The Royal Ballet: New Swan Lake Production, Summer 2018

[capybara]

37 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Act I looked pretty cramped at times at CG, if I'm honest. Did anyone else notice that at every performance someone appeared stage right (on the left as you're viewing it) to shuffle a bench back a few inches? I kept thinking it would look less odd if he removed it altogether!

 

And, when Siegfried and Benno are standing by that bench, they seemed to be getting kicked by the soldiers - at the ROH as well.

[Jam Dancer]

Well I finally got to see the new Swan Lake production even if it was in the cinema.  I saw it last week at Toho Cinemas (Nihonbashi) here is Tokyo on an extra large screen and I was blown away.  I've not been able to see the Royal Ballet over the last year in the same way I'd been able to over the previous ten years and perhaps that makes a difference. There have been lots of discussion about all the details so I won't go there again.  

 

I was hugely impressed with the production and the quality of the dancing. During the credits, I noticed that Laura Morera was involved in coaching the principals and I thought that was divine justice.  

 

I agree with those who mentioned that perhaps tutu's weren't as effective for the Princesses from the different countries.  I am not sure about the ending but I'd already ready several pages of forum discussion on that so I knew what to expect.

 

I hope the next outing of the ballet improves on what was done this season. 

 

[Mary]

Well- it was wonderful that Swan Lake was on TV on Xmas day- and that it was the new RB production.

 

But the presentation felt  a bit cut-price. A newcomer would not have understood the story or history/context of the ballet and this production.  In that sense it was a missed opportunity- this could have introduced new people to ballet, to Swan Lake, and to the RB.

No pauses between acts felt strange ( and not ideal on Xmas day having to dash across the room to get the wine bottle 🙂)

 - and no curtain calls was a great shame.

 

Seeing it again after a few months also definitely hardened my views of the production- wonderful designs, sets and costumes, good production BUT too much Benno, not enough Siegfried, and Benno's costume is out of keeping. ( No disrespect to a lovely and very on-form Alexander Campbell - just the overall balance felt wrong)- and the ending is wrong too.

Still, a fabulous showcase for the whole company and a great joy to watch,

 

[Mary]

JohnS- was the slip you referred to Ms Hayward tripping up in the pas de trois??My memory is foggy- but no slips tonight that I could see.

[JohnS]

I’m hoping to see Swan Lake tomorrow and will be very interested in how I find it after a few months.  I know there was a lot of criticism at the time about the ending but I was very impressed with how Liam Scarlett handled it and it certainly caught my mood.  Many thanks for the wine advice Mary - it does seem odd to squeeze Swan Lake into just 2 hours 15 minutes and sadly long gone are the days when the BBC would provide a comfortable evening’s scheduling for such a performance.

[JohnS]

7 minutes ago, Mary said:

JohnS- was the slip you referred to Ms Hayward tripping up in the pas de trois??My memory is foggy- but no slips tonight that I could see.

 

Thanks Mary - I think there was also a point where Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nunez’s costumes got caught and Vadim had to do some swift extrication which meant a lift was missed.

[Balletfanp]

That did happen in the cinema broadcast but didn’t on TV tonight. Evidently sections from the other filmed performance were edited in. It was blissful to be able to watch it again.

[alison]

1 hour ago, Mary said:

But the presentation felt  a bit cut-price. A newcomer would not have understood the story or history/context of the ballet and this production.  In that sense it was a missed opportunity- this could have introduced new people to ballet, to Swan Lake, and to the RB.

No pauses between acts felt strange ( and not ideal on Xmas day having to dash across the room to get the wine bottle 🙂)

 - and no curtain calls was a great shame.

 

Yes, "a bit cut-price" is quite a good description, I think.  It could certainly have been presented better, but then I guess I said the same when it aired in cinemas.  I was in and out of the room at the start, having foolishly trusted my recorder to do the necessary to record it for future reference (BIG mistake - something went wrong and I didn't get either of the first 2 acts, despite it claiming that it was recording :( ), so didn't really see the pre-performance bit, but what I did see seemed a bit hit-and-miss.  But then if it's stashed away on BBC4 I guess they assume that only committed arts viewers will be watching it anyway, so no need to bother worrying about newcomers.  It did feel as though it had been edited to within an inch of its life, though - barely even time to breathe at the end of one act before the next one starts (otherwise I'd have switched off the recorder and restarted it so I could be sure it was recording properly), no curtain calls as Mary says, no explanation of the plot between acts, unless I just wasn't looking at the right moments ...

