Swan Lake (Royal Ballet)

This is my third Royal Ballet "Swan Lake" and whilst I could watch the show almost every night and never get bored, writing a long review afterwards grows less interesting so I'll keep this relatively brief (you can find my longer reviews for this run here and here).

As a result of the hideous number of injuries in the company and Zenaida Yanowsky's height, Roberto Bolle was drafted in for the role of Siegfried. He's a marvellous dancer who we only occasionally get to see on these shores and it's a real pity Siegfried does so little dancing. Yanowsky is probably the only dancer I've ever come across who makes her Odette more interesting than her Odile. Here was a truly captivating Odette, horribly cursed and saddened for it yet suddenly pulled into the happiest of loves. The Act II pas de deux was pure radiance, Bolle a slick and attentive partner. Act III found Yanowsky on slightly less fine form. Odile seemed to have taken laughing gas such was the slightly inane grin that seemed fixed on Yanowsky's face. It wasn't very sultry. She got through the material reasonably although without the flair shown by some of the other dancers. Bolle wasn't exactly amazing either. Dependable enough but somehow lacking in something special that would lift his performance to another level. Act IV flew by with considerable impact, Yanowsky's Odette again returning to the fore and being incredibly moving.

The rest of the cast were largely unchanged from the two performances I'd already caught. Impressive work from Helen Crawford in the pas de trois and some more exciting work from Laura Morera and Ricardo Cervera in the Neapolitan. The corps was precise without being mechanical and the production continues to be a slightly dusty but very attractive one. That's the last Royal Ballet "Swan Lake" for this season. I've no doubt that it'll be back on the stage sooner rather than later.