4/5 Great dancing and choreography, awful production
  by Ivy Lin (NY NY)
I once saw a television interview with Dame Ninette di Valois in which she carefully explained the difference between "production" and "choreography." She pointed out that productions of 19th century classics like Swan Lake are way more variable than choreography.
The current Royal Ballet production of Swan Lake has perhaps the most authentic choreography available, especially in the famous Ivanov "white acts." The Royal Ballet had access to Nicholas Sergeyev's original notations of the 1895 Petipa/Ivanov production that aren't seen in any other production, like children dancing as part of the corps of swan in the second act. The child swans surrounding Odette make a poignant and striking picture: you see clearly the hierarchy that is so important in classical ballet depicted in the swans. There are children, then there are adult swans, and finally there is Odette, the Swan Queen. The production also contains mime that is not included in any other production I've ever seen. Just for the scene of the swans miming tears in Act 4, this dvd is worth it. When Sir Frederick Ashton was director of the Royal Ballet he made a few additions to Swan Lake, including a solo for Nureyev, and a pas de quatre in Act 3. Unfortunately those additions are now gone from the current Royal Ballet production.
It is too bad that the authentic choreography is coupled with one of the ugliest productions of Swan Lake I have ever seen. Yolanda Sonnabend's sets have two effects: 1. they clutter the already small Royal Ballet stage; and 2. they take away any sense of enchantment and of a fairy tale. The setting is updated to Imperial Russia, which apparently means "unbelievably garish, tacky, and borderline goth." The first act is okay, a bit too glitzy for my taste but not actually offensive. In Act 3, the setting seems to be some kind of Las Vegas "haunted house" spectacle, complete with sinister cobweb decorations, huge candlelabras, and christmas tree lights. Odile enters the party with a gaggle of witches. All the female dancers are dressed as if they were going to a fancy masked ball/halloween party. The overall impression is one of complete tackiness. But it is the famous "white" acts that are the most ugly. Forget the lake -- there is none. Instead we have a completely black stage, with some shiny spiral staircases. Rothbart appears in the form of a giant owl. The sense of natural beauty that Tchaikovsky and the choreography evoke so vividly is totally gone. The costumes are not as bad - the swans are dressed not in the short classical tutus, but longer feathery skirts. I quite like the effect -- it gives them a more birdlike, "flying" look. The cosumtes also contrasts nicely with Odette's short classical tutu.
Marianela Nunez dances the duel role of Odette/Odile. She is tall and long-limbed, and able to create beautiful lines with her long legs, arched feet, and lovely, expressive arms. But she also has something that I find many O/O's, even the most famous ones, lack: inherent warmth. Her Odette is not a remote tragedienne, but a living, loving woman trapped in a bird's body. She uses her large eyes to great effect. Her Odile doesn't drip evil, but instead is truly sexy and irresisistible. Nunez can do the tricks -- the multiple pirouettes, the long-held balances, the sky high arabesques, but I never felt like she was simply showing off. Her Siegfried (and off-stage husband) is Thiago Thoares. He unfortunately is not nearly the dancer his wife is. He partners her nicely, but is rather unremarkable as a dancer. He has some rather hammy facial expressions, and a clunky, choppy way of dancing that seems to break the ballet into definite steps, rather than one seamless flow of choreography. I know they are married in real life and thus probably prefer to dance together, but she is simply a better dancer than him. The act one pas de trois is often a favorite place for balletomanes to spot future stars, and I thought both Laura Morera and Yukui Choe showed off winning personalities and impressive technique. '
The dvd comes with extras of an interview with Anthony Dowell, himself a legendary Siegfried (he can be seen in a wonderful 1981 video with Natalia Makarova), and also four ballerinas: Monica Mason, Beryl Grey, Lesley Collier and Marianela Nunez. I watched them but did not find them all that interesting.