[ninamargaret]

The recording cut off immediately at the end so I haven't got any details of who was dancing what. Definitely booked a bit 'cut price', especially after we had been told that BBC 4 was the channel to watch for dance!

[capybara]

Enough of the negatives 😉

I rejoice that a full length ballet from the RB was shown on terrestrial television on Christmas Day and that audiences could see the wonderful dancing of Nunez, Muntagirov, Hayward and Takada (and the corps). I believe that there are many "wow" comments on social media - and so there should be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2018 by capybara

[Fiz]

A good American friend who loves ballet was overjoyed to be able to see it and was full of superlatives for Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nunez. 

[Springbourne3]

I finally managed to watch this production - albeit on BBC4 on Christmas Day - not quite the same as seeing it ‘live’ at the ROH - but better than not seeing it all.

 

I quite like the little ‘prologue’  at the beginning in which Odette is captured by Von Rothbart and turned into the swan - but the lighting was so dark you could hardly see what was going on - why so dark?  

The Act1 scene set was beautiful with the gothic style palace gates and beautiful backdrop of forests which gave a real feel of depth and ancient woodlands surrounding the palace. 

The introduction of Von Rothbart (Bennet Garside) as a dual character role - part dark moody ‘goth’ like member of the court and part evil decaying raven-like magician - gave continuity to the story.

Strangely, Benno arrives in a bright coloured costume and this completely overshadows Siegfried’s arrival afterwards in much darker colours which just blend into the background....if you weren’t familiar with the story you may well be led to believe Benno is the Prince!  Particularly when Benno and his sisters dance for most of the first act and Siegfried hardly moves.  This Pas de Trois was beautifully danced by Campbell, Takada and Hayward and was a highlight of the dancing for me.  I think I preferred it as it always used to be  known as the ‘peasant pas de trois’ (probably no longer politically correct to call it this though) when the ‘peasants’ danced for their Prince.  The rest of the act was beautifully presented by artistes of the RB - the male dancers in particular looked in fine form in their uniforms with beautiful jumps and far-reaching aresbesque lines in the Valse section - I love this magical Tchaikovsky piece it brings tears to my eyes every time. 

Muntagirov’s quiet, thoughtful Siegfried and his beautiful technique was sheer beauty - deep felt sincerity and understated refinery. 

Nunez entranced with a huge grand jeté and I love that she gently shakes the water off her head as she port de bras (saw this done by some ballerinas years ago but seems to of been lost in more recent productions) - it’s so ‘swan-like’. 

The corps of swans made a great entrance - great attack and footwork but the lighting seemed so dark again.  Beautiful ‘Cygnets’ performed by Hinkis, Gasparini, Padjek and McCrae danced with great speed but always keeping the precision and perfect co-ordination of feet and heads.

The two big swans were also beautifully danced with great sweeping jumps and aresbésques across the stage (Calvert and Magri).  I also liked that the Swans were back in those gorgeous tutus again - giving a much better view of all the footwork going on.

Bit of a negative for me was that sometimes the swan corps looked a bit messy at times.  

The Ballroom act looked stunning costume and set wise - but Benno and his sisters again? Glorious dancing however  (Hayward in particular making everything look so easy) but....all those beautiful princesses (Hungarian, Polish, Spanish and Italian) hardly moved at all which was disappointing considering their grand entrances (and talent!) made you anticipate that we were going to see something of them - but no they mostly ‘dressed’ the sides of the stage.  

Loved the Czardas - Padjek as the lead was a stand out with her sharp head movements and true Hungarian style/feel - always want to see more of her! Tristan Dyer was also very good in this too.

The Polonaise was again, beautifully danced and Bracewell had just the right air of pride and precision as a lead dancer. 

Sambé and Hinkis exploded into Ashton’s Neopolitan Dance - another highlight for me.

Can Nunez get any better? I thought her Odile was absolutely faultless - her technique is pretty much perfect and it looks like she doesn’t even need to think about it - pure class.  What a great artiste she is.

Moving on to the final act - I like the pas de deux that has been added to this act and it really suited Nunez and Muntagirov’s lyrical qualities - that combined with their acting skills gave a very poignant final parting duet.  

No I don’t like the ending - give me Odette and Siegfried united forever after they plunge into the lake in the ‘love conquers all’ theme.

 

All in all a great production but too much Benno - but of course this is just my opinion.

 

As a TV production there was no clear explanation of which act was what - or where - subtitles would of helped to explain this. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[capybara]

2 minutes ago, Springbourne3 said:

 

All in all a great production but too much Benno - but of course this is just my opinion.

