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A Brilliant and Intelligent Swan Lake
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Julie Kent
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By Don Kolman
American Ballet Theatre introduced Southern California to Artistic
Director, Kevin McKenzie's new production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake
Tuesday evening, February 12, 2002, in Segerstrom Hall at the Orange
County Performing Arts Center. To say that the evening was a success is
a gross understatement. Mr. McKenzie has made brilliant and intelligent
changes where appropriate and left alone that which is best and
traditional in this classic old warhorse.
The three Tchaikovsky ballets have some of the most beautiful music ever
written for the ballet, yet the stories are so convoluted, at times, as
to be virtually unintelligible. Acts I and III, the black acts, in Swan
Lake are a good case in point.
In Act I, the Queen Mother traditionally descends on her son's birthday
celebration and manages to overstay her welcome. With her entrance all
dancing comes to an immediate and extended halt. McKenzie has her
appear, present her son with his present, a crossbow, elicit his
promise to select a bride that evening at his birthday ball, and then
depart. This leaves the party to the young people and the real dancing
can and does begin.
In Act III, the national dances, as in the Nutcracker and Sleeping
Beauty, have always appeared to be add-on's. They have no real story
purpose. They are just there, it seems, to provide additional group
dancing opportunities. By giving each of the prospective bride
princesses a nationality that corresponds to the national dances, Mr.
McKenzie has made an extremely simple yet brilliant clarification that
gives meaning and relevance to these otherwise interloping dances. The
princesses have come to the prince's birthday accompanied by a retinue
including national dancers - makes good sense - and is an outstanding change.
Mr. McKenzie has shown the good sense to leave Acts II and IV, the white
acts, essentially alone. These two acts contain so much that is
traditional in Swan Lake that it would be considered almost sacrilegious
by some to make changes. The white swans and the cygnets are all there
in their traditional glory.
American Ballet Theatre at this point in time has, without doubt, the
best stable of male dancers of ANY company in the world. Mr. McKenzie
has put these outstanding danseurs to good use in his new Swan Lake
choreography. Not only does the Prince dance, but so does his friend
Benno, and the evil sorcerer, von Rothbart. The pas de trois in Act I
is lovely and held together by the wonderful choreography McKenzie
has provided Benno. Mr. McKenzie had divided the role of Von Rothbart's
between two individuals, one who dances and one who does not. One must
assume that this has been done with the intent of expanding the role of
the dancing von Rothbart while releasing that danseur from all the
menacing posturing of Acts II and IV. The non-dancing von Rothbart
appears as a menacing green monster. The dancing von Rothbart in Act
III is seductive, sinister, and extremely powerful. Some may find the
two von Rothbarts difficult to fathom but this change, though possibly
unnecessary, works and that is all that counts. Both of these expanded
male dancing roles give meaning and power to the story.
Both the sets and costumes are by Zack Brown. One cannot say enough
about the sets; they are simply magnificent. In Act I, the view of the
lake from the castle terrace is lovely and even the flooring matches.
In Act II, the audience can almost feel the cold reflecting off the
sparkling lake. The grand ballroom of Act III is tasteful, regal, and
glorious. The costumes are quite pretty, though at times they seem to be
somewhat overpowering in their size. This is particularly the case with
the costumes for the Queen Mother and the Master of Ceremonies.
Julie Kent is a cool and aloof Odette-Odile. Kent's Odette appears at
times somewhat detached and unresponsive. As Odile, Kent is wonderful
to behold. She dances with icy precision and an emotional detachment
that defines the role of the Black Swan. She is the cold, cruel,
temptress. Kent's dancing is what one has come to expect from her--
precise, swift and clean.
Jose Manuel Carreno, an outstanding danseur and a highly accomplished actor, danced the role of Prince Siegfred brilliantly.
Carreno may not be as flashy as some danseurs, but he is precise to the
point of perfection. When he finishes a step in fifth position, he
finishes in fifth. He does not have a sloppy bone in his body.
