its original  St.Petersburg choreographers might just recognise as their own work..

Edited August 4, 2016 by FLOSS

[godots_arrived]

History may explain the names chosen for the characters in this version of Swan Lake but it does not explain the decision  to reduce the ballet to an almost abstract evocation of Swan Lake. The choreographic choices make Prince Siegfried the all dancing centre of the ballet and reduce Odette/Odile to supporting roles. If nothing else this type of treatment of the Petipa/Ivanov ballet provides ample justification for Ratmansky's decision to reconstruct the work so that it is performed in a form that its original  St.Petersburg choreographers might just recognise as their own work..

 

Could not agree more. I went on Saturday night and for all the technique and virtuosity of the dancers (on display in abundance), I found the performance absolutely denuded of narrative. Everything impressed me, but little moved me. And as for the cut to the score at the end, words fail me!

[Tiara]

I rarely post on this forum, since I mainly take part in another one, although I am British myself, but I thought I should post here my review of the Stepanova/Rodkin Swan Lake that I saw a few nights ago.

 

It was a great evening for all Yulia Stepanova fans and although I have seen her dance Odette-Odile several times with the Mariinsky, this was her Bolshoi debut in the role.   There is much to say, and so apologies in advance it this is somewhat rambling (!) -  but to start with the first act, Denis Rodkin has all the hallmarks of a Perfect Prince - handsome, tall, strong, courteous in manner.  The first act showed off his somewhat stately technique and natural presence on stage as well as graceful arms.  The jester, ,Gusev,  was light and frolicsome, for want of a better word, without being too irritating.  He pulled of his final grande pirouette magnificently and to predictable applause.  I liked Kokhlova's charming  prince's friend, with fast light pointework, but Ana Turazashvili was miscast in my opinion with little charisma and stiff arms and spiky fingers.  Rodkin partnered both of them ably, however!  This was Yulia's debut though and many of the audience near me were excited to be seeing her for the first time.  They applauded her entry and not surprising.   She did look absolutely exquisite, and her undulating swan arms throughout were just amazing!  She has soft, flowing movement and everything seems easy for her, with effortless extensions and beautiful lines in arabesque. She and Rodkin complement each other physically very well.  She was a tender, feminine swan with expressions that were so natural and just made perfect sense, and she interacted  well with all the other characters on the stage.  The adagio in particular was real poetry and flow of movement, met by great applause and cheers.  She does have wonderful legato movement quality, but she is also technically superb.   Her tiny frappes sur le cou de pied at the end of the adagio were delicate and precise and that section ended with single, double and then quadruple pirouettes.  I have to say, that Denis Rodkin's partnering was exemplary throughout, and the high lifts especially were just so strong and easy.   However, I have seen him dance many times before, and I did feel he was slightly hampered by the smaller stage.  His  grands jetes en tournant in particular lacked the ultimate stretching out of back leg, although they were high and easy.  The corps in general were well rehearsed and not a pointe shoe to be heard.  Congratulations on that!  They do not have the arms of their Mariinsky counterparts, but nonetheless, they were good.   The four little swans danced with great precision  and well synchronised in their dance but later on in the scene their arms were all over the place.  I have to say that I found two of the three big swans decidedly lacking, especially Marchenkova, who displayed the most awful flailing, vulgar arms throughout.  Horrible.   The same mannerism also prevailed in her Spanish bride variation later.   I do hate what Grigorovich has done in particular to the first white scene, where Odette and the prince are interrupted far too much by the Evil Genius., Igor Tsvirko, who displayed animalistic evil throughout and strong technique.    I also wonder what has happened to the lake?  The backcloth is murky brown.   

The Black Act for me is very successful.  I love the different variations for the brides with their retinues.  Of the Brides, I enjoyed Yana Parienko the most.  She to me represents good Bolshoi style, and she was strong, exuberant, stylish in her Polish dance.  Loved her.  The Russian bride, Yakusheva, was also excellent and musical, with charm and amplitude of arms and nice use of her head.  Rodkin was acting well in this act and the Black Swan pd2 was fabulous.  Yulia's difficult variation with its succession of single and double pirouettes was performed technically perfectly and with musicality also and her fouettes also were strong.  She did single, single, double six times, and then singles until the last double, which she sailed round and then nailed dead perfectly in 5th.  Characterisation was old fashioned glamour and seduction and Rodkin fell for it hook line and sinker!  The last act contains some nice choreographic patterns for the swans, and the despairing Odette of Yulia was very moving.  However, The ending of this version leaves much to be desired, with Odette apparently dying behind one of the irritating gauzy shells that feature in this production, while a sorrowing Rodkin is marooned in front .  The people sitting near me were bewildered by this ending and actually asked "has it ended?"  Having said this, the ballet was a triumph in artistry for Yulia Stepanova and she was met with cheers and much applause and two beautiful bouquets of flowers..  I heard many people say they had never seen anything like it, and several mentioned Yulia's beautiful arms.  I waited at the stage door afterwards and Yulia was full of smiles and very happy when she came out accompanied by her coach, Lyudmila Semenyaka, and Denis Rodkin.  Great evening!  Great debut for Yulia, and I hope for a promotion for her very soon!  

[godots_arrived]

Let's not go down this route.