 

 

And mine and, I see, that of The Telegraph's Mark Monaghan as well. No disrespect to any of the dancers concerned but both Scarlett and MacFarlane need to rethink that before the production returns to the rep. [Back to the point I raised re The Unknown Soldier about the role of the Director and/or another independent, trusted eye to be cast over new works in time for adjustments to be made.]

 

Thank you, Springbourne3, for a lovely, detailed review - especially as you were coming to this Swan Lake for the first time.

 

 

[Coated]

Ah, the power of Muntagirov. Made a friend watch Swan Lake on Christmas Day (not entirely involuntary, but it involved a fair amount of sweet talking and promises to switch off after the second act if she can't take it) and she started watching with what I can only class as derogative comments about Vadim's princely handsomeness (I didn't even strangle her for the comments...very cristmassy of me, I though).

 

2 acts later she is glued to the screen demanding act 3 and declaring Vadream to be most marvellously glorious  

[Mary]

It seems the view that there is  'too much Benno' is pretty general this time round .

I think this is more so because Benno does not actually play any great role either symbolically or in the narrative.

 

I don't want to be negative though- very far from it. Will be watching again  on iplayer several times and it's excellent that it is appealing to many viewers new to ballet.

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

 

No disrespect to any of the dancers concerned but both Scarlett and MacFarlane need to rethink that before the production returns to the rep. [Back to the point I raised re The Unknown Soldier about the role of the Director and/or another independent, trusted eye to be cast over new works in time for adjustments to be made.]

 

 

 

 

I would disagree about that. I like Benno dancing the pdt, and then the three of them reappearing in Act 3 at the party. Seems to flow well I reckon. It means a meatier role, and so a higher ranked dancer appearing, or a good opportunity for a rising one

[penelopesimpson]

So agree.  Too much Benno hadthe effect of downgrading Siegfried - and for no reason.  What I call one of those ‘and now we’ll have some folk dancing’ moments!

[jmhopton]

Well I had a rather stressful Christmas day so it was wonderful to switch on Swan Lake and just lose myself in the fabulous music and dance. It was a really beautiful end to the day and though the presentation was rather rushed I have criticised the BBC a lot for not showing performances so all credit to them they were prepared to show this and on Christmas day as well when tv ratings are so competitive.

 I do agree with a lot of the above comments about the ending and Benno but I think the Benno situation seems more accentuated because of the lack of Siegfried dancing and this in spite of Liam Scarlett stating beforehand that his version was going to focus a lot more on Siegfried. This does not seem to have materialised but perhaps something to consider for the future. He seemed happy to insert music for the new act 4 pas de deux so perhaps he could do something for Siegfried. Also it seems a shame that in the cinema version you miss the entire scene transformation between the palace and the lakeside as the lighting is so dark. However, well done BBC for this; worth the licence fee all on its own. Bayadere at Easter, please!!

[Richard LH]

After such a great production it was crass and disrespectful to cut out most of the curtain calls and have an announcer talking over what part of them they did show. But otherwise, well done Beeb for putting this on to enhance our Christmas Day. 

 

Seeing Francesca Hayward's wonderful dancing reminded me what we have been missing recently. Come back soon!

[Beryl H]

Firstly, Vadim Muntagirov was in a world of his own, how lovely to be able to watch him in close up!  On my TV it all looked a bit dark, even surprisingly Act 3, and although I was looking forward to actually seeing the end of Act 4, it wasn't much clearer on TV, so agree that this scene does need second thoughts. Great to see it again so soon, the only thing I can recall at the moment is I really liked Bennett Gartside's dual roles, much more serious than usual, but the Benno role felt wrong. 

Looking forward to seeing it again tonight, too much to take in at first!

[Odyssey]

So happy to be able to see this production for the first time. Well done BBC.

I find myself much in agreement with the excellent observations from  Springbourne3.

I can now fully appreciate the observations regarding the ending.  It did leave me yearning for the traditional apotheosis, particularly the memorable image of the corps facing the back of the stage en pointe as Siegfried and Odette gently traverse the stage. Yet the story arc as told by Liam Scarlett does make perfect sense. The prologue is a good addition.

Act 3 is a feast for the eyes-can’t wait for the opportunity to see it for real. Sumptious costumes and staging and wonderful dancing. The national dances have been given a new lease of life. I agree with Springbourne3 regarding the waste of those four princesses. By putting them in tutus I was fully expecting more dancing rather than stage decoration, although frequently catching sight of Melissa Hamilton in the background, she seemed to be fully immersed in the action, especially when Odile danced virtually into her lap -the look of shock intermingled with disdain, was wonderful.

