Odette – Odile Yulia Stepanova
Prince Siegfried Xander Parish
The Mariinsky are in Town! Swan Lake was the second ballet of their three week programme at the Opera House. They are certainly a tonic to any palate jaded by second rate ballet.
Neither of the principals in this performance were high up in the Mariinsky hierarchy (Stepanova a coryphée, Parish a second soloist) but the show was magnificent. The technique of this Company is simply breathtaking, especially the swans. They seemed to float across the stage with immaculate timing and positioning. Act 1, Scene 2 brought a tear to the eye. The pas de quatres in this scene were stunning too. This standard of ballet technique is rarely seen outside of the Russian companies. So many aspects of the matinee evoke superlatives! The costumes showed attention to detail with fine embroidery and choice of textile. I was particularly taken by the headdresses. In some productions these are merely afterthoughts to the main costumes. The Mariinsky however have given a lot of thought to the design and execution of each piece so that they enhance the dancer’s costume and illustrate the individuality of each character. The staging is after Sergeyev and has a wonderful, timeless feel. Again, the attention to detail is wonderful with a Court and a Castle that draw the audience in.
Mention must be made of Grigory Popov who danced the role of Jester and whose acrobatic dancing brought riotous humour to his scenes. The audience loved his performance as they had in Romeo and Juliet earlier in the week. I felt that unusually, Parish gave a stronger performance than Stepanova. In several scenes she seemed a little tentative and lacking in passion. Nevertheless she was well received by the audience. A striking feature of the Russian school is the curtain calls by their principals at the end of each Scene and each Act. Although this prolongs the show it does give audience and dancers alike a chance to interact with each other. For me the individual highlight of the matinee was Siegfried. Parish brought a style and brio to the role that gave it ‘the wow factor.’ His solos were much admired by the discerning audience who had all probably seen many, many Swan Lakes. His grand jetes were especially memorable. Interestingly, Xander is from Hull where he began dancing at the age of 8. He went on to the Royal Ballet School and then joined the Royal Ballet Company in London. The first Billy Elliot? The programme tells how he was then invited to join the Mariinsky Ballet by its ballet director. A very interesting career for a boy from Hull!
The final curtain bears a special mention. The curtains drew back to reveal the cast with a positive mountain of red roses centre stage. Bouquets followed! The creatives at BETM might bear this in mind when they finalise their arrangements for the Live Film as these touches made an enormous visual impact. I think several of the current Billys would love to see the Mariinsky at Covent Garden and it might encourage them to follow in Xander’s footsteps. He would be interested to meet them too I’m sure.
Just for a moment this Swan Lake gave me a glimpse of heaven........................................ where Good triumphs over Evil
