State Ballet of Georgia - Swan Lake
A first visit to London by Nina Ananiashvili’s State Ballet of Georgia and with a neatly pared back classical Swan Lake…
Nino Samadashvili and Oleg Lihai in Swan Lake. © Sasha Gusov.
State Ballet of Georgia
Swan Lake
★★★✰✰
London, Coliseum
28 August 2024
www.opera.ge/eng
londoncoliseum.org
It might sound nonsensical, but I wish the State Ballet of Georgia had run their Swan Lake in reverse order - because, by far, the best act is the last one. Back at the lake, the Swan Maidens and Odette really shine as the corps pulses with empathy for the lovers’ plight, and it feels like the company are as one and firing on all dramatic cylinders. Full of 5-star moments that deeply touched us. Sadly, the proceeding 3 acts (or scenes in this 2-act production) were a little less mesmerising, and that coloured overall feelings for what is a neatly pared-back telling that at 2¼ hours (rather than 3) has much going for it.
It’s 16 years since the Georgian company last visited Britain. They were at the Edinburgh Festival, and Nina Ananiashvili, the legendary and much-loved Bolshoi star, was both leading the company and still dancing. Notably, her dancing in Giselle (in a production by Alexey Fadeechev, who also collaborated on this Lac) received major plaudits, and the interest then, as now, was how far she could lift the company to reflect her own dramatic realism coupled with superb musicality and phrasing. It’s tempting to say that, now, the women in the company are visibly in her image - they often show these same qualities, not least Nino Samadashvili, the lead Odette/Odile on opening night. Like Nina, this was a womanly performance you could believe in and yet also be impressed by the technical command, with the result that she carried the night. More of Samadashvili in London, please.
On this showing, Ananiashvili has had less impact on the men in the company. Yes, they were neat and largely together, but not with that extra dash of pushed technique you hope for from Russian training. And little by way of dramatic flourish. Oleg Lihai, as the Prince (Siegfried), was technically strong, with terrific elevation in his jumps. But dramatically, it felt like he had been advised to play it on the camp side of full camp, with a super large dollop of extra camp - you know, just in case. If you didn’t know the plot, based on his first-act Birthday interactions with the women on stage, you’d swear this was going to be a gender-fluid Swan Lake, and he would run off with his best friend, Benno. There are a few cast variations over the run (through to 8 September), and I look forward to hearing what other principals make of it - hopefully, there will be more balanced pairings.
Overall, one interval and about 20 minutes of dancing has been lost, and that felt all to the good for me, with nothing obvious jettisoned and none of the longueurs I often feel. It is a production, though with a changed ending - a happy conclusion rather than the usual sad one. Opinions vary on how right this can feel. It’s a valid ending if not the one I prefer. Design-wise, this Swan Lake is pretty respectable if I baulk at Rothbart’s rather unscary costume with its feathery plume and limp cape - more a feeling of TROCKS parody than serious classical work. That said, when we get to the Ball scene and more normal courtly attire, Marcelo Soares looked a very respectable, 100% evil thug. I’d also like to change the opening act (aside from the camp aspects mentioned already) to have more dancers on stage at times - it could feel a little threadbare on characters at that important opening point. At other times, the stage looked satisfyingly full.
It was a night of some ups and downs, but there is a lot to commend in the Fadeechev and Ananiashvili Swan Lake, and I’m pleased I caught it, particularly the lakeside scene in the last act, which is super magical.