English National Ballet: Swan Lake, London, Jan 2015

[Fonty]

I was at the performance last night, and I have to say that  I didn't notice the tempo being particularly slow during Act 2.  Takahashi is not the most dramatic of dancers, but I think she is very musical, and I never felt anything was dragging at all.

[LinMM]

Bellini Pointe will PM about the ENB Corsaire workshop to save taking thread off course!

[SPD444]

This will be a very non-balletic review of tonights performance with Alina and Ivan. Terminology is not my forte, I either enjoy it or I don't and tonight was wonderful. I agree the pace of the Act 11 pas de deux did seem on the slow side but Alina nailed it. I am sitting here reading through the cast list and I cannot find anyone who did not give a great performance. At the end the bouquet presented to Alina she gave to the Corps, which I thought was really sweet. I know, I am very biased, but Alina is an absolute treasure, I was in bits by the end. She could dance the Hokey Kokey and it would still be wonderful. Sorry to gush but tonight was fantastic.

[Coated]

Tonight had the most soul out of the Swan Lakes I've seen this run. So essentially, what SPD444 said from me too.

[Thecatsmother]

Bravo ENB. The company is on great form especially at the end of a long Christmas season. Alina gave a mature and captivating performance although the black swan solo and fouettés were not so secure this evening. Despite this, as always she is a joy to watch and the change of company seems to suit her well as she has blossomed. The pairing was technically strong but perhaps Alina would benefit from a partner who was a little taller. He came into his own in the black act with some impressive turns and jumps.

 

Credit must go to the corps whose technique was very sound and footwork vastly improved. The energy and attack was uplifting to watch. Cast members who stood out to me were Corrales in the pas de trois-he seems one to watch for the future. Lauretta and Alison were also well matched in the pas de trois but my sense was that in time with greater strength turnout in the final section of the pas de trois will improve for Lauretta. That being said it was danced at quite a speed.

 

Amber Hunt was also vibrant in the Spanish. I am not sure if it was purely the hairstyling but the her hair looked considerably darker in the Spanish than in Act 1 and these seemed to give her more definition on stage in a positive way.

The Neapolitan was also excellent as were the big swans.

 

Seems like it will be an exciting year for ENB!

[aileen]

The White Swan pdd was taken exceptionally slowly this evening I thought. I didn't notice this with any of the other performances which I saw. I felt that it was too slow for a smaller dancer like Tamara. It might suit a taller, leggy dancer with very high extensions better. The audience went wild for Tamara tonight but I left in two minds about the performance. There was a lot of detail in her movement and acting but I felt that the tempo and her excessively long balances in the White Swan pdd spoilt the second act a bit, and the Black Swan solo and pdd did, for me, veer into showing off. Her fouettes were absolutely stunning though. Lendorf was good technically but I didn't find him particularly expressive dramatically until the last act which really was exciting this evening. The act 1 solo was well executed but didn't have that last bit of phrasing which would have made it really poetic.

 

Anyway, there's one more performance for the company (the last of 89 apparently) before their first break since September. I wish them all a restful and enjoyable break and look forward to seeing them again in something very different: Modern Masters at Sadler's Wells. Fingers crossed that my fave, Ksenia, will have a starring tole in the Forsythe.

[Ian Macmillan]

Putting away my wife's programme from the other night, I see that the cover girl, as so often in ENB promotional material, is Begoña Cao, looking particularly stunning in the inverted Odile mirror image.  The photographers seem to love her exotic looks (DaveM?).  Yet, if I'm right, she did not do a single lead performance?  

[Irmgard]

A couple of fluffed notes at the start of yesterday's matinee (17th) was a timely reminder that this orchestra and many of the dancers have given over 80 performances since September, not to mention all the dress rehearsals!  However, under the galvanising baton of Tom Seligman, the orchestra was immediately back on top form and gave a stirring account of this beautiful score.  Seligman was blessed with a cast of principal dancers (Vitor Luiz and Fernanda Oliveira) who are not musically self-indulgent and who understand that neither a string-player's bow nor a wind-player's breath is endless, thus allowing the musical phrases to follow their natural arcs. 

