London Coliseum – until 2 September
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
5*****
St Petersburg Ballet Theatre’s unashamedly old-fashioned production of Swan Lake is a thing of beauty. Tchaikovsky’s gorgeous music, played masterfully by the ENO Orchestra and conducted by Vadim Nikitin, soars through the auditorium accompanying the ballet masterclass from prima ballerina Irina Kolesnikova.
The story of Prince Siegfried falling in love with Odette, and the evil sorcerer Rothbart’s jealousy and machinations to keep Odette a prisoner with the other swans is much loved, and this production sticks to the familiar plot, opting for a happy ending rather than tragedy. The halting of the action for soloists to take applause may irritate some audience members, but good grief, I think we all needed the opportunity to whoop after Kolesnikova’s Black Swan performance. With simple painted chocolate box backdrops that still manage to be dazzling and romantic, there are no innovations to be found in this production, but that doesn’t matter, as the dancing is wonderful and the whole thing is just lovely. “Lovely” was the word on everyone’s lips as they left the theatre, as well as “magnificent” when describing Kolesnikova. As Odette she is full of fluttering grace and energy, while her Odile is fiery, passionate and decidedly wicked. She is simply poetry in motion. With guest soloists from the Bolshoi and Mariinsky rotating roles throughout the run, each performance should feel slightly different, but Denis Rodkin as Prince Siegfried is a romantic and athletic dream, with Dmitry Akulinin a masterful Rothbart and Sergei Fedorkov stealing all his scenes as the gravity defying jester.
With music that has seeped into popular culture, this lyrical and spellbinding production is a perfect introduction to the ballet for newcomers – what better way to end the school holidays?