Swan Lake is perhaps the most famous and frequently performed ballet since its creation in 1877 for the Bolshoi Ballet. Though not an initial success, Swan Lake was reinvented by notable choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in the late 19th century.
Because of the ballet’s widespread preeminence, the score and the choreography are familiar to most ballet patrons.
Houston Ballet’s Artistic Director Stanton Welch created a new look for the classic ballet in 2006. Welch was inspired by Pre-Raphaelite artwork, in particular ‘The Lady of Shalott’ by 19th century painter John William Waterhouse. The romanticism of the time period is evident in Welch’s beautiful rendition of the fairy-tale love story.
The first act opens in a mythical forest where the maiden Odette, danced by Sara Webb, is reluctantly seduced by the evil Rothbart, who casts a spell that transforms Odette into a swan by day and a woman by night.
Prince Siegfried, danced by Connor Walsh, and his friends set out to hunt game in the woods. Stanton Welch choreographed more group and solo dancing for this section of the ballet and the male dancers execute it perfectly.
Dancer Joseph Walsh, a member of the Corps de Ballet, stands out among the Prince’s friends for his youthful vigor and clean movements.
The Queen, danced by Samantha Lynch, brings eligible princesses to the forest to meet Siegfried, who could care less. Connor Walsh shows he is not only a superior dancer, but can act the part as well.
In one of the most uplifting scenes of the night, Siegfried ventures off into the woods by himself and comes upon the maiden Odette. The two are immediately drawn to each other in a case of love at first sight.
Connor Walsh and Sara Webb could not have been more perfectly matched; their agility makes the choreography look effortless. Webb epitomizes the fluid grace of a true prima ballerina, with not one hitch in her grand jet’eacute;s.
The menacing Rothbart, perfected by dancer Nicholas Leschke, uncovers the duo and instantly turns Odette into a swan. Again, Webb mesmerizes with her flawless characterization of the elegant bird, extending her arms as if they were wings. Although he captures the creepiness of the part, veteran Houston Ballet dancer Leschke hardly gets to dance in his role as Rothbart and serves more as a mute actor.
During the second act, the queen throws a royal ball for Prince Siegfried in hopes that he will choose one of the princesses to be his bride. Up first is the Princess of Russia, danced by the ever-lovely Barbara Bears, who sets the precedent with top-notch battement frapp’eacute;s and inexplicable magnetism. Not one to shy away from acting, Bears plays into the humor of the desperate princess, vying for the attention of the handsome prince.
Jaquel Andrews is as vibrant as the princess of Spain, adding a certain flare to the romantic choreography. Kelly Myernick is forceful as the princess of Hungary; and Emily Bowen is delicate and lithe as the princess of Naples.
The second act ends with Rothbart bringing the mysterious Odette-look-alike Odile to the party. Confused by the resemblance, Siegfried dances amorously with Odile, only to discover the real Odette at the party and Odile to be one of Rothbart’s swans in disguise.
Stanton Welch must have a flare for the dramatic, since he closed the act with dancer Nicholas Leschke leaping out of a giant, circular hole in the set, like a bat flying out into the night.
A complaint many in the audience had after the second act was that Sara Webb only did 24 of the usual 32 fouett’eacute;s, a major change in the legendary choreography.
The final act confirms what the audience feared – in an attempt to kill Rothbart, Siegfried kills Odette the swan instead. The fast-paced dancing of the swans and Lord of the Rings-like costuming creates a certain feeling of another time or another world.
Although Stanton Welch kept the emotionally sweeping music of Tchaikovsky, he made important changes in the piece by having Siegfried fall in love with Odette the maiden and not Odette the swan. He also added a medieval touch with designer Kristian Fredrikson’s moody sets and primordial costumes, not to mention the finishing touch of a giant dragon onstage for the final scene.
Swan Lake runs through June 21. For more information, visit http://www.houstonballet.org