Luiz has a naturally regal bearing and I particularly liked his gallant attentiveness to the ladies of the Pas de Douze in Act I in which it was also lovely to see a radiant Shiori Kase back on stage after her recent injury and demonstrating a genuine Ashton epaulement in his choreography for the Waltz. Also in this Act was a lively Pas de Trois from Max Westwell, Anjuli Hudson and Ksenia Ovsyanik, with first-class solos from each of them.  The peasants' polonaise, led by the effervescent Jennie Harrington and Anton Lukovkin was strongly cast on the male side who obviously relished the brisk tempo set by Seligman although I think most of the girls were students who really need to learn how to run prettily.  Luiz acquitted himself very well in the Ashton solo with beautifully clean lines in his arabesques and neatly finished turns.  If I have one criticism it would be that I would have liked the yearning expression on his face to have been carried throughout his body.  From the first moment he saw his Odette in Act II, it was clear that this Siegfried was not only fascinated but smitten.  Oliveira's Odette reminds me of a comment by Margot Fonteyn that, unlike the Firebird who is a wild creature, Odette is a woman enchanted and only tiny remnants of her daytime swan persona remain at night when she is allowed to become a princess again for a few short hours.  Oliveira is all femininity and vulnerability and there was something very touching about the way she looked searchingly at Siegfried throughout the flawless pas de deux as if to ask if she could really trust him.  Luiz partnered beautifully and tenderly throughout and was is clear there is a rare chemistry between these two dancers.  After another immaculate Cygnets dance from the dream team of Shiori Kase, Senri Kou, Kei Akahoshi and an uncredited Anjuli Hudson (replacing Khaniukova) in which even the series of pas de chats was perfectly synchronised, Oliveira's solo was a delicious blend of delicacy and melancholy with an exquisite series of developpe a la seconde and a wonderfully understated ending perfectly timed with the music.

In Act III, Oliveira's Odile plays on Odette's femininity but adds a sensuality and glittering allure that is irresistible for Siegfried, who has just rejected an extremely lovely line-up of Princesses.  After the lively national dances with an outstanding Neapolitan dance from Anjuli Hudson (a busy afternoon for her!) and Barry Drummond both demonstrating exquisite footwork, the 'black swan' pas de deux was electrifying, with a breathtakingly reckless abandon in which Luiz's partnering was so secure that Oliveira appeared to be flying above his head in some of the lifts.

The beginning of Act IV in this production must surely be one of the most beautiful there is as the swan-maidens emerge from the swirls of dry ice to the hauntingly plaintive melody. As the storm music swells, Oliveira's broken Odette took on an extra air of fragility as her tiny body was tossed and whirled by the wonderfully powerful Rothbart of James Streeter as he tears the reconciled lovers apart.  This was an unforgettable performance from all three principals and it inspired the corps de ballet of swan-maidens to an emotionally charged finale, hugely appreciated by the capacity audience.

In response to Ian's previous post, poster-girl Begona Cao had two performances in Liverpool (and possibly one in Milton Keynes) but was not given a London performance although she has done several Spanish dancers during the run.

[zxDaveM]

Putting away my wife's programme from the other night, I see that the cover girl, as so often in ENB promotional material, is Begoña Cao, looking particularly stunning in the inverted Odile mirror image.  The photographers seem to love her exotic looks (DaveM?).  Yet, if I'm right, she did not do a single lead performance?  

 

YES! Begona is always very striking to photograph - as those Swan Lake pics show. She is probably still on the way back after having a baby, to do a full out Odette/Odile on a large stage as yet. I'm looking forward to when she is fully fit again.

ENB do seem to do that 'cover girl' thing for the posters/programmes - I remember Laurretta Summerscales doing the same, but I can't remember which production (Coppelia maybe?)

[capybara]

ENB do seem to do that 'cover girl' thing for the posters/programmes.

 

Yes Laurretta Summerscales was the 'poster girl' for Coppelia in London last July  but did not get a show. Elena Glurdjidze was ENB's 'face' of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall in July 2013 but did not dance in it at all.

 

Begona Cao's Odette/Odile in Liverpool was very good indeed.

[Don Q Fan]

A bit soon but really looking forward to hearing reports (pics?) from Elena Glurdjze's finale!  Hope it was good.

