RB 'Onegin' reviews 'Onegin' reviews Kobborg in reviews Persson in reviews recent RB reviews

What a fabulous acquisition! This is a life-enhancing work, whose choreographic arrangement for the pas de deux is the material for great technical and dramatic interpretation, as embodied by Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg. The music offers some unique and very gratifying moments, although one cannot help but comment upon the fact that it is shame to have had to serve an 'arranged and orchestrated' version of Tchaikovsky's music, yet again.

Act I, Scene 1, Madame Larina's Garden
The music introduces the ballet, which opens - as for each act - upon a tableau vivant of the scene, which turns to action as the transparent gauze, which frames it, lifts. The audience is thus led into the intimacy that lies behind the picture. The opening scene is that of a charming countryside garden outside a cottage, surrounded by foliage. The lighting projects a golden summer's day reflected in the colouring of the costumes, whose greens and yellows compliment that of the stage décor. The two sisters Olga (Gemma Bond) and Tatiana (Alina Cojocaru) are here presented in their differing characters - the one in her carefree and jovial nature, the other plunged into her inner world of imagination. Their Nurse and Madame Larina are also present as girls from the neighbourhood arrive and play an old folk game: whoever looks into the mirror will see her beloved.

Enters Lensky (Johan Persson), a young poet engaged to Olga, and his friend Onegin (Johan Kobborg), dressed in black, from St. Petersburg, who bored with city life, has come to explore what the countryside has to offer. Olga and Lensky then engage in a pas de deux suggesting the flowering of a young, innocent and sincere love. Persson gives a sensitive and earnest interpretation of his role, making his way through the pirouettes in arabesque seamlessly, and the grand allegro weightlessly. Bond is endearing in her childlike charms, light ballon, delicate pointe work and carefully placed épaulement and use of arms, which make her performance thoroughly enjoyable, even without the 90° turn out and high extensions that usually dominate the stage.

The stage then clears and the audience is taken privy to a first pas deux between Tatiana and Onegin, whom she is deeply falling in love with. The chemistry projected between the two protagonists is already at this stage, astounding - she hoping but not daring and he totally self absorbed and indifferent - the breath of communication between them is seamless. Johan creates a very strong male presence on the stage, which is intimidating to Alina's frail frame and thus perfect for the roles. He goes through his solo with absolute assurance, sensitive musicality and precise characterisation. He is beautifully controlled, aligning step after step like cream, with no stops and starts. Alina seems to embody the essence of the classical dance: she is as light as a feather on her pointe shoes, her line is book-perfect, and controls exactly how much energy she applies to each movement. She maintains her audience breathless with every step she takes, as it awaits to discover what other marvels she is will convey next. Through these two dancers, the classical idiom truly becomes a language, which they utter with utmost expressive clarity.

Having exposed the core relationships of the plot, this scene closes with a full stage of local boys and girls, whose festive energy and joie de vivre, lively propelled by the score and choreography, make one smile in adoration. I have to admit my special penchant for their exit grand jetés across the diagonal, which we have the pleasure of experiencing twice through!

Formal goodbyes are presented at the forefront of the stage during the scenery change which leads us to....

Scene 2, Tatiana's Bedroom
.....where we enter the scene of the much famed bedroom pas de deux. Set in a lavishly curtained, three dimensional, wall papered décor, this scene is sparingly furnished to leave space for the ecstatic action that is to come. As Tatiana falls asleep upon the love letter that she has begun to write to Onegin, and begins to dream, the lighting changes from its interior tone to a deep blue, suggesting a surreal atmosphere, in which the material of the imagination becomes reality before the audience's eyes. As Johan steps through the mirror and into Tatiana's bedroom, Cojocaru's body becomes fully energised, and the pas de deux begins. Through Cojocaru, Tatiana is transformed to physically serve the wildest of her passions, in a sequence of movements so originally put together and astonishingly rendered, that one is stunned moment after moment by what one is seeing. Cojocaru and Kobborg are ostensibly perfectly co-ordinated in their use of breath, dynamic highlighting and use of the music. This allows them to take great spatial and time risks, which they manipulate so theatrically, rendering their interpretation all the more exciting. Although small in build, Alina creates lines that sore across the entire stage and auditorium with such a rush of emotion that one is left dumbstruck by what one has just witnessed. Her lines have razor-sharp clarity, which she either contains within her body or sends darting across the space like arrows of passion. Although she throws herself into the pas de deux, her movements retain flawlessness, her lines perfectly placed and finished. Her technique is thus so reliable that she is able to solely concentrate upon expressing her character, which she does with such veridical conviction that she seems to have been dancing this role all her life. Such is the power of putting to art what the imagination can conjure, especially when interpreted by great artists.

