Customer Reviews

Swan Lake

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I once saw a television interview with Dame Ninette di Valois in which she carefully explained the difference between "production" and "choreography." She pointed out that productions of 19th century classics like Swan Lake are way more variable than choreography.
The current Royal Ballet production of Swan Lake has perhaps the most authentic choreography available, especially in the famous Ivanov "white acts." The Royal Ballet had access to Nicholas Sergeyev's original notations of the 1895 Petipa/Ivanov production that aren't seen in any other production, like children dancing as part of the corps of swan in the second act. The child swans surrounding Odette make a poignant and striking picture: you see clearly the hierarchy that is so important in classical ballet depicted in the swans. There are children, then there are adult swans, and finally there is Odette, the Swan Queen. The production also contains mime that is not included in any other production I've ever seen. Just for the scene of the swans miming tears in Act 4, this dvd is worth it. When Sir Frederick Ashton was director of the Royal Ballet he made a few additions to Swan Lake, including a solo for Nureyev, and a pas de quatre in Act 3. Unfortunately those additions are now gone from the current Royal Ballet production.
It is too bad that the authentic choreography is coupled with one of the ugliest productions of Swan Lake I have ever seen. Yolanda Sonnabend's sets have two effects: 1. they clutter the already small Royal Ballet stage; and 2. they take away any sense of enchantment and of a fairy tale. The setting is updated to Imperial Russia, which apparently means "unbelievably garish, tacky, and borderline goth." The first act is okay, a bit too glitzy for my taste but not actually offensive. In Act 3, the setting seems to be some kind of Las Vegas "haunted house" spectacle, complete with sinister cobweb decorations, huge candlelabras, and christmas tree lights. Odile enters the party with a gaggle of witches. All the female dancers are dressed as if they were going to a fancy masked ball/halloween party. The overall impression is one of complete tackiness. But it is the famous "white" acts that are the most ugly. Forget the lake -- there is none. Instead we have a completely black stage, with some shiny spiral staircases. Rothbart appears in the form of a giant owl. The sense of natural beauty that Tchaikovsky and the choreography evoke so vividly is totally gone. The costumes are not as bad - the swans are dressed not in the short classical tutus, but longer feathery skirts. I quite like the effect -- it gives them a more birdlike, "flying" look. The cosumtes also contrasts nicely with Odette's short classical tutu.
Marianela Nunez dances the duel role of Odette/Odile. She is tall and long-limbed, and able to create beautiful lines with her long legs, arched feet, and lovely, expressive arms. But she also has something that I find many O/O's, even the most famous ones, lack: inherent warmth. Her Odette is not a remote tragedienne, but a living, loving woman trapped in a bird's body. She uses her large eyes to great effect. Her Odile doesn't drip evil, but instead is truly sexy and irresisistible. Nunez can do the tricks -- the multiple pirouettes, the long-held balances, the sky high arabesques, but I never felt like she was simply showing off. Her Siegfried (and off-stage husband) is Thiago Thoares. He unfortunately is not nearly the dancer his wife is. He partners her nicely, but is rather unremarkable as a dancer. He has some rather hammy facial expressions, and a clunky, choppy way of dancing that seems to break the ballet into definite steps, rather than one seamless flow of choreography. I know they are married in real life and thus probably prefer to dance together, but she is simply a better dancer than him. The act one pas de trois is often a favorite place for balletomanes to spot future stars, and I thought both Laura Morera and Yukui Choe showed off winning personalities and impressive technique. '
The dvd comes with extras of an interview with Anthony Dowell, himself a legendary Siegfried (he can be seen in a wonderful 1981 video with Natalia Makarova), and also four ballerinas: Monica Mason, Beryl Grey, Lesley Collier and Marianela Nunez. I watched them but did not find them all that interesting.

...for the visual disasters of Act I (Prince Siegfried's birthday fete outside the castle gate) and Act III (the masquerade in the castle ballroom, where the Prince is to choose a bride at his mother's insistence). Both acts have complex sets, fronted by dancers and supernumeraries in often lavish detailed costumes in a wide spectrum of intense color. The dancers are absolutely buried in all this density. How could Ms Sonnabend doing dozens and dozens of individual costume sketches not realize the overload when they were conglomerated on animated figures? Producer Anthony Dowell (in his Interview) admits he had to curb her (but obviously she rode him down). In startling contrast are Acts II and IV (the dark ground beside the lake of the swans, on the right some metallic rods remaining from a ruin).