 Whether it is because of some of the editing and camera positions, or even some of the choreography, but I don’t think this always presented the corps at their best. I agree with a couple of previous posts that suggested they looked a little raggedly times. 

But it was Muntagirov that was the undoubted star for me. I didn’t think I would ever witness a performance where Nuñez was eclipsed.  I would love to see him partnered Naghdi or Takada in the next run.

So all in all, a lovely Christmas treat which I can now rewatch to get my regular Swan Lake fix.

 

edited to say I forgot to add that I found Von Rothbart’s costume in the ‘swan ‘acts doesn’t workfor me. Really don’t like the red bits on the torso and he looks like he is in a pair of badly pulled tights!

Edited December 26, 2018 by Odyssey

[Richard LH]

The corps looked absolutely fine to me.

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

After such a great production it was crass and disrespectful to cut out most of the curtain calls and have an announcer talking over what part of them they did show. 

Also the credits were so fast that it was impossible to read most names. I spent much of Acts 1 & 3 trying to work out who was dancing the smaller roles but couldn't identify many dancers so I was looking forward seeing to the credits, only to then not be able to read them.

[Sim]

I am with Dave about Benno.  In most classical productions of SL, Siegfried doesn't have much to do.  Unless Scarlett were to change much of the plotline in order to give him more dancing, I can't see where it can be inserted and still make sense.  He gets that lovely, melancholy solo between Acts 1 and 2 (omitted in Dowell's version), plus the extra pdd in Act 4.  I think using Benno in the pdt makes complete sense.  Siegfried's sisters ask him to dance, but he politely says no, and asks his mate Benno to indulge them.  Let's not forget that the whole reason he falls for Odette in the first place is as an escape from his melancholia and his stuffy situation.  This is a prince about to become king, having to marry and take on the responsibilities for which he is not ready, with the weight of the world on his young shoulders.  If he all of a sudden did a happy dance it would look ridiculous, so cue Benno.  If he danced 'part 2' of the pdt in Act 3, again it would be much more out of context than having Benno dance (and the fact that his big moment comes up very soon after that).  And as Dave said, it gives a great chance for another male to have a meaty role in a classical ballet.  My only beef, especially watching it at this time of year, is that Benno looks too much like Hans Peter in his red jacket.  My suggested change would be to his costume.  

[Odyssey]

It struck me that for those of us looking for a full cast list it should be on the ROH site from when there was the cinema relay . However I can only find it as part of the digital programme which costs £2.99.I don’t  know what is the free promotional code - have tried FREESWAN as this resembles the codes used for other programmes, but this doesn’t work. Perhaps someone can help.

[Balletfanp]

I can’t remember now what it was - try FREELAKE?

[Jan McNulty]

From my recollection of seeing this at the cinema, Benno's role closely follows that of Benno in SPW's production for BRB.  As such, I think it is fine and long may it stay that way.

[Odyssey]

1 hour ago, Balletfanp said:

I can’t remember now what it was - try FREELAKE?

Thanks for this. I have tried it without success but I think there is still a problem on the site with accessing previous digital programmes as it says ‘not fo sale’.

[Bluebird]

4 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

Also the credits were so fast that it was impossible to read most names. I spent much of Acts 1 & 3 trying to work out who was dancing the smaller roles but couldn't identify many dancers so I was looking forward seeing to the credits, only to then not be able to read them.

 

Screenshot from the digital programme:

[Dawnstar]

Thanks. Oh dear, there are some people I failed to identify who I should have been able to from seeing them in the Triple Bill last week!

[bridiem]

1 minute ago, Dawnstar said:

Thanks. Oh dear, there are some people I failed to identify who I should have been able to from seeing them in the Triple Bill last week!

 

Dancers often look remarkably different in different costumes and wigs etc!

[JennyTaylor]

59 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

 

Screenshot from the digital programme:

I can also tell you that the Von Rothbart double was Will Bracewell. I only found this out when I was in Madrid where we were given the full cast list (every dancer and actor) but I noticed when I watched it last night that you can recognise it's him right at the start of the ballet.   He's also in the short excerpt right at the start of the programme where they are trying out costumes. 

[Odyssey]

Thanks for the screenshot. Shame that the digital programme appears to be unavailable. Someone with a little initiative at the ROH might have thought to make it accessible as it was being screened by the BBC.