Review
Swan Lake Music - Tchaikovsky Apollo until Saturday 25th, 2000 Originally designed and choreographed for large round arenas, Derek
Deane's production of this most popular of all ballets has been substantially
reduced in scale for a tour of venues such as the Apollo, with traditional
proscenium arch stages. In many ways this format is more suited to
ballet, allowing the dancers to direct their movements towards the
audience at all times, and increasing the sense of intimacy. From the start it was clear this was going to be a lavish performance
in every sense. The newly designed set by Peter Farmer (there was
none for the in-the-round production) was beautifully detailed, especially
the stunning background to the lake itself, with rocky crags and a
convincing starry backdrop. The lighting, though, following Howard
Harrison's design for the original production, was what set these
scenes truly apart: the swans on the lake were bathed in a gently
rippling blue light, imparting the ethereal magic this ballet demands.
Atmospheric smoke was also used to great effect, creating a convincing
water effect for the swans to glide through, as well as spectacularly
augmenting Rothbart's movements. On the whole, the corps were extremely well disciplined and precise
in their movements, with very few noticeable glitches. The reduced
number of dancers still filled the stage admirably, flowing gracefully
around the set. Especially memorable were the Spanish and Italian
dances during the formal court scene, complete with tambourines. As you'd expect of the ENB, this was a highly polished and exquisitely elegant production of one of their regular ballets. In its different forms, it's now been running for three years, and this shows in the slick integration of all the elements of the show. Dance of this class is something quite special, and if you can get tickets (unsurprisingly, they're like gold dust at the moment) then prepare to spend 2½ hours in a magical other world. Alastair Wilson, 23/11/00
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