Then, my second impulse--after checking her out online, especially at the "cloudsouth" site--was to be a gentleman to this old-timer. Born in 1935 in Rhodesia, Ms Sonnabend moved to England in 1954. The old swan now lives in St Johns Wood in the "last un-renovated house in London" in total but artistic disarray, and goes on working. Sadly, she has cancer, and her distinguished brother, Dr Joseph Sonnabend (important in AIDS work) left New York in 2009 to live with her. She has achieved international import in ballet, opera, theater, film; she also paints, including a discomforting portrait of Stephen Hawking. Apparently, she designed the present Swan Lake in 1987, and the production has been revived a number of times. Note that this DVD offers a 2009 performance.

MARIANELA AND THIAGO

Born in 1982 in Buenos Aires, Ms Nunez joined the Royal Ballet in 1998. Her Odette/Odile surpasses criticism, though we can expect she will add some personal touches in the next ten years. In the Supplement where she converses with three Swan Princesses of yesteryear, Ms Nunez is quite charming, warm, and good-humored, and comfortable in English.

Born in 1980 in Rio de Janeiro, Mr Soares joined the Royal Ballet in 2002, and promptly fell for Marianela. He proposed in 2006. Much of his performance in the present ballet is miming and partnering. His two solos are brief, and his style seems soft to me. Perhaps it's a hangover from his early training, and he might profit from additional classes with a different, expert teacher (as Michael Somes did). Since the Swan Lake music, scenario, and choreography have a history of adjustments, some choreographer owes Prince Siegfried one or two brilliant additions, maybe--like Frederick Ashton-- asking Mr Soares what he does best.

FIX-ITS

ACT I. This 30 minutes is a weak beginning for a story ballet, dramatically speaking. Sure we watch ballet for the dancing, story is secondary. But I felt I was required to watch too long too many dancers, especially the five-part pas de trois, obviously irrelevant to progress. The bibulous Tutor and his two spiffy little girls, I can do without. Why would Siegfried and his friends want to go swan-shooting with crossbows at night? Hardly a fowl for the table.

ACT II. The Evil Spirit (aka Von Rothbart) that has the swans in thrall is in bulky "owl" costume, spoiling his menace. There is no suggestion of lake. I've no doubt that Ms Nunez could be a movie actress with an expressive face, so in DVD ballet work she might be encouraged to deepen her reactions, beyond traditional stock faces.

ACT III. The audience gives an enthusiastic round of applause to the Neapolitan Dancers, just two of them simply costumed, simply choreographed--compact enough to be focused on. Another specialty dance or two are submerged in enveloping costumes for four couples, kind of adhering to each other by overcrowding. The cataclysmic effect at act's end--flickering candles, red flood light, heavy smoke--seems overdone.

ACT IV. The pure lovers' suicides: There has been no foreshadowing of the several steps leading up to the ledge, where Odette simply steps off, unemotionally, and drops like a stone (oh yeah, there's a lake down there). After two or three beats (for the danseuse to get clear) Siegfried does the same. Indifferent treatment of a climactic moment. The swans close in on the Evil One, he writhes on the ground and evaporates. The swans divide left and right, upstage lights up, and framed there a silvery reed boat bears the semi-recumbent lovers, his arms about her. Too distant for a viewer to appreciate, and one expects a medium closeup, as on the case cover, but the camera/editor doesn't think so.

I was really looking forward to this DVD and I was very disappointed so where do I start.
The production is updated to be set in Russia at the time when the ballet was originally choreographed. Argh. Act 1 costumes are okay but a little distracting and annoying and I don't like the changes in the order of the dances. I do love the Act 2 settings and costumes and very few people "mess" with Act 2. And then there's Act 3 in which the costumes are sort of like a demented "Phantom of the Opera" masked ball, leaving not a whole lot of room to spare on the stage - and a weird "mirror" or window on the back set that sort of reflects what is happening on stage. Act 4 back at the lake and again the settings are fine.
I don't get into "technical" discussions of the dance positions and how they are performed. People who know far more than me write complex reviews about these things and I bow to them. But I do know if I like a performance and this one I do not. Marianela Nunez is a skilled performer and I loved her in La Fille Mal Gardee but I do not think she has the emotional maturity for this role. In her Odette I did not see any of the tragedy and in the Evil Odile I really wasn't quite sure what I saw. I like both Cojocaru and Rojo very much and think either would have been much better for this role which requires so much of those who perform it. Thiago Soares is not nearly as good as his partner and I found his Prince either wooden or looking a little puzzled as to why he was there.
The included special with the four ballerinas discussing Swan Lake was one which I did not find terribly interesting. Lets just say if they had interviewed Makarova, that would have given some real insights from a ballerina who brought so much to her performances. I still think the Royal Ballet 1982 version with Makarova and Dowell is the best and if I could only own one, it would be the one.

