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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.

Friedemann Vogel in Swan Lake
© Stuttgart Ballet

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.