Kirov Ballet: Swan Lake

Kirov Ballet: Swan Lake
Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, CA
Friday, Oct. 20, 2006, 7:30pm - Uliana Lopatkina (Odette/Odile), Danila Korsuntsev (Siegfried)
Saturday, Oct. 21, 2006, 2pm - Viktoria Tereshkina, Danila Korsuntsev
Sunday, Oct. 22, 2006, 2pm - Diana Vishneva, Igor Kolb

After three Swan Lakes this weekend, I'm quite happy.

The Kirov production is my favorite version of the Swan Lake, even with its oddities. First off, the Kirov just knows how to put on a Swan Lake. It’s in their blood, handed down over the generations from the ‘standard’ 1895 production. The current production was created with significant revisions in 1950, under the watchful eye of Soviet censors. But still, what contemporary audiences know of Swan Lake – scads of white tutus, pure classical dancing – is all there in purest form with this production. It’s Swan Lake pretty straightforwardly, and the production’s quirks (the jester, a happy ending) don't get too much in the way of a glorious lakeside act and fabulous dancing. Most important of all, there are no psychological or Freudian overtones for Prince Siegfried.

Diana Vishneva's Odette/Odile (above), was the most satisfying. At today's Sunday matinee, she was spot on, dancing beautifully even through a loudly crying baby during Odette's variation. She's a beautiful dancer: wonderfully proportioned with legs that aren't too long (that seems to show up a lot in the Kirov company), beautiful feet, and great control of her body. She can create beautiful shapes with her body, and she looks fantastically regal in a tutu.

But what impressed me most was the dramatic spontaneity of her performance. When Siegfried intrudes upon her reverie at the beginning of Act 2, right after she's been turned back into human form, her startled response doesn't look planned or choreographed. She really looked surprised to see him. Then, when Rothbart comes to separate the pair, she actually notices that Rothbart is there and acknowledges his presence by trying to push Siegfried away. This looked so wonderful because no other Kirov Odette really acknowledged Rothbart's arrival during the weekend. Each of them just kept on dancing the choreography given to them, but Vishneva made a dramatic point out of the moment. Then, with the White Swan Pas de Deux, the duet wasn't merely a gorgeously executed classical duet, but a dramatic scene. Vishneva’s Odette started by being reluctant in her responses to Siegfried, remaining physically distant and pulling away when he reached for her hand. But as the pas de deux progressed and Siegfried showed his sincerity to her, she began to trust him - finally allowing herself to be folded into his arms and cradled at the end of the dance.

At Friday's performance, Uliana Lopatkina's Odette/Odile (left) was beautiful, lyrical - and anything but spontaneous. Each detail was carefully planned and there was nothing that could happen onstage that was going to put her off the charted course. This approach had charms of its own; her years of experience as Odette and Odile delivered a performance that took every advantage of the role's possibilities. It was a ballerina's very individual interpretation of the role, complete with her own Odette-brand mannerisms - a flick of the wrist here, a carefully planned bend of the leg into attitude at just the right point in the music there. But all that planning can sometimes leave the drama cold. Lopatkina’s Odile was dazzling – extreme glamour via razor-sharp precision. She seduced Siegfried, and the audience, by being an stunningly perfect Odile. No wobbles, perfect turns, classical flash. A thrilling classicism.

On Saturday afternoon, there was much to admire about Victoria Tereshkina's Odette/Odile. Her Odette was free of all the ballerina mannerisms that Lopatkina had, and was a fairly clean reading of Odette. And her Odile was mesmerizing. It was just as clean as her Odette technically, but her stage persona was on fire. She was smug but still sexy, and responded to Siegfried's confusion about the look-a-like Odette in black by turning on the seduction even more. It was a visceral thrill seeing her sail through the very difficult choreography, and her confident stage persona added to the overall effect.

Still, as beautiful as Loptakina and Tereshkina were, Vishneva's combination of great dancing and drama added another dimension to the ballet. Her Odette was moving, and very exciting.

The Siegfrieds took second seat to the Odette/Odiles this weekend - they were kind of just there. Danila Korsuntsev danced at the Friday and Saturday afternoon performances, and Igor Kolb danced at the Sunday matinee. Korsuntsev seemed to be sleep walking; I laughed when he ripped off Rothbart's arm in the final battle and started half-heartedly brushing Rothbart with it (meanwhile Rothbart was enthusiastically dying on the floor below). Kolb had more stage presence, and added a big (but still very elegant) leap to Siegfried's first entrance to establish his presence over the court. But still, Siegfried is a very thankless role in the Kirov production, very much a cavalier, so there wasn't a lot for him to show.

One cannot forget to mention the magnificent corps de ballet. It still gets me every single time that every one of those dancers is dancing full out, and yet they all instinctively move the same, remain perfectly in line, and move with the same unforced elegance - while still being interesting individuals. The lakeside scenes were a joy to watch - a stageful of perfectly placed arms and legs, wrapped in white.

These Swan Lakes were a lot of fun to watch - much more so than Romeo & Juliet. The Kirov seems born to dance Swan Lake, ingrained in their blood. A joy.

Photos by Valentin Baranovsky. Top right: Diana Vishneva and Igor Kolb. Middle left: Uliana Lopatkina and Danila Korsuntsev. Bottom: Igor Kolb and the Kirov corps de ballet.