First opening impression... what a hideous shade of peach for the company costumes, especially for the men! I very often have a slight dislike of male ballet costumes and these did nothing to improve this; the capes provided extra ammunition (think The Incredibles Edna!) Eventually I began to find the women's capes reasonably complimentary- soft off one shoulder drapes- unfortunately the men's were simply unforgivable, rather than demonstrating the power and athleticism of these dancers it distracted from them, making them look slightly effeminate.
The Prince's black costume although ok close up looked a little odd from a distance- especially the decoration on the front (which I could not find a decent picture of!) and much preferred the white tunic he wore in the Second Act.
http://www.themuni.co.uk/events/moscow-ballet-swan-lake/ (accessed: 13/03/2012)
Attendant was good and his costume much more subtle, I did briefly think he was the Prince
The Jester was wonderful! He was so emotive and expressive, really stealing the show even when he wasn't centre stage. His characterisation really communicated the story to the audience effectively; unfortunately this served to highlight the areas where this was perhaps lacking
The pas de trois I really liked especially the blonde ballerina's solo. again much more expressive than some of the others.
Act two:
The swan maidens were elegant and pretty as always however as discussed in the half time crit the tutu's weren't quite right, proportionally they were too long meaning that they flopped around.
It was a very short rendition with several passages from the cygnet and swan dances being cut out. There were several notable changes to the original choreography; namely the lift after the arabesque hops, they used a full turning lift rather than just a straight raise.
The mime was also cut short which I was disappointed about I had been looking forward to being able to read the signs properly after watching a documentary on the scene by the Royal Ballet.
Von Rothbert's costume was a little too garish, the very shiny purple satin cape looked a little odd.
Act three:
Odile's head piece was very irritating with the feathers continually flapping- looked quite precarious. Her solo fell a little short and she didn't feel sharp or sexy enough as the character. To me there was good chemistry between her and Rothbert but very little with the Prince (this was also true when playing Odette.)
Loved the Spanish princesses sleeves- delicate lace hardly attached at top was subtly sexy. Also the flamenco dancer's underskirt was brilliant- didn't like the black top fabric but having the flashes of orange as she moved was brilliant. It really added excitement and flair to the piece.
Rothbert's party cloak was much better than his standard one.
Act four:
Ending felt very abrupt and I was expecting it to go on for a lot longer, again feel the connection between Odette and Prince Siegfried wasn't as strong as it could have been- no real passion or love. In fact towards the end I was surprised at how OK I felt about the death of Odette and Sigfreid, the ballet was beautifully performed but it failed to extract any real emotions or reactions out of me. I enjoyed the performance and it certainately enhanced my knowledge and understanding of the genre but feel there were areas in which the ballet could have been sharper and more effective.
In a final note only half the cast were present for the finale which I found odd.
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