Swan Lake — Moscow Ballet La Classique
Regent Theatre
Saturday, April 29
REVIEWED BY PENNY NEILSON
Moscow Ballet La Classique returned to the Regent stage on Saturday night performing Petipa and Tchaikovsky's enduring classic Swan Lake.
Traditionally, this is ultimately a doomed love, but one that is beautifully performed by the company with wonderful casting in the central characters.
It is the story of a young Prince Siegfried on his 21st birthday, who, at the behest of his parents, is in search of a wife. He meets and becomes bewitched by Odette, a princess, who is under a spell and is transformed into a swan.
Anastasia Chumakova is beguiling as Odette, her fluidity and grace is perfection in the role. Alexandr Tarasov, as Prince Siegfried, is dashing and partners Chumakova superbly. Dmitry Smirnov's Von Rothbart is a wonderful villain - menacing, yet commanding.
True love is the only thing that will break the spell and return Odette to human form, Siegfried proclaims his eternal love for her at court. Only Siegfried is deceived and unwittingly declares his love for Odile, Rothbart's daughter, played by Olena Antsupova.
Her impeccable technique - her fouettes were an absolute highlight - was, however, slightly overshadowed by a slight lack in intensity needed for the role of Odile.
In the traditional telling of this tale the lovers meet a tragic end as a consequence of the deception, but the more common retelling is that their devotion to one another is enough to break the curse.
This leads to Von Rothbart's demise at the hands of the swans, who all in turn transform back into human form.
The costuming was lavish and the sets lush, all set to the magical and haunting score.
Mention must be made of the jester, Mikhail Vasilev. His energy, cheekiness and his exceptional leaps stole the many scenes he appeared in.
The delightful pas de trois in Act One (Nadezhda Illarionova, Idaliya Nazmutdinova and Leonid Gavrilov) was also a standout with the fast and fanciful footwork.
And, as always, the character variations are a pleasure, in particular Irina Tiablikova in the Spanish role.
Swan Lake will forever captivate audiences for this simple reason: it is lavish, lush, enchanting and a beautiful love story.