Carreno is a wonderful and supportive partner who is always attentive and
appears involved emotionally with his partner from beginning to end.
Brian Reeder in the role of the non-dancing von Rothbart is
appropriately menacing and evil. His mime is broad and easily
understood. Marcelo Gomes as the dancing von Rothbart is magnificent, with dancing flashy in the extreme. Gomes exhibits great speed and outstanding
elevations. When he dances, his presence is such that he demands and
receives the audience's undivided attention. In the ballroom scene
Gomes dances with each of the prospective princess brides and manages to
enchant them each in her turn. He even manages to entrance the Queen
Mother. Gomes is the personification of seductiveness. Watching him, one can readily understand how he comes to ensnare the hapless
Odette.
Herman Cornejo dances the role of Benno, the Prince's friend, with great
vivre and style. Cornejo is a wonderful danseur, lightning fast
and appearing to be capable of jumping over mountains.
Erica Cornejo and Xiomara Reyes dance beautifully in the pas de trois.
Both ladies are lovely and dance with speed and delicacy.
The orchestra was conducted with style and brio by Andrew Mogrelia.
Any fan of ballet in general and Swan Lake in particular should head at
a dead run straight to Segerstrom Hall to see this new A.B.T. version.
They will not be disappointed. Kevin McKenzie is to be congratulated,
presenting an intelligent, thoughtful, and enjoyable Swan Lake
which should set the standard by which future versions will be judged.
American Ballet Theatre will perform Swan Lake at Segerstom Hall, Orange
Country Performing Arts Center through Sunday, February 17. Wednesday
through Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are
available at The Center Box Office and at Ticketmaster (714) 740-7878.
CAST FOR 2/13 PERFORMANCE
On Wednesday evening February 13 ABT's new Swan Lake cast was headed by
Ashley Tuttle and Gennadi Saveliev. Saveliev was chosen from the corps
de ballet as a replacement for the injured Ethan Stiefel.
Ashley Tuttle was a surprisingly strong Odette-Odile. Frequently in the
past Tuttle has had a tendency to be bland and uninteresting. She has
obviously spent a considerable amount of time and effort working on
developing her Odette-Odile, and that effort is clearly evident in her
dancing and acting. Tuttle's dancing is strong and precise and she is
quite lovely as the White Swan/Odette.
She appears involved and is able to express nicely the sorrowful plight
of Odette. As the Black Swan/Odile her dancing is aggressive and strong
-- she whips right through those thirty-two fouettes.
Gennadi Saveliev is an extremely strong solo danseur. He is fleet of
foot and able to achieve great height in his leaps. As a partner
Saveliev needs more maturity. An obvious problem is his difficulty
supporting his ballerina in her turns. Saveliev is young, and with time
both his acting and partnering will improve. It should be interesting
watching Saveliev mature.
Carlos Molina danced the role of the dancing von Rothbart with great
purpose
He is a fine danseur but rather weak in presenting the emotional
dominance this role demands. One can only hope that his acting ability
will soon equal that of his dancing.
David Hallberg, Gillian Murphy, and Michele Wiles danced the pas de trois
effectively. Hallberg's boyish good looks make him a natural for this
role of Benno. Murphy's dancing and acting were, as always, lovely.
Wiles is a nice dancer who is both stylish and quick.
CAST FOR 2/14 PERFORMANCE
ABT's Thursday evening cast of Swan Lake was led by Paloma Herrera as
Odette-Odile and Marcelo Gomes as Prince Siegfried. Richard Torres
performed the dance role of von Rothbart.
Paloma Herrera provided Thursday's evenings audience at Segerstrom Hall
with an outstanding display of her seemingly limitless technical dancing
skills. Herrera is always technically clean and fast, fast, fast. In
Act II, her dancing is technically near perfect, but she appears at times
detached and unfocused emotionally. In Act III, Herrera dazzles the
audience by doing, with ease, NOT just the traditional thirty-two single
fouettes, but she throws in numerous awe-inspiring doubles as well. Her
acting in Act III is just right - she is totally focused on tempting
Siegfried to break his promise to the hapless Odette. She does this
admirably. In several lifts Herrera demonstrates a fearless confidence
in her partner by allowing him to drop her down his back almost to his
waist -- spectacular!