[aileen]

Elena gave a wonderful performance in the duel role of O/O this afternoon. It was a masterclass of pure, unforced, classical dancing and she was equally good in both roles. I think that she will be very pleased with her own performance and with the reception which she got both from her audience and from her colleagues. There was a beautiful flower throw with some very colourful flowers. Casey Herd had a slight stumble in the act 1 solo but recovered well and was a very good partner to Elena. All credit to him for stepping in and partnering her in a single, poignant performance.

 

Btw, Elena is not hanging up her pointe shoes just yet. I see that she's dancing The Dying Swan in a concert at the RAH in a few weeks time.

[alison]

In response to Ian's previous post, poster-girl Begona Cao had two performances in Liverpool (and possibly one in Milton Keynes) but was not given a London performance although she has done several Spanish dancers during the run.

 

She was doing Big Swans the other night when I saw it.

[Thecatsmother]

Slightly off topic but was nice to see Osipova in the audience at ENB Swan Lake on Friday eve. No sign of any limping so let's hope things are progressing.

[Irmgard]

The last performance of a beloved colleague is inevitably tinged with sadness and, coming at the end of a very tough autumn/winter season, one might have expected a slightly subdued atmosphere this afternoon.  However, when the lady in question is star ballerina Elena Glurdjidze, the dancers of ENB conspired to give one of their finest and liveliest performances as a tribute to her.

It is also worth noting how much juggling of the casting is required when just one dancer (in this case Katja Khaniukova) is indisposed.  Shiori Kase, herself still recovering from injury, gave up the Act I pas de trois to replace her in the Act II Cygnets dance, impeccably danced by the all-oriental team (as they are happy to call themselves) of Kei Akahoshi, Crystal Costa and Senri Kou as well as Kase.  Instead of the Czardas in Act III, Anjuli Hudson found herself unexpectedly repeating her vivacious Neapolitan dance, today with Joshua McSherry-Gray as her equally lively partner, and accompanied by two exuberant tambourine-playing gargoyles (a one-time “end of term” treat!). Kase’s place in the Act I pas de trois was taken by Laurretta Summerscales, who was not scheduled to dance in this performance and neither was Ksenia Ovsyanik, who replaced Jennie Harrington (moved to the Mazurka) as a Princess in Act III, but both seemed delighted to be part of this very special afternoon.

Apart from some exceptionally fine dancing from the men in the Act I Waltz, the highlight for me was a thrilling Coda to the pas de trois danced by Summerscales, Kou and Vitor Menezes to a bravura orchestral accompaniment courtesy of maestro Gavin Sutherland.

There was luxury casting amongst the swans with Lead Swan Begoña Cao giving a masterclass in swan-maiden style with her exquisitely limpid port de bras, bourrées, attitudes and even the angle of her neck. Alison McWhinney, though not yet in Cao’s league, complemented her beautifully as they both dance with an innate lyricism.

As well as the ‘black swan’ pas de deux, another highlight of Act III was possibly the sultriest Spanish dance ever seen on this stage by Tamarin Stott, with backbends so deep her spine appeared to be made of india rubber rather than bone, and with an allure to rival Odile’s, much to the delight of her partner, James Streeter.

All praise to Casey Herd, (who partnered Glurdjidze in ‘Nutcracker’), for agreeing to learn Derek Deane’s production for just one performance.  Even though the two pas de deux are more or less the same in most productions, the rest of the ballet is not, including the fiendishly difficult Ashton solo in Act I.  Herd is an eminently likeable chap and, although one might wish for a little more princely bearing, he was a solicitous and secure partner for Glurdjidze.  Dramatically, he saved the best for last with a moving portrayal of a man broken by remorse and humbled by the supreme dignity of his all-forgiving Odette.

As for the lady herself, what can one say about an artist such as Glurdjidze who has graced so many ENB performances and delighted thousands of audience members within that time?  Her Odette was sublimely lyrical and regal while her Odile was all wicked sensuality and fearless technique, proving she is leaving ENB at the height of her powers.

At the end of the performance, almost the whole company filled the stage to applaud her and present flowers to her in a wonderful display of the affection and esteem in which she is held.  Many thanks to Capybara for organising and carrying out the flower throw from the audience at the end of this memorable afternoon.