I'll keep this review short and sweet, as others more expert than I have already submitted reviews.

I liked this version of Swan Lake. I think it is a worthy addition and I enjoyed seeing this different take on set design. My main pet peeve while watching this, however, is that some characters seem to blend into the dark set (especially those with longer, dark dresses or dark tights).

As far as the dancing goes, I felt that it was very good and it was an enjoyable piece. I would recommend this DVD to someone who isn't necessarily looking for uber-traditional set-design.

This Production of Swan Lake, from The Royal Ballet at The Royal Opera House London I found to be quite superb although my opinion varies greatly from the other reviews featured here. I must add that the very best Swan Lake available on DVD is the older recording also from the Royal danced by Makarova and Dowell for its original and definitive dancing in the purest form from Makarova who is marvellously partnered by Anthony Dowell, however this new production has something new and passionate about it. It is in fact a newer take on this great classic. The Sets are by Yolanda Sonnabend and are truly inaginative and very stylish they have an updated feel about them, the make up and many other aspects of this production are fresh and quite dynamic pushing Swan Lake just to the edge of any acceptable changes. The dancing of Marianela Nunez is nothing short of superb as well as the corps and other soloists. Unfortunately as we all agree Tiago Soares seems somewhat ill at ease as his technique is still not to the standard of his lovely wife. Nunez puts a youthful and innocent portrail of Odette and manages to capture the evil Odile marvellously. Her dancing is fresh and alive and indeed lovable, she is a real person in both roles, just slightly more modern and updated to all those before her. Soares is an attentive and adoring Prince and there seems to actually be a special chemistry between them. The excellent orchestra under the baton of Valery Ovsanikov gives an excellent reading and perfect timing with no ragged finales from the Principals, all is in unison.
I would recommed this recording so highly to everyone who wants an updated Swan lake. The ballet is moved by one hundred years to Russia set at a time just pre the Czarist era instead of the traditional German gothic settings seen over and and over. There is a new element by seeing the prince dance Act 11 in Uniform of the Rusian army instead of his princely attire, the ball room scene has a splendid fianle which brings out the excitement and magic of this most loved act, you can actually feel his betrayal from his 'I swear' mime elements and expressions.
I cannot recommend this recording highly enough, the production, the dancing and the sets are new and vivid and have an excitement all of their own. This should not be the only Swan Lake in your collection but as far as newer productions are concerned is a must have for all those who love and live this ballet master piece. It has all the elements of a purist Swan Lake and all the excitement of real theatre.

Defined in this blog, the presentation of the ballet Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky, at the Teatro Municipal de Sao Paulo in December 2008 as the worst version of all time. Set in the Tietê River, the dancers were the whole show is dragging on the ground. Mercilessly booed by the public. Someone from the production, which used the anonymity of the network, responded and released wasps on African myself, defending his version of ridiculous.

If the director to attend at least one video of this beautiful ballet would have learned a lot. I will expose here two of them, perhaps serves as a lesson.

The version of The Royal Opera House in London, directed by Ross McGibbon, carries the plot to Tsarist Russia, the time of conception of ballet. The costumes were strangers, but their colors enhance, enchant. The option for the romantic tutus, long skirts instead of traditional tutus, dish for the corps de ballet, was an aggressive innovation in the eyes. The scenarios follow the proposal of the plot, reminiscent of Russia at the time of Tchaikovsky. Lightweight and harmonics take a great quality of this ballet, feel in a fairy tale. The choreography features innovations in the act white Ivanov Petizada places to dance. Try to be as faithful as possible to the original design.
Several times I have exalted category of dancer Marianela Nunes, the soloist Argentina has elongated legs that create fine lines, expressive arms and look naive. Her Odette is full of sensuality and passion. The technique of the dancer is expressed in long jumps, arabesques and high soil penetrating. But his specialty is beauty, Guria is beautiful, easy to fall in love. Thiago Soares wasted no time and married a beautiful girl. Born in Brazil, became principal dancer of the troupe in London. Dance simple, Siegfried tries to express a passionate and rarely succeeds. His steps are firm, high heels and technical median. He is not the same level as his beloved.
The DVD features a conversation with 4 generations of ballerinas of Swan Lake. Monica Mason, Beryl Gray, Lesley Collier and Marianela Nunes. They speak of their experiences in dance, along with famous dancers. Talk gossips, jokes and gossip knit where everyone agrees with everyone. Just missed the afternoon tea.
The London version shows that it is possible to innovate in ballet without losing its way. Convey the story for another time, exchange the tutus, stir in the choreography and costumes. The key is contained in this release, the music of Tchaikovsky is all there, the plot is original, complete with pigeons is playing in the lake and the transporter to another dimension. No one is crawling on the floor and dirt in some rivers was left far from the Thames. What a lesson to certain Brazilian artists, who say they are engaged and hipsters


portuguese:

