Swan Lake in-the-round, English National Ballet
Ivana Bueno as Odette and Franceso Gabriele Frola as Siegfried in English National Ballet’s ‘'Swan Lake in-the-round’ © Isabella Turolla
You know you’re a true ballet nerd when the 2012 English National Ballet documentary Agony and Ecstasy lives rent free in your head. Going behind the scenes on the then 60-year-old ballet company, the first episode just so happens to feature a young Vadim Muntagirov making his debut as Siegfried in Swan Lake in the Round at the age of 20 (he is now a Principal dancer at The Royal Ballet). This spectacle of a production has been on my bucket list ever since discovering this documentary, so you can guess my excitement levels when I saw it was returning.
As well as being a 360 dance extravaganza, the pull of Derek Deane’s 1997 production is the huge cast of white swans (60 to be precise) in Act Two. As a seemingly never ending stream of dancers (many temporary freelance hirers) fill the Royal Albert Hall’s central stage, your jaw can’t help but drop at the sea of tutus bathing the floor in front of you. Deane takes full advantage of these additional dancers, using them to frame the tender Act Two pas de deux between Odette and Siegfried in a series of kaleidoscope-like patterns, instead of leaving them standing at the side getting foot cramp like in traditional productions.
This highly engineered approach is key to transforming this typically flat production into a 360 spectacle appreciable from all angles. Often Deane copies and pastes sequences, taking what might normally be a duet and replicating it three more times so it’s performed to all four corners of the audience. Most notably, the iconic ‘Dance of the Cygnets’ is duplicated and rearranged so that the two lines of dancers can interact and dance around each other - simply genius!
The company of English National Ballet in ‘'Swan Lake in-the-round’ © Isabella Turolla
Despite these moments of genius, there were some questionable choreographic decisions. Backflipping court performers in trainers felt like a mis-step, while the patchy use of mime affected the narrative. By Odette not explaining her curse and, more importantly, how true love would break it, Seigfried’s declaration of love to the wrong woman (Odile) in Act 3 by repeating Odette’s Act 2 mime (which this production missed), means the importance of his actions was less clear. Furthermore, this production relies on love conquering all for its conclusion, so this lack of earlier explanation feels an odd choice.
Similar to the documentary, one of our Principal roles was an up and coming star. As Odette/Odile, Junior Soloist Ivana Bueno had graceful and expressive arms and neat footwork. However her lack of experience in the role (I believe this was her debut) showed. In such a large space, a bolder projection of her characters’ emotions will help them reach the rafters of this vast auditorium. This will also help add gravitas to her stage presence which struggled to match that of her more experienced Seigfried.
Ivana Bueno as Odette in English National Ballet’s ‘'Swan Lake in-the-round’ © Isabella Turolla
Our Seigfried in question was Lead Principal Franceso Gabriele Frola. Rather surprisingly for a ballet where the man does relatively little, it was Franceso whom I had come to see, having been blown away by his performance at the Nureyev Gala in 2022. However, despite his lack of ‘air time’, he did not disappoint. Francesco was there to impress, leaping across the stage with strength and high-quality technique, covering the expansive floor in seconds.
Although taking a microscope to this production will reveal some rough edges, there’s no denying that Swan Lake in the Round has earned its legendary status. From the sea of swans to the orchestra sitting overlooking the proceedings, this immersive production should be a must see on every theatregoer’s list.
★★★★
Swan Lake in the Round by English National Ballet
Royal Albert Hall, London / 15 June 2024
Tickets bought with own money
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