BALLET REVIEW: SWAN LAKE

Pictured:
James Kudelka





JOHN COULBOURN, Special to TorSun
11 NOV 2013
R: 4.5/5

Choreographer James Kudelka's legacy to the National Ballet of Canada, where he served as artistic director for several years, includes a whole library of memorable full-length story ballets. Of these, his re-telling of SWAN LAKE is probably the weakest — at least when judged exclusively from a narrative point of view. In the final analysis, it seems almost as if, in spinning out the story of the tormented Prince Siegfried, undone by his love for a Swan Queen in thrall to the villainous Rothbart, Kudelka simply couldn't come up with enough story to flesh out a truly timeless score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

But happily, not all full-length ballets are judged solely on their narrative depth, for as the NBOC proves in a remounting of Kudelka's 1999 masterwork currently gracing the stage of the Four Seasons, when it comes to story ballets, "story" is merely a modifier — and the subject is most definitely "ballet."

And when it comes to that particular form of dance, at least in its classical form, this SWAN LAKE is steeped in it. From its very opening scenes, in which Siegfried's courtly companions get carried away while cavorting with a local wench, through to the tragic and inevitable denouement, in which Rothbart succeeds finally in separating the young lovers forever, Kudelka fills the stage with breath-taking movement, bending it to his will to create not only showcases for magnificent leading artists, but moving tableaux of such great beauty and artistry featuring the entire company, that it often leaves you breathless.

For Saturday's opening performance, artistic director Karen Kain made some interesting casting choices, not the least of which is the casting of McGee Maddox in the role of Siegfried. A dancer of more mature physical dimension than a typical balletic leading man, Maddox is nonetheless a perfect partner for Xiao Nan Yu's stunning portrayal of the lovely Odette and her evil doppelganger Odile.
 
As well, possessed of a regal bearing, he requires none of the flourishes other dancers use to establish a courtly persona - but while that allows him to cut right to the chase, it also leaves him with precious little to do once that chase has been joined. Worse, in this production, it serves to unbalance the rivalry between his Siegfried and an otherwise wonderful Rothbart, as danced by Etienne Lavigne, who tends to disappear when pitted against Maddox. But such considerations are minor when one considers the artistry of, say, Keiichi Hirano's Fool or the work of Tina Pereira, Elena Lobsanova, Jenna Savella and Jillian Vanstone as royal aspirants to Siegfried's hand — all apparently found under mushrooms in the forest. Throw in a corps drilled to almost military precision and that magnificent music, all of it served up with high drama and even higher skill by the NBOC Orchestra under David Briskin and it's easy to overlook a certain look lack of narrative depth and simply float along, enjoying the scenery.