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Swan Lake
Coventry Belgrade
***** A FULLY staged Swan Lake is a rare thing.
A fully staged Swan Lake of such rare beauty to a packed house is a
thing of wonder, and it has to be said that, like all great art, this
will live in my memory for quite a while. It was sumptuous and spectacular and it doesn’t
matter how many times you’ve seen it before it is always a thing of
beauty. This production from the Russian State Ballet and
Opera House under its artistic director Konstantin Uralsky, brings
plenty that is new to the original, traditional choreography by Mar The corps de ballet are at times breathtaking
with their amazing uniformity. Eighteen dancers on points as, literally,
a ‘body’ is an amazing sight. The scenes towards the end where the story
takes a darker, starker turn and the scenery is literally stripped away
to reveal a raw emotional story of love and loss is powerful in the
extreme. The story? Birthday-boy Crown Prince Siegfried (Pugachev
Artem) has to choose a bride. He is persuaded by baddie Baron von
Rothbart (Anton Paistekhim) to visit the Swan Theatre on the lake where
the Swan Girls dance. Among them is beauty Odile (Anna Pigalkina) with
whom he instantly falls in love, promising faithfulness. But the Baron
introduces equally beautiful Odette (Maria Stec) and the Prince forgets
Odile in an instant. Her heartbreak is also ours and the storm whipped
up by the Baron produces a completely unforgettable dance sequence that
I’ve never seen equalled. This production is on tour and well worth the
effort to catch. It is absolutely beautiful, the story is told so well
and so simply, it is rare in suiting the entire family and, whether
ballet is your bag or not, it is gorgeous. If there was a live orchestra as billed, I’ve no
idea where it was. I’m pretty sure it was recorded music throughout but
maybe the Coventry Belgrade was too small to accommodate both orchestra
and dancers. But it was confusing and sad, though didn’t spoil an
amazing evening. It is great to see world-class ballet in my adopted
home city. Now on nationwide tour with Sleeping Beauty and The
Nutcracker until December Jane Howard 08-10-16
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ius
Petipa.