The production I watched on YouTube was a modern interpretation of the classic Swan Lake ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky written circa 1875–1876. I searched in the site for more information regarding where this particular production took place, the name of the city or theater but I could not find it. There was no mention of the name of the ballet company or the names of the principal dancers. As would be expected, this dearth of information extended to the orchestra and its conductor. No credit was given to lighting, sound or set design as well. In this production, the scenes were primarily set by the painted backdrop and used very few props. This left them open to the flow of the dancers, the music and the dance.
The score was magnificent the orchestra handled it well and the conductor did his job. He remaining true to the music, while remaining attentive to the pace of the dancers and the dance. He was particularly good at controlling the volume so that the sound rose and fell while remaining at a danceable tempo. There were individual notes and focused instrumentation that added to the power of the actions and emotions, especially in the final scenes.
Costumes set the magnificently evil Von Rothbart and his entourage, the royal family and the jester, apart from the rest of the cast. The other dancers wore the expected tutus or flowing ballet skirts for the ballerinas and tight pant and shirt, or just pants for the men. The corps de ballet was elegantly well matched, the women as alike as one swan to another. Likewise, with the men, there was little differentiating one from the other.
The dim grey toned background seem to absorb the pale dance costumes and mush of the movement appeared more like smoke on water rather than human performance. The one break in this came during the dance at court when there was what appeared to be a troupe of gypsies who wore red. Seeing that made wonder how much more I might have enjoyed the performance if there was more background color to set the dancers apart from the scenery.
The choreography and the muted color scheme seemed to be an attempt to draw the audience in, much the way people are more attentive to a whisper than a shout. It did not work for me, instead I found my attention wandering because there just too much pale fluid beauty. Much of the dance was dominated by elegant women in pale dresses with graceful moves and long necks. The easy way to tell when they were swan was when they make soft fluttering movements with their slender arms. I would have far preferred if a vibrant blue and green backdrop separated day fro night.
There seemed to be almost a theme that every good was the same. In this portrayal it way only the rulers, the entertainers and the evil characters who had any personalities at all. It reminded me of Lucifer saying, “I would rather reign in Hell than serve in Heaven,” I was not comfortable with that concept. I believe that people can retain their individuality and each be good in his or her own individual ways. By the end of the production, I was looking forward to watching the final death scene, but even that disappointed. The prince and the swan maiden survived to live on in a pallid grey pseudo-reality.
Bibliography
Tchaikovsky , P. I. (1875 - 1876). Swan Lake. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LKyWPmtX7Y