Act II, Scene 1, Tatiana's Birthday Celebration
We are brought back to social reality through the presentation of a lavish interior, presenting a main dancing area with large bouquets hanging from the ceiling, opening upon a further corridor at the back, where more dancing takes place. The setting is to celebrate Tatiana's birthday in a joyous atmosphere mixing the young and old, where young men and women are seen to waltz in and out with a bounding assemblé porté en avant for the girls. Onegin is bored with the company and particularly irritated by the, to his eyes childish, love letter that Tatiana has sent him. In a moment of intimacy he returns the letter to her, rejecting her avowals and tears it up in her hands, leaving her sobbing with affliction and despair, as the dream she had the night before falls to crumbles. The company returns to waltzing centre stage as Tatiana is taken aside. Suddenly it parts again leaving space for Tatiana to express her grievance to Onegin, in a solo that bursts through the stage with astounding expressive power. Her legs rushing through the variation with tremendous impetus and sincerity, the fouetté arabesques cutting across the diagonal in deep distress; her restlessness at Onegin's indifference is utterly convincing.

To coronate the chaos and confusion that already drench this scene, as well as the darkening of Onegin's character, he decides to flirt with Olga and provoke Lensky in a partnering sequence that is playful and set to very engaging music. Annoyed at first, the latter becomes progressively more irritated, until no longer able to control his impassioned rage, he challenges Onegin into a duel, albeit the sisters' begging protests.

Scene 2, Duel
The duel is set in a Romantic style décor; woodland bathed in a sombre grey evening light, upon which a veiled moon shines. Lensky appears on stage to express the soreness of his heart in a solo that Persson gives with sensitive integrity, weaving his way through this difficult sequence with technical assurance and emotional transparency. Olga and Tatiana then enter the stage taking Lensky into a whirlwind trio of supplication, in a seemingly endless energy flow passing through swerving arabesque lifts. The energy lifts again at the arrival of Onegin who, in turn and in vain, tries to dissuade Lensky from taking on the duel. Lifts sore even higher as the women grand jeté, and the scene is finally resolved by the indignated Onegin taking two parallel multiple turns in his resignation to the duel, which Kobborg pulls off with marvellous drama and energy.

The two men walk away to the back of the stage, behind a darkened see-through scrim. They aim and shoot - Lensky falls to the ground. Onegin returns to the front of the scrim where the two sisters lay holding each other. Tatiana stands erect and stares, shaming Onegin who in turn takes his hands to his head and walks away, leaving Olga sobbing her loss.

Act III, Scene 1, St Petersburg
The orchestra opens the last act with great gusto and passion, and the curtains lift to reveal the scene of a grand palace ballroom clad in a deep burgundy, and a floor of elegant men and women, in grey/blue tights and jackets and pastel grey/pink and blue mid-shin long dresses. We are in the residence of Prince Gremin in St. Petersburg. The scrim lifts and the invités begin to dance across the floor. Activity abates as the Prince enters, followed by Onegin who has returned to St. Petersburg after having travelled the world looking for serendipity. We are drawn to his inner world as the lighting shifts again to that deep blue of the bedroom pas de deux, and women pass through his hands as in a daydream, him not really in control but seemingly swayed by these transitory events. We then return to the Palace lighting, and Tatiana enters in a lush crimson dress. Prince Gremin to whom she is now married warmly greets her. Onegin, still absorbed in his memories of the past, does notice her as she begins her pas de deux with her husband. This is danced beautifully with Gremin a very attentive partner, giving his very best support for Cojocaru. Her split jetés are invariably of 180° magnitude and the grands rond de jambe into the splits to the floor are so delicately executed and caught by Gremin that the poetry of the motion, as in the whole of the pas de deux, is never lost. Cojocaru portrays a content and peaceful state of being, in which the emotional chaos of her earlier years has no place. But not for long; Onegin notices her and comes to greet her as she terminates her pas de deux. Taken aback she quickly moves offstage with her husband and the invités resume their dancing.

Scene 2, Tatiana's Boudoir
Finally we are taken to the last and most dramatically wrought of all scenes. Set in deep auburn, Tatiana's boudoir is again sparingly furnished with only a bureau on the left side of the stage, a stool on the right and two tall plant ornamentations standing either side of the entrance set at the centre of the back of the room, whose walls are transparent so that the audience is able to view the coming and goings in the adjacent corridor. Tatiana is at her desk, reading a love letter that Onegin has sent her. Gremin enters to bid her goodnight and she pleads him to stay with her. He declines and she is left stepping across the boudoir restlessly as, in the corridor we can see Onegin pacing vigorously and undecidedly. Finally she returns to her desk and he rushes in through the door to the very forefront of stage right where he stops abruptly. Breaths are held, movement is halted. Tatiana then rises from her chair and walks forward to stop at the forefront of stage left. The music lifts and Onegin rushes towards her.

This pas de deux is the most incredibly well crafted, emotionally descriptive pas de deux of the entire ballet, with Alina and Johan just dancing their life out. It must be seen and I wouldn't want to spoil it by tearing it apart by a series of immaterial descriptions.