Marcelo Gomes appears to have all the necessary requirements to become a
truly great danseur noble. Not only is his dancing technically
spectacular, his acting ability, though at times slightly out of focus,
is indeed prodigious for one so young - he is twenty. Additionally
Gomes is a highly proficient and attentive partner. In Act I he is the
only Siegfried thus far who has been able to convey to the audience his
anguish over his inability to find his one true love. Gomes' Siegfried
is willing to comply with his mother's wish that he select a bride at
his birthday ball, but he is clearly unhappy about the prospect of doing
so. His technical dancing is a pleasure to watch -- he appears to have
it all -- great elevation, great speed, great extension, and great
execution. With a little more maturity his acting will become more
sustained and he may well join that exclusive group of truly great
danseurs.
Richard Torres as von Rathbart was the least effective of ABT's danseurs
called upon to perform this part. The role demands a dancer/actor who
is malevolent, seductive, and cruel. Torres is none of these; he simply
appears sleazy. One finds it difficult, if not impossible, to believe
that he could tempt anyone to do anything other than run the other
direction. Torres' dancing, while technically acceptable, was certainly
not dazzling.
The orchestra as conducted by David Lamarche performed at drop dead
speed. At times dancers seem to be dashing about trying unsuccessfully
to keep up.
CAST FOR 2/15
For Friday evening's presentation of Swan Lake, ABT brought out two of
its major name-stars to perform the leading roles. Nina Ananiashvili
danced the role of Odette-Odile and Julio Bocca danced that of Prince
Siegfried. Of all of the Swan Lakes presented, thus far, this one has
the most traditional feel. Watching Ananiashvili and Boca one sees two
mature dancers who are intimately familiar with their roles -- they should
be-- they have danced them innumerable times. There is no better acting
teacher than experience, and these two dancers have over time perfected
all the little nuances that their respective roles require to give a
really polished and convincing performance.
Nina Ananiashvili is, to state the obvious, very, very Russian in her
technique and presentation. Her Russian (Kirov) background is most
obvious in Act II when her arms seem to be virtually without bones. Her
White Swan is memorable, being the most polished and believable to
date. She is truly lovely. Ananiashvili's Black Swan is absolutely
sensational. She is blistering fast -- so fast that it would be almost
impossible even to try to count her fouettes. Her acting cuts right to
the point. She is there to ensnare Siegfried into breaking his promise
to Odette, and that is exactly what she does with icy, brutal efficiency.
Her performance was truly memorable.
Julio Boca has been ABT's major male star and number one audience draw
for a number of years. Boca has always had, and still does have, enormous
charisma. He has an almost unique ability to draw the audience into the drama.
Boca is so totally absorbed in his presentation of the role of Siegfried
that he appears not to act but to become Siegfried. Technically he
does not have the elevation and speed that he once did, but there are
flashes when the fabulous old technique returns and he sets the stage
afire. There are few partners in ballet today more accomplished and
proficient than Julio Boca. Ananiashvili frequently looks as remarkable
as she does thanks to the wonderful partnering of Boca. He assists her
turns so unobtrusively that the audience is virtually unaware of what he
is doing. Bravo and well done.
Joquin de Luz in the role of Benno acts well and dances nicely. He is
not a spectacular dancer but an efficient one who partners neatly.
Marcelo Gomes returns to the role of the dancing von Rothbart. Gomes is
von Rothbard - he has this role nailed. He dances up a storm and
seduces every woman in sight, including the Queen Mother. One only comes
to understand just how great Gomes is in this role when one is
unfortunate enough to see someone else attempt to do it. Marcelo Gomes
has been one of the outstanding highlights of this ABT visit to Southern
California -- one looks forward to seeing a great deal more of him in the
future.