Although Glurdjidze will no longer be appearing with ENB, plans are afoot to ensure she will not be absent from the stage for very long!

[Sim]

Thank you Aileen and Irmgard for bringing this final farewell to ENB to life. What a real shame that Elena is leaving the company whilst still in such a wonderful place professionally and artistically. I look forward to seeing her elsewhere very soon.

[MAB]

I am finding it very difficult to articulate my thoughts about yesterday.  I won't attempt a review but instead will try to describe how I felt on what for me was a very sad occasion. 

 

I have supported ENB for many years, first seeing them as a schoolchild in the 1950's, during that time I have admired many, many of their ballerinas from Alicia Markova onwards, but one will always occupy a special place in my heart: Elena Glurdjidze.  She has always displayed those qualities of the true prima, not just an impeccable technique and the versatility that encompasses a huge range of styles and roles, but the ability to touch the hearts of her audience.  Like Fonteyn she had a perfect line, indeed hers was the loveliest arabesque since Fonteyn herself, she also shared Dame Margot's innate musicality, a quality only the greatest possess.  There was always a certain radiance about Glurdjidze, when she stepped on stage you knew you were about to see something very special and whether the role called for comedy or drama she always convinced you that she WAS Swanhilda or Odette/Odile.   From the regal majesty of Raymonda to the downright silliness of Virginia in The Canterville Ghost, no role was beyond her, nor was any choreographic style beyond her as my first sight of her, about eleven years ago, was in a work by Cathy Marston proving she was every bit at home in modern as in classical.

 

When the curtain came down on her performance yesterday, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, perhaps it was because of the emotion she put into the work or perhaps because it was the last time I am likely to see her with a much loved company.  Either way I felt pretty choked up, but regained my thoughts enough to leap to my feet to scream Brava! along with a packed audience that clearly shared my charged feelings at such an emotional moment. 

 

I would also like to express my gratitude to Capybara and her helpers for the magnificent flower throw - the traditional London farewell, the flowers looked absolutely beautiful.  Thank you.

[aileen]

The flowers were beautiful. I wanted to nip down to the stage and take some but I didn't know whether this would be permitted and whether it was a bit of a liberty to take some of Elena's flowers. There is a nice photograph of the curtain call on Joshua McSherry-Gray's Twitter timeline.

[MAB]

For those that do social media, I've put a very nice picture of Elena as she came off stage on my Facebook page.

 

Mary Barnstable

[Jan McNulty]

I think I've found your page (cover photo of London skyline at sunset?) but FB won't let me see your full timeline unless we become friends.

[Bruce Wall]

I saw this production several times over the past two weeks and enjoyed it hugely alongside capacity audiences.  It was a pleasure to watch the Deane as I so much prefer this version to the equally-long-standing Dowell one down the road.  The entire ENB company I thought looked in magnificent form.  Vividly so.  One had the luxury of knowing you could always relax in the presence of the ENB corps.  Bless them.  They persistently fascinated and enraptured.  James Streeter was an intoxicating Von Rothbart and I treasured the several times I was privileged to see Crystal Costa and Fernando Bufala (consistently brilliant artists both) enrich the heady thrill of the intricate Ashton Neapolitan Dance.  The wonderful Angela Wood and Daniele Silingardi became my favourite Mazurka couple and captivated my imagination every bit as much as both the haunting Ksenia Ovsyanik (how I wished I could have seen her single O/O matinee in Liverpool - Oh, lucky Liverpool) and the always dramatically incisive Tamarin Stott dazzled in the joy of their multiple assignments. 

 

Of the principals I thought Tamara Rojo was the best all round O/O I saw.  I loved how she so clearly showed the freeing wonder of the young maiden in the opening moments.  This allowed us to readily watch her became ensnared inside two equally firm male fantasies until she could - in her final heart-breaking moments of the fourth act - stand it no longer and demanded to be her own woman even if it meant it had to be in the face of death.  Rojo's sheer technical brilliance and musicality - ready as ever - were only adorned by the truly stellar Alban Lendorf who kept to his own thrilling Danish tradition; allowing the drama to be depicted through the dance itself.  That he so zealously steered it to stunningly precise and overall bewitching effect cannot be doubted.  One so hopes to see this riveting dancer again in London soon with a company as fine as that which ENB has become. 

