I am especially interested to see this Cranko production for the very first time, after reading Julie Kavanagh’s biography of Nureyev recently. Kavanagh wrote that Nureyev danced in Cranko’s production in 1964, before he staged his own production of “Swan Lake” in Vienna later that year.

Cranko basically kept intact the Petipa/Ivanov Act 2, though omitting Odette’s mime, and rechoreographed the other three acts. In Act 1, before Siegfried’s entrance, it starts off rather unexpectedly with a Madge-like woman reading the palms of the village girls. Cranko omitted altogether the waltz and the pas de trois in this act seen in most other productions, and choreographed a suite of classical divertissements set to music from the pas de trois, and from other parts of this ballet. Cranko’s pleasing but not particularly distinguished choreography for the divertissements include a delightful pas de six for Siegfried and five female friends, and a rather exciting pas de cinq for Siegfried’s friend Benno and four male attendants. There is also a solo variation for Siegfried set to music from the pas de trois in this act which however doesn’t make as much impact as the solo choreographed by Nureyev.

In Act 3 all the national dancers choroegraphed by Cranko are performed in character shoes, except for the Neapolitan dance which is danced on pointe. Cranko's choreography for the character dancing is quite pleasant. The order of the national dances is different, with the mazurka being the first. The czardas has inexplicably been cut. The black swan pas de deux is set to music originally intended by Tchaikovsky. Odile’s variation is too step-heavy. Cranko’s choreography for the black swan pas de deux is not very musical, and is inferior to Petipa’s authentic choreography.

Cranko was less successful in the final act. In the beginning of this act, Cranko’s patterns for the corps of swans are dull and mechanical, and lack poetry compared to Ashton’s version for the Royal Ballet. Cranko also added a long pas de deux set to Tchaikovsky’s elegy for strings. The choreography for this incongruous pas de deux is very thin and repetitive. The ending is more tragic than other productions, with Siegfried dying alone in a torrent of waves depicted by black fabric, and without a reunion of Siegfried and Odette.

I attended the third and final performance led by Linda Waasdorp and Friedemann Vogel, who is now familiar to London audiences after his guesting with the English National Ballet. Waasdorp is a talented dancer still in the corps de ballet. Her Odette in Act 2 was rather light-weight without much emotional depth, though in Act 4 her performance was more lyrical and moving. Waasdorp was far more in her element as Odile. She was quite dazzling technically, and threw in some double fouettes in the coda.

Waasdorp was lucky to have such a fine and strong prince in Friedemann Vogel. I had only seen Vogel twice before, as Romeo when he guested with the English National Ballet (Derek Deane’s version) and the National Ballet of China (Cranko’s version). Tall and handsome with an innate nobility and an elegant line, Vogel’s classical dancing has an effortless ease and grace. His virtuosity in the black swan pas de deux was splendid.

Among supporting roles, Marijn Rademaker danced stylishly as Benno with much brio and charm in the divertissements in Act 1. The Stuttgart corps de ballet was decent though lacking somewhat in upper-body uniformity compared to the Russian companies. Jurgen Rose’s sets and costumes were lavish. Particularly sumptuous was the set for Act 3, depicting a two-tiered ballroom with a grand staircase.

(A part of this review appears in the Hong Kong Economic Journal.)

edited to correct typos

Cranko’s choreography for this three-act ballet based on Pushkin’s novel is actually quite thin and predictable, but it is an emotionally powerful dramatic ballet with a great ballerina role. The best parts of the ballet are the two climactic pas de deux closing the first and last acts – the Act 1 pas de deux when Tatiana dreams of Onegin, and the pas de deux in Act 3 when the by then happily married Tatiana finally rejects Onegin. When danced by a great ballerina, the two heart-stirring pas de deux can provide a transcendent experience.

In the late 1980s, I was fortunate to have seen several stellar casts in “Onegin” when it was in the repertory of the English National Ballet (then called the London Festival Ballet.) Among the distinguished ballerinas dancing Tatiana with the company then were Natalia Makarova, Lynn Seymour, Ekaterina Maximova, and Marcia Haydee herself who created this role for Cranko back in 1965.

This week in Hong Kong, Sue Jin Kang held her own as another great Tatiana of our time. Her performance throughout the three acts was wholly absorbing. She was ecstatic in the dream pas de deux in Act 1, her soft and yielding limbs tracing wide arcs in the air in the big supported lifts. In Act 2 her grief after being rejected by Onegin was moving. She was at her most sublime in the final act. She conveyed movingly her marital bliss with Prince Gremin in the beginning, and her poignant rejection of Onegin at the end of the final pas de deux was most heart-breaking.

Filip Barankiewicz, a fine dramatic dancer, was entirely compelling as Onegin. His acting was nuanced, and his partnering was strong and solid. In another cast, Elena Tentchikowa, a former Kirov dancer, was less expressive as Tatiana, and her dancing flowed less smoothly. Onegin was authoritatively danced by Ivan Gil Ortega, currently a guest artist of the Suttgart Ballet.

As Lensky, Marijn Rademaker had a winning charm and freshness. His pure classical style was a delight. Laura O’Malley was a vivacious Olga. Nikolay Godunov, another former Kirov dancer, impressed as Prince Gremin.

(A part of this review also appears in the Hong Kong Economic Journal.)

edited to add below the list of dancers covered in the two ballets above -
Vogel, Waasdorp, Rademaker, Kang, Barankiewicz, Tentchikowa, Ortega, O'Malley, Godunov

Onegin encapsulates Cranko’s genius for theatre, story-telling and creating believable characters in dance. It also contains much of his finest choreography, notably two spectacular pas de deux for Tatiana and Onegin.

Given that Stuttgart is the ballet's original home and Artistic Director Reid Anderson was himself a celebrated Onegin, I must admit to a slight disappointment compared to other Onegins I have seen, including the Royal Ballet's current production (I was lucky enough to catch a magnificent performance with Galeazzi and Makhateli in London last April which overshadowed this one).

After a slow opening scene, the dream scene pas de deux went well and production came to life with a well acted party scene in Act 2 and built to the requisite dramatic climax in Act 3. In Act 1 the principals looked a little under-rehearsed and the corps de ballet did not get the feel of the beautiful Russian dances while Some key dramatic moments were taken so fast they lost their full impact - when Tatiana and Olga try to stop Lensky from fighting the duel, for instance. However, overall this was a good performance of a major work and the Hong Kong audience new to the ballet gave it a rapturous reception.

As Tatiana, Sue Jin Kang danced with impressive speed and abandon in the pas de deux and was dramatically at her most convincing in Act 3. Filip Barankiewicz made a handsome, sneering Onegin and both his solos (particularly the fast pirouettes) and partnering were excellent, but he could not overcome the challenge of making this most annoying of anti-hero’s actions convincing. Elizabeth Mason was a delightful Olga, with exceptional lightness and lovely arms. Alexander Zaitsev as Lensky was outstanding in his moving slow solo before the duel.

There was a passionate account of the score by the HK Philharmonic under James Tuggle.

A version of this review previously appeared in the South China Morning Post

Dancers : Kang, Barankiewicz, Mason, Zaitsev
Venue : The Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre