Echoes of Russia’s tragic history in the Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake
(c) ROH
When the brilliant choreographer Liam Scarlett created a new production of Swan Lake for the Royal Ballet in 2018, he made the evil Von Rothbart inhabit a mendacious role at court as a Rasputin-like confidant to the Queen, looking like a more youthful version of Vladimir Putin.
During the overture we see him as an aged sorcerer capturing the Swan Queen, and it is not hard to see parallels with Russian imperialism, ruling over satellite states. During the days of the Cold War there were some 20 of these, including nations such as Ukraine within the Soviet Union, plus the six Warsaw Pact countries in central and eastern Europe — not far off the number of swans under Von Rothbart’s domination.
To push the analogy further, one might see the Swan Queen (Odette) as Russia, reappearing as the Black Swan (Odile) under Von Rothbart’s necromancy to win the Prince’s heart. For a fateful moment he expresses his love for her, breaking his attachment to Odette, who can now no longer escape the enchantment. In such an interpretation the Prince can be seen as the Russian people, who belong to the real Russia (Odette) despite being seduced by the false Russia (Odile).
The real Russia has produced magnificent works of literature, theatre, ballet, opera and other arts. We always knew of Russian ballet, courtesy of that great Russian impresario Diaghilev, who stayed abroad after the Revolution in 1917. Under the Soviet Union people in the West tended to know less about Russian opera, but that has changed since the Iron Curtain fell.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, how will it all end? If we compare Putin to Von Rothbart, as this production does, then how does Swan Lake end? Different productions end it in different ways. Some with an apotheosis where the Prince and Swan Queen sail off blissfully together, but this Royal Ballet production ends more sadly with the finality of death (no spoilers if you haven’t seen it yet).
Before this opening night performance for the new run of Scarlett’s production, the Royal Ballet’s Director Kevin O’Hare came forward to express how “shocked and appalled” we all are with the recent events in Ukraine, and the orchestra struck up the Ukrainian national anthem. The audience stood with great respect. Certainly a night to remember, with the Prince of Wales present in the Royal box.
The performance itself was outstanding, with Vadim Muntagirov as the Prince and Yasmine Naghdi replacing Marianela Nuñez as Odette/Odile. They were sublime, and the applause greeting Muntagirov after his solos in Act III (there are four acts) was sustained and heartfelt — an acknowledgement of his brilliant dancing, and pain for this Russian dancer after recent events.
As Von Rothbart, Bennett Gartside, who created the role as court confidant in Scarlett’s new production, was excellent, and as the Prince’s aide Benno, James Hay danced with supremely clean jumps and tours-en-l’air in the pas-de-trois where Isabella Gasparini showed ineffable lightness and musicality. Superb precision from the swans themselves, and under the excellent baton of music director Koen Kessels the orchestra played their hearts out, giving this first and most symphonic of Tchaikovsky’s three ballets the thrill and energy it deserves.
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