In a similar manner SFB's Vitor Luiz was most assured in the confidence with which his Seigfried held Fernanda Oliviera's always clear Odette aloft.  Alina Cojocaru's O/O had - as per her own special brand of magic - an ever shifting countenance, one encompassing a cornucopia of stories.  Cojocaru radiates just so many rousing signals even when her technical strength might not be entirely forthcoming, especially in this most punishing of roles.  (Her Giselle and Titiana remain oh, so vivid in my memory for that reason; especially when in the partnership of her husband, an equally fine artist.)  I had only seen Vasiliev dance once before with Cojocaru and that was in a New York performance of Makarova's La Bayadere.  In a way I think that production more immediately suits their specific gifts but it was instructive indeed to have an opportunity to see their partnership enliven over the course of the past fortnight.  Physically Vasiliev appears ever more like the historical pictures of Ivor Novello with his dark locks darting in tandem with those exclamation points which are his ever climatic eyes; both set off against his glistening alabaster skin.  Cojocaru's noble beak now appears to my eye as if Celia Franca had once again come back to dancing life and together in silhouette they were a vivid coupling.  In those moments where they both melded/melted the effect was as sensational as a changing wave lapping onto an endarkened shore.  Their joint reflexes were almost audible.  By his last performance Vasiliev had a much better chart of the danger than on his maiden voyage.  Last Saturday night he was entirely possessed by the sight of his mother (the ever illustrious Jane Haworth) instructing marriage.  His fingers would constantly find themselves moving towards that mime's insignia as if it had been branded in his brain.  I loved how at the opening of the third act he appeared entirely possessed.  He was somehow on that lake still; he was stoned by it.  His remorse in the final act was heart-wrenching in a brave, child-like manner.  It seemed for all the world as if he had regressed and his mad lateral leap at the bitter end was as if towards another womb.  He will make a fine stab I'm sure at Mayerling (which he mentioned at the LBC meeting he would be doing for 'one or two performances' this year for the Stanislavsky Ballet.  He seems really quite suited to that - as, indeed, Ivan the Terrible - which he said he was also rehearsing but with the Bolshoi.  I wonder if the RB might ever consider letting Vasiliev guest for a single performance of Mayerling.  It would be thrilling I think to see him and Osipova reunited inside of that particular MacMillan frame.  It would have been exciting to see him and Cojoacru in the same but I do understand why that is now not possible in London.) 

Edited January 19, 2015 by Bruce Wall

[Don Q Fan]

MAB - I understand your sadness I felt the same when Daria retired it's all good things come to an end. You just have to remember the good times :-) It is quite a while since I saw Elena dance I think it was the Dying Swan in the Chanel dress and she was excellent and I recall she was the first dancer I ever met in person as she did a pre performance talk with Arionel in Manchester - I was agog to meet a real live dancer!  (It was when I had not long started going the ballet.)  

[capybara]

A big 'thank you' to everyone who contributed to the flower shower for Elena Glurdjidze yesterday afternoon. Thanks to you all, It provided a colourful and fitting tribute to the career of a wonderful ballerina.

 

The photographer Sian Trenberth followed Elena's preparations, her performance and the celebrations on stage and has now posted some lovely shots on her Facebook page

[MAB]

Janet, have sent you a pm, by the way it's not London at sunset - it's Dubai.

[Rod Jones]

An exceptional performance from Elena, full of her trademark grace and emotion.  A great shame she has been given so little to do by ENB in the last couple of years!  I think the audience reaction showed the esteem in which she's held by ballet lovers.  If you want to (re)live a little of the atmosphere of the day, Sian Trenberth's facebook page has photos of Elena getting ready, backstage, and during the curtain call.

[Jan McNulty]

Here's the FT review I will be including in the links tomorrow.

 

Here's the link to Sian Trenberth's Facebook page - the photographs are lovely.

 

Hello Rod and welcome to the Forum.  I hope you will continue to chip in!

[capybara]

Here's the FT review I will be including in the links tomorrow.

