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Nao shines as swans sparkle
Swans rising through the mist: The stunning opening to the final act with a waterfall of dry ice cascading from the stage.
Swan Lake
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Hippodrome
*****
NAO Sakuma was at her stunning best as Odette on the opening
night of Birmingham Royal Ballet's Swan Lake.
When she is on form she glides and soars around the stage with balance
and precision that is awesome. She has quick feet, stunning pointe work
and in her fouetté turns in the Black Swan pas de deux she moved not an
inch.
If she has a fault it is perhaps in her acting. She is perfect as
Odette, the tragic Swan Princess who is well and truly doomed from the
off. Nao can do sad and tragic heroine with aplomb.
But her Odile, the daughter of the evil genius Baron von Rothbart, does
rather seem to be merely her white swan back on stage in a black dress -
there is not a lot of sex and seduction on show.
That being said when she is as technically good as last night you can
forgive her almost anything. Nao Sakuma as Odette dances towards her tragic end surrounded by swans This was the cast who had successfully toured the USA earlier this year with Iain Mackay as Siegfried and with his height and power Odette certainly knew how high swans could fly with some of the lifts. Mackay did not have it all his own way among the man though and it was debateable who was leaping highest and longest between his Prince and Alexander Campbell as Benno.
Both were exceptional and Campbell's solo
in Act One drew deserved prolonged applause.
The ballet was first performed in 1895 and has gone on to be one of the
most performed and most loved of all ballets helped in no small part by
Tchaikovsky's lyrical, symphonic score which provides music that is
widely loved and known by people who have never even seen a ballet.
The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, under Philip Ellis, gave the score full life
adding to the enjoyment of the performance.
I do wonder though if they run a sweep on how long it takes audiences to
actually shut up between acts one and two when there is a three minute
interval while the set is changed from a courtyard to a moonlit lake. The audience, sitting in the gloom, quite naturally turn to conversation to fill the time but when act two actually starts - the orchestra playing an overture is a bit of a clue - instead of a return to silence it seems many people see that as a signal to talk even louder to drown out the music. Even when the curtain went up you could still hear conversations tailing off.
Meanwhile back at the ballet it did seem a little slow to get into its
stride. There was nothing to put your finger on. It had pace, colour,
movement, lively dancing but somehow the spark was missing from the
sumptuous opening of silks and brocade.
The arrival of the cygnets in act two gave a lift and by the ball scene
in act three the show was flying as Siegfried pledges his love and his
hand in marriage to Odile thinking she is Odette. Big mistake son.
The opening of the final act was a masterpiece. The curtain rises to
release a wall of thick mist covering the lake which rolls into the
orchestra pit and suddenly on an apparently empty stage the swans rise
up through the mist - an opening well worth the applause it generated.
This version by Peter Wright which dates back to 1981 has served the BRB
well and Peter Teigen should have a mention for his lighting design
which conveys everything from storms and moonlight to emotion.
Special mention to for Jonathan Payn as von Rothbart who was suitably
evil and also remarkably aware. During the storm scene with thunder and
lightning raining down also raining down appeared to be a bright green
ball - presumably not something that figured prominently in Philip Prowse's design - which fell on the steps at the
back of the stage - luckily behind a cluster of swans who must have
tucked it away at the base of the steps.
Seconds later Payn managed to spirit the ball off stage without breaking
stride and without being noticed by most of the audience.
Swan Lake will continue to be a favourite and when you see a production
like this it is easy to see why. Roger Clarke
Pars de deux . . . deux ****
THIS famous ballet bursts into life and colour at the start of the third
act when the curtain opens to reveal the plush castle ballroom prepared
for the arrival of three princesses from foreign lands.
The set and costumes are stunning, designed with great imagination and
flair, and the dancing that follows to Tchaikovsky's beautiful music is
a delight.
Perfect, in fact, for the artists of Birmingham Royal Ballet who are
magnificent in the story of Prince Siegfried's search for true love
after his mother warns on his 21st birthday that he must marry before
being crowned king following his father's death.
On the night I attended Cesar Morales played the Prince with tremendous
poise, combining impressively with Elisha Willis, the Princess Odette
who, with her companions, had been transformed into swans by the evil
Baron von Rothbart.
The swans can only return to human form between midnight and dawn, which
is when Siegfried sees and falls in love with Odette, having rejected
the lovely princesses.. Morales and Willis dance beautifully together,
and there are magical contributions from Mathias Dingman, the
equerry Benno, and Valentin Olovyannikov, a sinister figure indeed
as von Rothbart. A burst of applause came from the large audience at the opening of the final act when the swans rise from beneath a huge white mist, and just before that scene there were cheers for the brilliant Royal Ballet Sinfonia, conducted by Philip Ellis..To 26.06.10 Paul Marston
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