Stylish Swan Lake takes flight

Vodafone Season of Swan Lake
Royal New Zealand Ballet
Choreographers Petipa/Ivanove and Russell Kerr
St James Theatre, Wellington
Until July  27

Then Dunedin, Regent Theatre, July 30; Christchurch, CBS Arena, August 3; Invercargill, Civic Theatre, August 8-9; Takapuna, Bruce Mason Theatre, August 17-18; Auckland, The Civic, August 21-25; Palmerston North, Regent on Broadway, August 28; Napier, Municipal Theatre, August  31 – September 1.

For its 60th anniversary celebrations the Royal New Zealand Ballet and artistic director Ethan Stiefel have produced another impressive performance in its latest version of Swan Lake, which was originally choreographed by dance laureate Russell Kerr.

Swan Lake is the tale of the bored Prince Siegfried, who chances upon a group of young women and their queen, Odette, with whom he falls in love. The swans take on human form at night but under the power of the evil  Baron von Rothbart, who intervenes between the couple as he realises that their love could break the control he has over the swans.

Rothbart then turns up at court with a simulacrum, Odile, who he passes off as Odette, getting Siegfried to commit himself to the imposter.

When Siegfried realises he has been duped he and Odette dance with such passion that the power of Rothbart is overcome, he dissolves into the lake and the couple are free to live happily ever after along with all the other swans, who return to their human form.

The programme notes and tradition say the lovers throw themselves into the lake and die, but this production does not make that clear so you can opt for either the tragic or the happy ending.

Ballets like Swan Lake were created for the Russian Imperial Court and the audiences were presented with visions of several different worlds. One that was totally familiar was of the court in all its finery and elegance, another was a world peopled by happy peasants who they rarely saw and the third one which contained the exotic and the corrupt from which they were protected.

Tale of exotic love
Swan Lake is a tale of exotic love but is also a cautionary tale of what befalls those who stray from the norms of social, and court norms and behaviour, and are corrupted by the outside world.

The ballet is about the pursuit of true love and the notions of pure beauty and the invention of the swans allowed Tchaikovsky and the choreographers an opportunity to combine strands of musical and visual beauty.

In this production the opening scene of the peasants celebrating Siegfried's birthday is well danced but there is little that engages with the vibrant story that will later unfold.

As the court jester, Rory Fairweather-Neylan displayed some enthusiastic leaps and clever timing as he mimicked the other dancers. The set of solos, duos and pas de trios by Lucy Green, Tonia Looker and Arata Miyagawa was superb.

The court scene featured the traditional set of folk dances, which normally sit uncomfortably with contemporary audiences unused to the tradition of dance within a dance.

Russell Kerr, however, has given the dances a clever twist by having Rothbart conjure them up, so that his presence on stage becomes much more powerful and his control over Odile and Siegfried more authentic.

In the dual role of Odette/Odile, Gillian Murphy was breathtaking. As Odette she conveyed the distress of being under the spell of Rothbart as well as the ecstasy of being in love. Her initial pas de deux with Siegfried was achingly beautiful, a duet that featured exquisite high lifts and suspended arabesques. 

As she evolves from Act II to Act IV she was able to show changing facets of her character, becoming more reassured and dynamic in her movements.

As well as being technically accomplished, she showed she could use her upper body to great effect in conveying fragile emotional states. In Act II her quivering arms and legs seemed to indicate a mixture of fear and apprehension, and in Act IV her limpid swan's pose conveyed not only defeat but sexual submission.

A cool automaton
As the black swan, Odile, she was a cool automaton dancing with sensuous and flirtatious poses, displaying herself both to Siegfried and the audience with a showiness which expressed the sexual predator rather than the romantic lover.

She was aided by a vigorous performance by Karel Cruz as Siegfried. He looked more like a superhero than a prince, clad in tights which looked like spun metal. He danced with a mixture of regal aplomb and macho brilliance, displaying vigour and dynamism providing well-judged partnering.

Paul Mathews as Rothbart gave a dynamic display, with rough angular movements which contrasted strongly with those of Karel Cruz.

The corps de ballet gave a stunning display as the swans, and their formations giving a sense of birds in formation were at times almost militaristic and at others they replicated the swift flickering of massed birds in flight.

With quivering legs, fluttering arms and shimmering tutus they floated around the stage creating beautifully controlled flowing shapes and patterns. Sometimes they were like frenetic, frightened birds and at others they provided strength as they grouped around the two lovers as though protecting their young.

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under Nigel Gaynor, RNZB music director, provided a stirring musical accompaniment, allowing Tchaikovsky’s music to enfold the dancers.

The sets designed by the late Kristian Fredrikson, particularly the lavish court scene, added much to this impressive production.

John Daly-Peoples has a relative on the board of the RNZB