CAST FOR 2/16
Saturday's matinee performance of ABT's Swan Lake presented one of the
Company's most pleasant surprises of its current run at the Orange Country
Performing Arts Center. Gillian Murphy as Odette-Odile was a revelation
and a pleasure to behold.
Murphy has obviously spent a considerable amount of time thinking long
and hard about exactly how she wants to portray Tchaikovsky's Swan
Princess, and it shows. Her White Swan was the most striking of all the
Odette's seen in Orange County. Murphy conveys with striking realism
Odette's sheer terror at her first meeting with Siegfried. Very slowly
and very convincingly her terror turns to love. At times Murphy's arms
appear to be without bones; very interesting as this is a distinct
characteristic of Russian ballerinas, NOT American ones. Her dancing was
technically just what it should be. Murphy's Black Swan/Odile comes
across as cold, cruel, and ruthless -- just right. She lures Siegfried
into making a commitment and then arrogantly dismisses him with a turn
of a hand. Her dancing is exciting and certainly held the attention of a
most appreciative audience. Murphy does not merely whip through the
famous thirty-two fouettes; she throws in spectacular and impressive doubles and triples.
This is a ballerina to keep an eye on. She should have a great future
with American Ballet Theatre.
Murphy was most ably partnered by a prince of princes - Jose Manuel
Carreno. This is Carreno's second appearance as Siegfreid during the
current run. As ever he does all the right things. He partners
beautifully, dances marvelously, and is totally involved with his
ballerina. Carreno must be every ballerina's ideal partner of the
moment.
Saturday's evening performance was headed by the husband and wife Russian
pair of Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Belotserkovsky. This partnership is
obviously of long standing and it shows. Each dancer is able to
anticipate the other with precision.
During the White Act, Dvorovenko seems detached and not particularly
involved emotionally with what is going on in the ballet. Her dancing
is technically correct, to say the least, and she displays with gusto
the traditional Russian arms movements, but something is missing. She delivers an
interesting portrayal; however, she is just a little too cool and too aloof for
a White Swan Princess seeking love and release. Dvorovenko's Black Swan
is a different matter entirely. Here she is ruthlessly involved. She
doesn't smile; she smirks throughout the entire act. She has Siegfried
exactly where she wants him, and she derives great pleasure from the
destructive game she is playing with him. Dvorovenko's dancing is
spectacular. She is faster than light, but at times pushes herself
beyond what she, and for that matter any other dancer can do, and thus
she fall out of position. If she had pushed herself just a little less,
it would have been a perfect performance.
Maxim Belotserkovsky is ardently involved with his life and his Odette
from beginning to end. He acts beautifully and appears to be genuinely
enjoying himself. Belotserkovsky has extensions that go on forever. As
a partner he does everything he is supposed to with ability and finesse.
Belotserkovsky's solo dancing is spectacular. He has speed, elevation,
and he appears to be able to turn forever. In the Black Act he, like
Dvorovenko, seems to push just a little too hard and stumbles. When he is
on technically, and that is almost all of the time, he is breathtaking to
watch.
ABT Swan Lake Retrospective
American Ballet Theatre's Swan Lake run at Segerstrom Hall of the Orange
County Performing Arts Center has been an outstanding success, and, in
more than one instance, a revelation.
The first very pleasant surprise was the production itself. It would be
difficult to find a nicer one in current use. The choreography, the
sets, and the costumes all fit to form a lovely, seamless production.
The second and third surprises were Gillian Murphy and Marcelo Gomes.
These two dancers were a revelation: she in her wonderful portrayal of
the hapless Odette and he in his incredible portrayal of the sinister
and evil von Rothbart. For one so young, he was an
outstanding Siegfried. One can only look forward with anticipation to
the future roles of these two splendid young dancers. Bravo to Director
McKenzie for recognizing such talent and putting it to such outstanding
use in this too-short series.
The Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Hall, 650 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa.(714) 740-7878 or (213) 365-3580 or www.ocpac.org
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