 

Fair enough, but I do think there's an interesting non-specific point to be discussed -- if not in this thread -- about the role of the arts in any post-war healing process as well as within political structures generally that's important to consider when evaluating performance choices. And in Russia in particular the subversion of the arts (from the denunciations of Shostakovich to the entire school of Soviet Realism) renders almost any composition (music or dance, painting, book etc.) regardless of medium nearly impossible to comment on absent context. Perhaps a topic for another thread though. 

[alison]

Welcome to Tiara and godots_arrived (which I misread at first glance!), and thank you for your contributions.

[Sim]

Fair enough, but I do think there's an interesting non-specific point to be discussed -- if not in this thread -- about the role of the arts in any post-war healing process as well as within political structures generally that's important to consider when evaluating performance choices. And in Russia in particular the subversion of the arts (from the denunciations of Shostakovich to the entire school of Soviet Realism) renders almost any composition (music or dance, painting, book etc.) regardless of medium nearly impossible to comment on absent context. Perhaps a topic for another thread though. 

 

A topic for another forum, godots_arrived!  We try and stick to discussion here about the arts, but keep them separate from politics as it never ends well.  Meanwhile, welcome to the forum and we look forward to more contributions from you. 

[Coated]

For reasons unbeknown to me, I bought a lot of Swan Lakes this time round, and I'm coming to appreciate it more on repeat viewings. I actually pay attention during the brides/folk dances, which are scenes where my mind often drifts in other versions. I like the idea of the evil genius as a sort of string-pulling alter ego. I don't think I'll get as far as liking the ending, but I think it could be an interesting alternative if it had a more developed narrative / choreography.

 

Tonight's performance belonged to Zakharova, with a decent showing from Rodkin (I don't get much emotion off him, but his movement can be utterly beautiful), Lopatin showing off beautifully as an amusing Jester with awe inspiring spins, and a fab Spanish princess by Tihkomirova. And perhaps I'm a little harsh on the 3 swans, but this was the first performance I've seen where they seemed reasonably attuned to each other instead of having arms going any which way at times. (Maybe there was a Swan Bootcamp since the first lot of SLs...)

[Timmie]

I’ll start with an unashamed apology that this is most definitely a fan-boy write up. I didn’t go to see Swan Lake last night, I went to see Svetlana Zakharova (for the first time). She was fabulous, I’d love to be able to describe her the way Bruce Wall would but I don’t have the words. Every movement, every pose was sumptuous, her arms truly rippled, her face was expressive. Sinuous as a snake are the words that sprang to mind when watching her – not terribly flattering words though .

 

I was sitting in the front left hand corner of the OS and what I hadn’t really appreciated beforehand is that a lot of SL is Odette (and others) moving from back right across the stage to front left – this meant they were coming straight at me, loved it  .

 

Anna Tikhomirova has clearly become an ROH favourite with a ripple of applause when she came on stage as the Spanish Bride (only Zakharova and Tikhomirova got this ‘appearance’ applause).

 

All the Brides were good with Yulia Stepanova as the Russian Bride as my favourite. (Any Russian bride would be my favourite, I love that Russian Bride music).

 

Svetlana Zakharova’s black swan was wickedly delightful (fashion note: no black feathers for SZ, just a lovely little crown). I had to count and she did exactly 32 perfect fouettes – ever the perfectionist.

 

I’ve seen three Bolshoi SLs this time round and none of them moved me emotionally which tells me this is not a good version of SL (I think we knew that). Zakharova came the closest in the first white act when her facial portrayal of Odette and her little shudders and ripples told of her sorrow and the sadness to come – but I couldn’t stop grinning  because I was enjoying  Zakharova so much that I forgot Odette.

 

Rodkin/Belyakov/Lopatin were tremendous to watch as Siegfried/Evil Genius/Fool. The interplay between Prince Siegfried and the Evil Genius is probably the best ‘new’ thing in this SL version but it is nowhere near enough to make it a good SL.

[Don Q Fan]

Reminds of when I saw SZ in SL in Amsterdam (as the Bolshoi didn't come here that year) a few years back and her 6 o'clock arabesque as Odile was nothing short of stupendous and of course her fouettes are always spot on too!  She is a brilliant technician but I rarely get any emotion off Zakharova, but you HAVE to see her at least once in your life!  So glad you enjoyed seeing her.

[capybara]

In common with Timmie, I too went to see Svetlana Zakharova (and Denis Rodkin) last night as distinct from booking for Swan Lake.

 

Since her teenage days with the then Kirov, I have always admired Zakharova but she has rarely won me over with her interpretations ‘in the round’. [The exception was her Dame Aux Camelias which I caught in the cinema relay and thought brilliant.] Last night, however, I felt more characterisation and emotion from her than hitherto in a classical role. As both Odette and Odile, her face was expressive and her arms doubly so. There were times when her technique took my breath away.

 

But, strangely, she didn’t seem to be getting much back from Rodkin beyond his naturally handsome visage. I like to see him but, as in his Don Q, some of his dancing appears effortful and he did not really come across as princely. There is a sort of flat-footedness about him as well which seems to emphasize his comparative lack of elevation.

 

Anna Tikhomirova once again carried all before her as the Spanish Bride. She has a really captivating stage presence and connection with her audience (witness Timmie’s reference to her being clapped on!) which the other princesses seemed to lack.

 

Having been seriously disappointed by the Saturday matinee cast for Swan Lake, my overall impression was much more favourable last night – and the bored swans’ faces of the week before had virtually disappeared as well.