Last Saturday, I had the privilege to watch Swan Lake performed by the Moscow Ballet "La Classique". It was the first time I got to see this classic ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and I was truly blown away.
I learned about this show in early April and I immediately wanted to see it. I texted my mom to see if she was wanted to watch it too and she said yes. I went to SM Aura the next day to get tickets at Ticketnet. My mom and I agreed to watch the final show on June 22.
The tickets weren't cheap but they were absolutely worth it. The production was amazing, with grand sets - I especially liked the palace backdrop - and beautiful costumes. More than that, the performers were incredible. The Russian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Yaroslov Tkalenko, was excellent and the dancers were sensational, especially the leads. There were so many memorable moments, a couple of which I will talk about in a bit, but one of my favorite sequences was the Dance of the Little Swans. It was a bit unfortunate that the stage was quite slippery that night. Three people - Baron Von Rothbart, a woman in the chorus, and I think it was Princess Odette - all slipped during the first act. Thankfully, there were no more accidents in the second act. Nevertheless, the show was still fantastic and the cast and the orchestra got a well-deserved standing ovation during curtain call.
The lead female playing Princess Odette and Odile was replaced by Oksana Bondareva, who we got to see that night. Oksana is such a beautiful,strong, and brilliant dancer and she performed magnificently, drawing massive raves from the audience. The pas de deux numbers were awe-inspiring and in one of them, she does a pose that that drew applause from the crowd even while the performance was still ongoing: she maintains a very difficult pose en pointe with no assistance. Here is a video of Oksana doing this pose; check it out at 4:40 (I'm starting the video at 4:32 so that you don't have to wait too long to see it). I can't imagine how much talent, skill, and training are required to pull this off!
video uploaded by Антуан Мальцев
As if that wasn't enough, shortly after, Oksana impressed the crowd yet again with a dazzling pirouette sequence that lasted for more than 20 seconds and had her moving forward slowly on stage while still doing her pirouettes. I kept muttering 'wow' under my breath until she finished and the audience, including me, erupted in awe. Here is a video of her doing that same sequence (I'm starting the video at 0:37 when she starts her pirouettes).
video uploaded by Антуан Мальцев
It was too bad there was no program because I really wanted to know who the other cast members were, especially the jester who himself does a more-than-20-second pirouette sequence in Act I (here is a video of the jester's pirouettes). I also have to say that the New Frontier Theater isn't exactly the best venue - the seats were too cramped with no arm rests and the chairs sloped downwards, making them a bit difficult and slippery to sit on. Still, these were minor inconveniences and the experience as a whole was still truly magical.
I watched a couple of ballets in Russia when my mom and I went there in 2013 but we weren't able to see a show at the Bolshoi Theatre so I guess seeing a show in Manila that featured Bolshoi star Alexander Volchkov - he played Prince Siegfried - is the next best thing. I'm very happy that I have now seen Swan Lake, which is one of the most popular and celebrated ballets in the world.
I learned about this show in early April and I immediately wanted to see it. I texted my mom to see if she was wanted to watch it too and she said yes. I went to SM Aura the next day to get tickets at Ticketnet. My mom and I agreed to watch the final show on June 22.
The tickets weren't cheap but they were absolutely worth it. The production was amazing, with grand sets - I especially liked the palace backdrop - and beautiful costumes. More than that, the performers were incredible. The Russian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Yaroslov Tkalenko, was excellent and the dancers were sensational, especially the leads. There were so many memorable moments, a couple of which I will talk about in a bit, but one of my favorite sequences was the Dance of the Little Swans. It was a bit unfortunate that the stage was quite slippery that night. Three people - Baron Von Rothbart, a woman in the chorus, and I think it was Princess Odette - all slipped during the first act. Thankfully, there were no more accidents in the second act. Nevertheless, the show was still fantastic and the cast and the orchestra got a well-deserved standing ovation during curtain call.
The lead female playing Princess Odette and Odile was replaced by Oksana Bondareva, who we got to see that night. Oksana is such a beautiful,strong, and brilliant dancer and she performed magnificently, drawing massive raves from the audience. The pas de deux numbers were awe-inspiring and in one of them, she does a pose that that drew applause from the crowd even while the performance was still ongoing: she maintains a very difficult pose en pointe with no assistance. Here is a video of Oksana doing this pose; check it out at 4:40 (I'm starting the video at 4:32 so that you don't have to wait too long to see it). I can't imagine how much talent, skill, and training are required to pull this off!
video uploaded by Антуан Мальцев
As if that wasn't enough, shortly after, Oksana impressed the crowd yet again with a dazzling pirouette sequence that lasted for more than 20 seconds and had her moving forward slowly on stage while still doing her pirouettes. I kept muttering 'wow' under my breath until she finished and the audience, including me, erupted in awe. Here is a video of her doing that same sequence (I'm starting the video at 0:37 when she starts her pirouettes).
video uploaded by Антуан Мальцев
It was too bad there was no program because I really wanted to know who the other cast members were, especially the jester who himself does a more-than-20-second pirouette sequence in Act I (here is a video of the jester's pirouettes). I also have to say that the New Frontier Theater isn't exactly the best venue - the seats were too cramped with no arm rests and the chairs sloped downwards, making them a bit difficult and slippery to sit on. Still, these were minor inconveniences and the experience as a whole was still truly magical.
I watched a couple of ballets in Russia when my mom and I went there in 2013 but we weren't able to see a show at the Bolshoi Theatre so I guess seeing a show in Manila that featured Bolshoi star Alexander Volchkov - he played Prince Siegfried - is the next best thing. I'm very happy that I have now seen Swan Lake, which is one of the most popular and celebrated ballets in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment