Manchester Theatre News & Reviews
REVIEW - Beat them January blues and see the beautiful ballet, Swan Lake at the Opera House
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On Thursday, we were invited to the Manchester Opera House to watch Swan Lake. Read what our reviewer Abi Holden thought about this classic ballet...
As someone who has danced since I was young, I absolutely love going to the ballet. I haven’t had the chance to see one, however, in a very long time so Swan Lake coming to the Opera House was the perfect excuse for me to go. Tchaikovsky’s iconic music teamed with beautiful, seemingly effortless dancing… What’s not to love? Swan Lake is one of those ballets that everyone knows the music of, even if they don’t know it is from Swan Lake, and I was beyond excited to hear it played by a live orchestra.
The show is split up into three acts, with two intervals between each of the acts. It tells the tale of Prince Siegfried (Cristo Vivancos) and the bewitched Odette (Nilay Tahiroğlu), who fall in love, go through a schemed betrayal, and find themselves fighting to be with one another. The first act begins with the celebration of Prince Siegfried finally coming of age. There is beautiful dancing and flower headdresses (which the Prince dons at one point) for the party when the Queen arrives to tell her son that it is time to marry and that he must find a bride out of the ones she has invited from all over the globe. As well as the announcement of a ball that will take place the next day, so the Prince can meet his potential brides, the Queen gives her son the gift of a crossbow. With his new crossbow in hand, the Prince heads off on a hunt, to escape the ladies of the court and the silliness of the Court Jester (Kadir Okurer).
The second part of act one opens to a misty lake, where the evil Rothbart (Marek Bobošík) rules over the maidens that he has cursed to be swans. Prince Sigfried is taken by the beauty of the swans and goes to shoot his crossbow when Odette, the Queen of the bewitched swan maidens, appears and he is encapsulated by her beauty. This part of the show is also where we see the famous and iconic ‘Dance of the Cygnets’. Their meeting is love at first sight and they vow to love each other for eternity, hoping their commitment to one another will break the curse.
The second act begins with the arrival of the foreign contingents, ready for Prince Siegfried to choose his bride. Each contingent shows dances from their country and the Prince is then presented with the women he must choose a bride from. However, he rejects all of them. It is then that Rothbart joins the party, disguised as a knight, with a black swan - Odile (also portrayed by Nilay Tahiroğlu). The Prince mistakes Odile for Odette, due to their similar looks, and chooses her to be his bride. When Odile and Rothbart leave, after throwing the Prince’s gift of flowers back at him, it is then that he realises his mistake and leaves the party to find Odette.
The third and final act opens to the swan maidens and Odette, who knows about Siegfried’s breaking of their promise and tells the others. She is heartbroken, until Siegfried arrives to promise to her that he is going to free her from her spell, apologising for being so easily fooled. Rothbart then appears to try and stop Siegfried from saving Odette and a fight ensues between the men. Siegfried comes out on top and the spell is broken, leaving the pair to live freely and in love.
One of my absolute favourite things about this ballet was the breathtaking dancing, of course. Everyone was so skilled and they made something that I know is extremely difficult seem so easy. The storytelling from the whole company, both by the principals and the wider company alike, was phenomenal and really drew you in. Tahiroğlu and Vivancos’ pas de deux dances (duets) were honestly so beautiful. Their portrayal of the character’s feelings for one another really drew the audience in and had you routing for them to come out of the ordeal happy and together. Kadir Okurer’s Court Jester was hilarious. His pursuit of those rejected by the Prince was so funny and his fouette turns were so good! He turned so much that I felt dizzy just watching him. He was the life and soul of the party in the palace. Marek Bobošík as the evil Rothbart was broody and perfect as the antagonist of the piece. His leaping was a sight to behold and his first appearance, surrounded by the mist of the lake, immediately set him up as the bad guy.
The staging and sets were simple, with different backdrops showing the place of the scene, but it didn’t need any more than that. In my opinion, it was just the right amount. It showed the audience where the action was taking place but didn’t take away from the dancing by being too intricate or distracting.
‘Dance of the Cygnets’ is probably one of my all time favourite ballet dances so seeing it in person was just incredible. I absolutely love the four dancers, entwined together, dancing in unison. Again, they make something that is incredibly hard to do look so effortless and I was smiling throughout the whole time they were doing it. The other part that stood out to me, in particular, was the whole of the second act. It really brought the storyline to life and moved it along at a good pace, coupled with some gorgeous dancing and some amazing costumes. My particular favourites were some pink dresses, long and trimmed with fur, that some of the supporting company were wearing. They were what every little ballerina dreams of and I would have loved a costume like that when I was a young dancer.
This beautiful piece has reignited my love for ballet and my appreciation for the hard work that ballet dancers put in to make their work seem as though they are simply floating when they are really extremely talented athletes. Swan Lake is one of the ballets that has stood the test of time, as it continuously performed, worldwide, every year. The performance at the Opera House just proves that audiences love this ballet and that it will be loved for many years to come. I implore you to go and see this masterpiece live. You will certainly not regret it.
WE SCORE SWAN LAKE...
Swan Lake is on at the Opera House, Manchester until Sunday 19th January.
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