Sum-up:
A Swan Lake revisited as a powerful 20th century yarn of love, jealousy and betrayal with 'real' people at its core. The opening night audience understandably gave it a standing ovation. A new ballet in reality, it's good to have it alongside traditional versions.
Background:
A very differnt Swan Lake designed to hit modern audiences just as the original must have done in the 19 century. Like Matthew Bourne's very changed version in the UK, this really hit home with Australian audiences and critics alike.
Story:
A man (Prince Siefried) torn between two women, the one he marries (Odette) is beautiful, young and fragile and the one he loves (Baroness von Rothbart) who is knowing, artful and determined to get him. She wins by getting the heartbroken and distraught Odette committed to a sanatorium (echoes of the mad scene from Giselle). There, Odette dreams of the Swans outside and being truly united with Siegfried (Act II in a normal Swan Lake). Odette eventually recovers and the Prince truly falls in love with her, but the Baroness and court life mean Odette will never have peace and despite his love she drowns herself in the lake. The Prince never ever loves again. A prince, two women, one fragile and married to him and the other he really loves have led to this ballet being called the House of Windsor version. I don't think there is any mileage in this comparison especially given the ending of the ballet - rather it's a tragic love story.
Music:
Graeme Murphy (the choreographer) believes Tchaikovsky's music as originally conceived is the score to use. That means it's different from most of the Swan Lakes we hear performed for dance, since the score was rearranged early on to give what we now think of as the tradiotional version. So we get Black Swan and the Hungarian dance in Act 1 rather than Act 3 and some pieces normally dropped suddenly appear. It's quite refreshing and breaks up the normal rhythm of Swan Lake if you've seen a few. The Birmingham Royal Ballet orchestra played well under the baton of Australian Nicolette Fraillon.
Sets and Design:
The sets and costumes are sparse yet opulent, white much of the time but dense black in Act 3 - for which they got applause when the curtain went up. They are the work of Kristian Fredrikson, the foremost of the Australian designers. Notably he had the good sense to use a stunning MC Escher, rippled pond, image as a backloth in the dreamy sanatorium/lake scenes and which plays with the mind. The designs are set in Edwardian times though I'm not sure that has particular significance.
Choreography:
Ballet trained Graeme Murphy may have been, but he's a contemporary choreographer with his own company these last 29 years and this was never going to be a 'ballet' ballet work. Along with the musical changes the movement that strays onto the floor and breaks 19th Century rules jolts us into noticing more than if this were 'another' Swan Lake. The choreography is inventive, particularly for the corps girls with syncopated lines of contrasting arms and legs at odd angles and an affectionate take on the four cygnets.
The production however concentrates on the central three characters and communicating their emotions and interactions in heartbreaking detail. It is all made dramatically explicit and I suspect much of the ballet's popularity is down to people understanding and appreciating the power of emotions so clearly made physical. It's at its best in duets and 3 handers where Murphy winds dancers gloobily and humanly around one another. There are some very long solos - for Prince and Baroness particularly - and they seemed too long for what they had to say. And you can't have it all - all this spelling out of the drama is at the expense of some of the lyricism in more traditional versions. However this really needs to be seen as a ballet in its own right rather than constantly compared to the original. It used some of the same ingredients but it's a different product really.
Steven Heathcote, Lynette Wills and Madeleine Eastoe
in Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake
© David Kelly
Dancers:
It's Madeleine Eastoe's night as Odette. She is small but a naturally expressive communicator who could move an eye a millimetre and we'd notice and know exactly what was meant. She reminded me of a young Viviana Durante. Lynette Wills is Baroness von Rothbart, whom you can see as a scheming cow or just a woman doing all she can to secure her man - a bold and secure performance. Steven Heathcote danced the Prince and is a secure and trustworthy partner - important given there are some tricky catches at times. He played the prince like a rather inhibited and bemused accountant who eventually 'gets it', though about half a century after everybody else. They work well together as a team and the audience were duly impressed. I was surprised at curtain call that they all looked fresh and happy as Larry - not because they didn't deserve to - but that they had the energy to. I actually think they have more to give and that's scary given what they achieved. The other thing to note is that Eastoe, 8 years in the company, is not yet a Principal and based on this performance that seems implausible.
The company overall looked comfortable, communciative and zesty. Like the Royal, and many British companies, the corps isn't always lined up as you'd hope but they act their socks off in a ballet that needs that commitement.
Does it Work?
Yes - 4 out of 5 stars. I love clear dramatic work and it's a compellingly realistic dance-piece in that respect. If you prize steps and pointe work more then your mileage may be different - but go and be jolted by the 'different' score and a company rarely seen in the UK firing on all cylinders in a work that Australian audiences have taken to their collective heart.
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