Kirsten's Ballet Review

(Well, I couldn't let Richard write this one could I unless I wanted it to read “some birds pounced around for a bit whilst I struggled not to fall asleep”?)

We went to see this production of Swan Lake by The State Saint Petersburg Theater of Classical Ballet company with some trepidation. As the major ballet companies in St Petersburg and Moscow (i.e. the Kirov and Bolshoi) are on tour during the summer months, it was our only chance to see a performance whilst in Russia and was clearly tailored for the tourist market. Indeed the majority of the audience which nearly filled the small but relatively attractive Palace Theatre were from a Japanese tour group.

Things started badly when they managed to switch the auditorium lights on instead of the stage lights in the opening moments after the overture. There then followed a lacklustre performance by the jester and hunting party. Scene two, and the arrival of the swans, didn't do much to lift the spirits. Now I know that Swan Lake is a pretty miserable work for the corps de ballet as there is a considerable amount of time standing around on one leg, but still I've never seen more vacant expressions on the stage – definitely more bored than bewitched. This was matched with dancing that whilst relatively competent was completely lacking in any energy. The advertising posters proclaim “birds die, but art doesn't”. Unfortunately, this performance seemed pretty dead in every respect.

Act 2, the ball scene, began with with more energy, or perhaps that was the glass of Russian Champagne during the interval taking. The Hungarian dance and Mazurka where probably the high light of the evening, danced with more personality and passion than anything else. Odette/Odile also showed more of sparkle as Odile, although her lack of extension, particularly in the penchée position (where you stand on one let with the other extended up behind you to the celling – yes it is possible!) continued to bother me. Her turns also seemed rather weak which indeed caused problems during the key show piece of the act where she only managing 28 of the usual 32 fouetté (turns on one leg where you flick the over leg around to help you turn).

Act 3 and Prince … fight to save Odette also failed to impress. Russian ballet is famous for the athleticism of its male dancers, which unfortunately was complete missing from this performance.

On a positive note The State Symphony Orchestra did an excellent job. If you are fussy about your ballet, or just bored, I suggest closing your eyes and letting Tchaikovsky do the work. The theatre is also relatively charming with grand gilded rooms in which to sip your interval drinks, although it is clearly not a patch on a grand opera house such as the Bolshoi. Whilst the production did little to capture the magic of a world class ballet the tour parties in attendance seemed to enjoy themselves. In summary, I've seen worse productions... but I think that was in Milton Keynes...