 

 

Five stars - wow! And so richly deserved, not just for yesterday but for all the years of performances to treasure that Elena has given us.

[aileen]

Do you have to subscribe to the FT to read this? I haven't been able to read anything on the site for ages. Was Clement Crisp the reviewer?

 

Changing the subject slightly, in this run there was a pas de trois but when I read the comments about the 2012 run there were references to a pas de quatre. Has something changed? Am I right in thinking that the pas de douze and the act 1 solo for the Prince are both Ashton, along with the Neapolitan? I must say that it's wall to wall attractive choreography in this production with virtually no longuers. The dance for the princesses in act 3 is particularly charming. The only thing that I would change is the initial tempo for the dancers in red.

[capybara]

Do you have to subscribe to the FT to read this? I haven't been able to read anything on the site for ages. Was Clement Crisp the reviewer?

 

 

The critic is Louise Levine who wrote for the Sunday Telegraph until recently.. I seem to get a couple of free views a month after which reviews disappear behind a paywall.

[Jan McNulty]

If you register, I think you get 8 free articles a month.

[Ian Macmillan]

Janet:  The FT window that I get, and which was a nuisance through most of my last Links stint, says 3 articles free.  It certainly was a good deal more than that before.  If you can remember the Headline in the moments during which it appears, and then put that into Google, you're likely to get clear access.  Changing browsers and clearing the cache didn't work for me last week, I'm afraid.

[Irmgard]

Do you have to subscribe to the FT to read this? I haven't been able to read anything on the site for ages. Was Clement Crisp the reviewer?

 

Changing the subject slightly, in this run there was a pas de trois but when I read the comments about the 2012 run there were references to a pas de quatre. Has something changed? Am I right in thinking that the pas de douze and the act 1 solo for the Prince are both Ashton, along with the Neapolitan? I must say that it's wall to wall attractive choreography in this production with virtually no longuers. The dance for the princesses in act 3 is particularly charming. The only thing that I would change is the initial tempo for the dancers in red.

Aileen, the pas de quatre is by Ashton and used to be used in Deane's proscenium version (used in Act III in the Royal Ballet's previous productions) whereas the pas de trois (traditional Petipa) was used in the in-the-round production and expanded to a 'pas de douze' danced by four sets of three dancers and not to be confused with the Pas de Douze couples in the proscenium production who dance the Waltz! Much as I love Ashton, the Petipa solos for the girls in the pas de trois are much better than in the pas de quatre (in my opinion) and obviously Deane has sanctioned its inclusion now in his proscenium version.  Ashton also created the Princesses' dance known colloquially as 'Fiancees'.  The Neapolitan is vintage Ashton, created for Alexander Grant and Julia Farron.  The Act One solo for the Prince was created by Ashton for Nureyev and has more of Nureyev in it than Ashton.  By "dancers in red" I presume you mean the Czardas in Act III.  This traditionally has a very languorous and sensual beginning and then the speed whips up (same in "Coppelia") so the speed taken by ENB is actually correct.

[alison]

Janet:  The FT window that I get, and which was a nuisance through most of my last Links stint, says 3 articles free.  It certainly was a good deal more than that before.

When I stupidly did an excessively keen clean-up and accidentally deleted the FT cookies or whatever it is, I discovered it would only let me have 3 articles per month when I logged back in. That is totally ludicrous.

 

Changing the subject slightly, in this run there was a pas de trois but when I read the comments about the 2012 run there were references to a pas de quatre. Has something changed? Am I right in thinking that the pas de douze and the act 1 solo for the Prince are both Ashton, along with the Neapolitan?

I don't think the Prince's solo is Ashton, is it? (I had a feeling Deane had choreographed it). Are you getting confused with the one in Sleeping Beauty? But yes, as I understand it the pas de douze and the Neapolitan are Ashton's. It also used to have his pas de quatre, which you can see on the LFB Swan Lake, which I believe is available on DVD (and featured a young Leanne Benjamin). I'm not sure why it's changed to a pd3, although given what I've read about the number of men off injured I'm starting to wonder if that's actually an emergency measure to reduce the number of soloists needed. (Does anyone ever actually do things like that?)