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I saw the matinée on 27th Dec; Anastasia Pershenkova was the Snow Maiden, Natalia Schelokova was Kupava, and Dmitry Erlykin danced the role of Mizgir. These three are soloists with the company, so no principals on show for this performance. All reviewers have inevitably commented on technical problems, but it has to be said that the RFH has been presenting ballet at Christmas for very many years, and the South Bank management ought to invest a bit more in providing visiting companies with the facilities they need. The performance area looks as it is – makeshift, complete with noisy curtain tracks. However, the gremlins noted by the earlybird reviewers seem to have been overcome, and the technical limitations of the place just have to be accepted for the moment. As the venerable reviewer from the FT might have said, honour to the company for accepting the challenge posed by the RFH.

The opening scene in the Land of Frost is beautifully designed. Crystal-like structures frame the stage, and the lighting helps to create the illusion that this is the land of sharp Winters; nothing to do with the muggy dampness that you left outside the hall. The snowflakes present a picture of delicate neatness: a good-looking and disciplined corps with some rewarding choreography to start us off. Our Snow Maiden was poised and assured, while conveying the strangeness of this ultimately insubstantial character. At times she is required to stand absolutely still on pointe for a long period; like another reviewer, I found this an effective metaphor for her strange, soulless nature.

It is interesting that other reviewers have commented on an apparently under-powered performance of the role of Mizgir. I felt the same way, initially, about Dmitry, our Honoured Artist of Russia (for that is what he is). On reflection, I wonder if the tradition of this company (and its Stanislavsky-inspired background) would require this suddenly-besotted fly-by-night to temper his dance energy and leave the high octane stuff to the laddish lads, rather than taking on the virtuoso stuff himself? It will be interesting to see how the same company will approach Swan Lake.

The piece has its shortcomings as an entity because of the way it has been assembled, with chunks of Tchaikovsky welded together as accompaniment to a piece that combines the elements of fairyland, energetic Russian peasants, and a visit from the Tsar. The Russian tradition of story-telling is seen here in a choreography made when the tradition of socialist realism still had its effect. However, there has been an attempt to tighten the piece up a bit since it was premiered by the LFB at the RFH in 1961. Originally the ballet was in 3 acts, but the first two have now been compressed into one. This makes the whole feel a little unbalanced. The second act seems to end abruptly; Kupava has lost her man (despite Schelokova giving her rival looks to kill), Mizgir has lost everything, and the happy peasants are off to till the soil; heroes of Soviet labour, no doubt! In the original story, Mizgir throws himself into a lake in his despair (they seem to like doing that in Russian tales). In this production, Mizgir leaves the stage to do just that while the peasants are busy being jolly and generally holding our attention. I would have liked to have seen the whole thing come full circle, with something made of Mizgir frozen and lifeless at the end. The jollity accompanying approaching Spring needs to be about two-thirds of the way through the second act – i.e. appropriate to the Golden Section. The whole thing would then feel more balanced; as it is, it feels to have an odd structure.

However, having said all of that, this is good seasonal fare. It is a delight on the eye, the folk dance element is an energetic and earthy contrast to the delicacy of the snowflakes, and you can relax knowing that, for a change, you can read into the story just as much as you like; no equivalent here of dodgy interpretations of Drosselmeyer. A refreshing change!

PS The programme is informative and attractively presented - apart, that is, from the grim-looking collection of mug-shots of the members of the corps de ballet; it looks as if they have been lining up at the photo-booth at Moscow Bus Station for a job lot!

PPS Strange coincidence; Fyodor Stravinsky (father of the composer) created the role of Father Frost in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Snow Maiden”. Igor Stravinsky was so immersed in the Russian folk tradition, it is a pity he didn’t write a score for a Christmas ballet; there is such a shortage of music of quality for story ballets suitable for this season.