Swan Lake: A Second Look March 2, 2009
Tiit Helimets and Yuan Yuan Tan in Tomasson's Swan Lake. © Erik Tomasson
Just a few words about today’s show – I went to see Tomasson’s Swan Lake for the second time today, in their last performance of the run. The performance with Yuan Yuan Tan and Tiit Helimets in Swan Lake is on the top of my list for the most highly anticipated performance the year. But to be honest, it was a quirky performance. In the second act, there was a swan maiden who looked a bit off, and some fast swan swapping occurred as a swan darted offstage, and a new swan maiden came on later, dancing next to Lily Rogers.
The orchestra, led at a MUCH better pace under the baton of Martin West, was especially tight and crisp in the first act, and noticeably sloppy in other parts. In a few nailbiting moments in the second act, the lower orchestra instruments were one beat off from the rest of the orchestra, although they eventually came back together. Some woodwinds hit a wrong note in the Czardas Princesses’ dance that made me cringe. And that famous oboe solo! It’s supposed to be a call of the wild, a half cry/half Siren song that arises from the depth of the dark woods, speaking to Prince Siegfried’s deepest desires of love and fulfillment, and unabashedly loud and pretty and heartbreaking. But the solo was almost inaudible and swallowed by the rest of the orchestra, and I found myself craning my neck to hear it better. I know it’s the end of the run and everyone must be getting tired, but it was still a tad disappointing.
Yuan Yuan Tan’s performance today was one where I felt like she was experimenting and pushing the boundaries to try something new to her interpretation of Odette/Odile. As Odette in the second act, it was clear that she was a swan in control, rather than an imprisoned, introspective one, in an unreserved and demonstrative performance. Her gymnastic extensions wowed, as did her otherworldly balances. I’ve decided that she must be superhuman. But she made a few character choices that were distracting in a hyperkinetic way, such as interspersing quirky head twitches (once in the middle of a beautifully slow lunging penchee), jerky broken robotic arm waves as she was exiting the stage when Von Rothbart controls her, and fancy wrist rolls behind her when she was stretching forward, making the classical ballet choreography look very modern, almost Forsythe-like. The head twitches seemed to be her way of making her performance more bird-like, although it looked more pigeon-like than swan-like to me. I simply found that I didn’t connect to her performance as I usually do with her performances. Tan’s strengths were in the fireworks as Odile in Act 3 and utter tragedy in Act 4, which she completely ruled in an outpour of passion and impressive glory. It was also great to see Tiit Helimets back onstage again, looking every bit the danseur noble he’s always been.
My full review of Tomasson’s Swan Lake, here. San Francisco Ballet’s Program 4 starts on March 12 – click here for more info.
Jolene,
I have a few questions, would you or your readers who saw SFB Swan Lake kindly answer them for me?
Why were The Prince’s friends dressed as characters from Jane Austen’s novel? but The Prince’s mother was dressed like Marie Antoinette?
If the Prince was having fun with peasants and his courtiers, why did the peasants’ dance look so boring? and what is the point of giving fouette turns to one of the girls in Pas de Trois? Fouette is a dazzling technique meant to be used by the Black Swan to “seal” the deal, and deceive the Prince, so he would swear an oath. Why did the choreographer include fouette in the first act?
Why did the Prince have to close the gate when he said goodbye to his friends, wasn’t he already outside of the palace? Was the prince also a doorman?
Why was the Moon so BIGGGGG? it was really distracting. Von Rothbart dressed almost the same in Act 2 and Act 3. The idea was Von Rothbart disguised as a Nobble man (or a Knight) with his daughter to deceive the Prince, but if Von Rothbart looked the same in Act 3, Siegfried must be really dumb not to recognize him.
Why was the music in Black Swan PDD too fast? Tina LeBlanc is known for quick-footwork but she was almost late. Her solo in PDD, double attitude pirouette with a pause, she didn’t have time to stop it. The beauty and difficulty of Black Swan PDD is not only 32 fouette turns, it’s everything from beginning to end. The Coda is only 1 part of it.
I have more questions, but I should stop here.
I noticed in this production as well as others (re: ABT), you can tell who the Prince’s mother is b/c she’s sporting a hairstyle that will make it impossible for her to pirouette.
The pas de trois costumes – they didn’t bother me much, although Rachel Howard and others mentioned it. In comparison, ABT’s Swan Lake peasant costumes are a lot more cumbersome, with petticoats and tighter, harder-to-move-in costumes. I don’t have an answer for why the peasant choreography was so boring though. That baffles me too. I really didn’t know if I could sit through another Act I again for the second viewing, but the faster music (and Frances Chung, Rachel Viselli, and Taras Domitro) helped a lot.
I just get the feeling that adding Jonathan Fensom as set/costume designer was a good idea in theory, but didn’t translate as well as intended.
Ah I like your reasoning behind the fouettes for Odile. That makes sense.
Regarding Von Robhtart – How funny. Well he is wearing that double breasted sportcoat with a slight tail to cover up his feather boa breastplate thing, to try to “trick” Siegfried. Although that Goth makeup and everything else is pretty unmistakable, unless Siegfried’s an idiot, which can’t be completely discounted and a huge possibility.
Another flaw I see in this production is Prince Siegfried’s character. He seems like a happy go lucky guy, happy with his life and flirting with women (if perfunctorily). I wish they had broadcast a little more of his emptiness and searching for something with meaning/substance, instead of pleasant engagement with his surroundings and his life. It didn’t make sense to me why he seeks out the woods, the call of the wild. But then again, that oboe solo didn’t really call him out to speak to the desires of his heart either…
These are all legitimate questions, and you’re hardly the only one to have them. Post more if you like, I (and hopefully others) will try to answer them.
I love how closely you watched Yuan Yuan Tan! Most people would never have noticed such subleties!(sp?) I think it’s definitely good for a dancer to try something new, to really make such a character her own — and the Forsythian modern feel sounds very intriguing, but it does sound rather pigeon-like
I’d love to see her in this role!