Defini, nesse blog, a apresentação do balé O Lago dos Cisnes, de Tchaikovsky, no Teatro Municipal de São Paulo, em Dezembro de 2008, como a pior versão de todos os tempos. Ambientada no rio Tietê, os bailarinos ficaram todo o espetáculo se arrastando no chão. Vaiados sem dó pelo público. Alguém da produção, que utilizou o anonimato da rede, respondeu e soltou marimbondos africanos sobre minha pessoa, defendendo sua versão ridícula.

Se o diretor assistisse a pelo menos um vídeo desse belo balé teria aprendido muito . Vou expor aqui dois deles, quem sabe serve de lição.

A versão do The Royal Opera House de Londres , dirigida por Ross McGibbon, transporta o enredo para a Rússia czarista, época de concepção do balé. Os figurinos ficaram estranhos, mas suas cores realçam, encantam. A opção pelos tutus românticos, saias longas em detrimento dos tradicionais tutus, prato para o corpo de baile, foi uma inovação agressiva aos olhos. Os cenários seguem a proposta do enredo, lembram a Rússia da época de Tchaikovsky. Leves e harmonicos tiram uma grande qualidade desse balé, sentir-se em um conto de fadas. A coreografia apresenta inovações, no ato branco de Ivanov coloca a petizada para dançar. Procura ser a mais fiel possível à concepção original.
Diversas vezes exaltei a categoria da bailarina Marianela Nunes, a solista argentina tem pernas alongadas que criam belas linhas, braços expressivos e olhar ingênuo. Sua Odette é recheada de sensualidade e paixão. A técnica da bailarina é expressa em saltos longos, arabescos altos e solos penetrantes. Mas sua grande qualidade é a beleza, a guria é linda, fácil de se apaixonar. Thiago Soares não perdeu tempo e casou com a bela moça. Nascido no Brasil , se tornou primeiro bailarino da trupe londrina. Dança simples, tenta expressar um Siegfried apaixonado e raramente consegue. Seus passos são firmes, saltos altos e técnica mediana. Ele não está no mesmo patamar de sua amada.
O DVD apresenta uma conversa com 4 gerações de bailarinas do Lago dos Cisnes. Monica Mason, Beryl Grey, Lesley Collier e Marianela Nunes . Elas falam de suas vivências na dança, ao lado de bailarinos famosos. Conversa de comadres, tricotam anedotas e fofocas onde todo mundo concorda com todo mundo. Só faltou o chá das cinco.
A versão londrina mostra que é possível inovar no balé sem perder o rumo. Transportam a história para outra época, trocam os tutus, mexem na coreografia e nos figurinos. O principal está contido nessa versão, a música de Tchaikovsky está toda lá, o enredo é original, termina com os pombinhos se jogando no lago e se tranportando a outra dimensão. Ninguém fica se arrastando no chão e a imundície de certos rios foi deixada bem longe do Tâmisa. Que sirva de lição a certos artistas brasileiros, que se dizem engajados e moderninhos.

Ali Hassan Ayache

I usually prefer the Mariinsky version of this ballet, but I was quite moved by this production. I thought that Thiago Soares and Marianela Nunez had good chemistry together. I loved Marianela's interpretation of Odette/Odile. Her Odette is warm and human and her Odile is seductive and mean. Her fouttees were beautiful!! I thought Thiago interpreted a young man in love very well, you could believe him all through out the production. The rest of the company danced well, I liked the opening pas de trois especially. I also liked the use of music from the Mariinsky version into the 4th act. It's a nice change from the usual music there.
The one thing I did not like was the scenery for the lakeside scenes. Where was the lake? It was just an odd choice of scenery. That's just a small thorn in the overall production. The chemistry of the leads and their dancing (and that of the rest of the company) more than makes up for that one fault.

Had I seen a production like this early on, I might never have gone to another ballet.
The corps de ballet dancing is sloppy and out of sync, sapping the impact of the ballet,
the soloist performances tend toward the self indulgent, and some of the production values are over done,
and some of the costumes laughable. Avoid this over-priced recording.