Swan Lake is one of my all-time favourite ballets, as well as pieces, so expectations are always high when watching a production of it. This viewer is more a traditionalist, but has nothing against productions that are different, Matthew Bourne's all-male version is very different and worked a treat. While not my favourite Swan Lake (the Royal Opera House production with Makarova and Dowell), this Australian Ballet production from Graeme Murphy is fascinating and beautiful.
With productions (opera and ballet), there is always the worry of whether the drama on stage would complement and fit the music rather than be irrelevant or fall into distaste, whether it would be engaging and whether the production would look good, regardless of whether it's traditional or not. The good news is that while it is not the Swan Lake story we know and love, the 'new' story is always cohesive, dramatically riveting and has some great ideas that actually do fit the music. There were ideas that could easily have been distasteful or too distorted if executed too heavy-handedly (especially Odette's descending into madness), but this Swan Lake avoids that, the idea is a huge part of the character and makes her more interesting.
The drama is more than engaging, the conflict in Act 3 has a real intensity, Acts 2 and 4 are incredibly powerful and poignant in emotion (the climax is just devastating as it should) and the triangle is tense and entertaining. The choreography is lyrical and graceful, as well as dazzling in technique, but also has a lot of invention, wit and real sense of atmosphere. While the symbolism of the swans, representing Odette's state of mind, was a very interesting and visually striking touch, the choreographic highlight is the exquisite Pas De Deux, which is full of passion and who can't help love the wonderful lifts, sensual arabesques and heart-melting embraces?
Australian Ballet's Swan Lake is also one of the most visually beautiful of the non-traditional productions. The sets and lighting are atmospheric and sumptuous, with a real sense of mystery in Acts 2 and 4 and an inky elegance in Acts 1 and (in particular) 3. The costumes are delicious, with Edwardian-style brocade and lace, the simple feathery elegance of the swans, Odette's silk wedding dress and the suave, stylish suits. What was done with the lake was also hugely striking, instead of just being just water that you can barely see this lake (in the form of a tilted disc) is like a character in itself that is part of the action, the frozen white and foreboding black being wonderfully symbolic of the themes of the story and ballet as well as Odette's state of mind.
Musically, there is an equal amount to love. Tchaikovsky's music is so good in how beautiful, haunting, powerful and heart-wrenching it is that it is nigh-on impossible to ruin it, something that the orchestra certainly does not do in their powerful, nuanced playing. It's conducted with discipline, the ability to accommodate the dancers but also to keep the drama alive and blazing. The performances are uniformly good, with a playful and later tragic Corps De Ballet and a truly soaring Madeleine Eastoe as Odette, who dances with such grace and acts stirring poignancy and nerve-shredding intensity. Robert Durran is a suave and dashing Prince, who grows in character from youthful to masculine throughout the story, and the Baroness (replacing Rothbart) is bewitchingly and menacingly played.
Overall, a different Swan but absolutely fascinating and beautiful. 10/10 Bethany Cox
