Swan Lake
The National Ballet of Canada
Choreography by James Kudelka
Four Seasons Centre
In Toronto on Friday
James Kudelka's Swan Lake continues to be one of the most fascinating versions of the Russian classic despite some second night blues that included several obvious missteps.
I attended the second performance to catch the National's newest principal dancer Jiri Jelinek (previously of Stuttgart Ballet). Jelinek has a reputation for being an excellent dramatic dancer, but although his Prince Siegfried made all the right moves, his performance lacked fire.
In his defence, the guy just stepped off a plane barely two months ago and into the challenging choreography of James Kudelka. One can't blame him for being cautious.
Kudelka's Siegfried is a self-absorbed loner. Jelinek concentrated too much on the prince's vulnerability at the expense of expressing personality. He was a dreamer without definition, which allowed him to be outdanced by Odette/Odile and Rothbart. On the other hand, he radiated the prince's bruised and broken spirit, but just never found his spine.
On a positive note, Jelinek looks like a principal dancer. He is tall and ruggedly handsome, and he can do the Russian virtuoso tricks. In his Act 3 variations, for example, he exhibited exciting jump turns. In fact, he nailed three in a row.
Although he does not have the softest ballon (his landings were a bit thumpy), Jelinek's port de bras is exquisite. He is blessed with those all important extra-long arms that float through space with consummate lyricism.
He also would appear to be a very good partner. His Odette-Odile, Xiao Nan Yu, is one of the National's tallest prima ballerinas who has been waiting for just such a tall man to come into her ballet life. They look gorgeous together. Now they have to find the chemistry.
Yu gave one of the best Odette/Odile performances I have ever seen. A great classicist, every move she takes is precise in placement and execution, whether for the graceful poetic Odette or the sizzling fireball Odile. In her magnificent interpretation of this notoriously difficult dual role, her different performances of Odette and Odile are outstanding.
Unfortunately, her de rigueur third act 32 fouettés were a weak spot as she travelled the stage in her struggle to complete them. (For the uninitiated, a fouetté is a turn done on one pointe shoe while the other leg whips around to propel the turn.)
Patrick Lavoie debuting as Rothbart was a sensation. As a dancer, he tends to be a bit withdrawn and formal, but he found the evil sorcerer's strength of command without ever losing a stately bearing. His chemistry with both victimized Odette and accomplice Odile was palpable.
Keep your eye on McGee Maddox who played the prince's friend Benno. There is always something new I pick up in subsequent viewings of a Kudelka ballet, and in this case, it was Benno's hint at homosexual feelings for the prince. They share a reflective duet in the first act, and it was brilliant - Jelinek absorbed in himself, and McGee absorbed in the prince. McGee has charisma and he can dance.
The rest of the secondary players were all wonderful. Naoya Ebe played the Fool on the dark side, both evil and satiric. Stephanie Hutchison as the Wench was suitably seductive and held her own against all those men until the end. Nobody plays icy and distant better then Victoria Bertram as the queen. The various foreign princesses (Lise-Marie Jourdain, Rebekah Rimsay, Lisa Robinson and Jordana Daumec) all sailed through their demanding solos while showing off their very different personalities.
And finally, let's hear it for the swans. The female corps de ballet was simply splendid. Their white swans were delicate while their black swans were rods of steel.
The National Ballet's Swan Lake continues at the Four Seasons Centre until Mar. 21.
The goods
The debut: Close but no cigar. New principal dancer Jiri Jelinek showed he was a prince and a fine partner, but needed more dash and vigour. He was a tad too cautious to own Siegfried outright, but his physicality did convey all of the prince's emotional journey. Let's wait for his Onegin.
The wench: Innocent flirtation as a come on. Siren serving girl Stephanie Hutchison was coy and friendly but never vulgar, as befits a low-born woman among a group of high-born knights. Her gang rape was particularly cruel.
The high: Xiao Nan Yu made Odette so vulnerable, and her Odile so conniving, that she seemed like two different dancers.
The low: An unusual number of slip-ups (the fool, a court lady, a little swan, the orchestra brass section), and Yu's sloppy 32 fouettés.
Bottom Line: Definitely worth a visit. A Swan Lake for both thinkers, and those looking for eye candy.