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American Ballet TheatreJune 2001 New York, Metropolitan Opera House by Kevin Ng |
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During a short trip to New York in late June, I saw at the Metropolitan Opera House a spectacular production of "Swan Lake" by the American Ballet Theatre's (ABT) artistic director Kevin McKenzie which was premiered last year. The choreography is more or less traditional except for the last act which has been re-choreographed by McKenzie. The choreography in this production reminds me of that in the Royal Ballet's previous production prior to the present 1987 production by Dowell, which was based on Nicholas Sergeyev's text. It is good to see again the triangular formation of the swans in the beginning of Act 2. Kevin McKenzie's innovations include a prologue in which we see the princess being turned into a swan, and splitting the role of von Rothbart between two dancers thereby adding a virtuosic solo for him in the Act 3 ballroom scene. The maypole dance in Act 1 is very pleasing. However McKenzie's choreography for Siegfried's melacholy variation at the end of Act 1 is less effective than Nureyev's choreography in the old Royal Ballet production. The Neapolitan dance in Act 3 is danced by two male dancers. And the ending, which sees Odette and Siegfried jump down a rocky cliff in turn, turns out to be quite hilarious instead of tragic. Zack Brown's sumptuous sets and glittering costumes are a feast for the eyes. The palatial sets of Act 3 seem to resemble the grand marble state rooms in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Not surprisingly the dancing seemed at times to have been overwhelmed by the stage picture. Fortunately the ABT has stars aplenty to satisfy its public. I was glad to see again the Siegfried of Vladimir Malakhov, one of the world's top male stars who is in great demand throughout the world especially in Japan. This Russian-born star, now in his early thirties, has a magnetic star quality. Though a shade below his top form in the past, Malakhov was still dancing beautifully and acting with conviction. Julie Kent was his Swan Queen that night, dancing adequately but without much flair on this occasion. Ekaterina Shelkanova deserved mention as the jumping girl in the Act 1 pas de trois. On the following afternoon, a young soloist Gillian Murphy made a promising debut in the Swan Queen. She was strongly partnered by Marcelo Gomes, another talented soloist, who has very long legs. His easy high elevation in his jumps was a joy; and his virtuosity in the Black Swan pas de deux, especially his multiple pirouettes, was impressive. Herman Cornejo managed to do the double tours en l'air in both directions in the Act 1 pas de trois. The ABT's corps de ballet in both performances however did not have the uniformity of line as the Kirov's incomparable corps.
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