Swan Lake, The State Ballet of Georgia
Nino Samadashvili as Odette and Oleg Linhai as Siegfried in State Ballet of Georgia’s ‘Swan Lake’ © Sasha Gusov
As the curtain opens to transport us to a forest glade, it can only mean one thing - it’s time for my fourth Swan Lake of the year.
This time, it’s the turn of the State Ballet of Georgia, who have just taken up their end of summer residency at the London Coliseum (this is the company’s first London appearance in their 175 year history). Under the direction of Nina Ananiashvili, one of the most prevalent ballerinas of her generation, I was intrigued to see how an Eastern European company’s interpretation of this classic work may differ from the Western versions I know by heart.
And differences there were, notably the inclusion of a different, spikier Black Swan solo in Act III to a part of the score not regularly performed in Britain.
Choreographically, the work faltered on occasion. Act I felt a little start-stop in places, and I couldn’t work out whether it was Efe Burak’s interpretation of Benno, the company still getting used to the stage or the steps themselves. The orchestra also seemed to struggle through Tchaikovsky’s lavish score at points, most notably as the first half came to a close, with tempo issues at the end of the final White Swan solo.
I knew straight away that we were in safe hands with Nino Samadashvili as our Odette/Odile for the night. Her panicked and flighty first interaction with Siegfried was a masterful stroke of acting, although throughout the evening I found her partnership with Oleg Linhai (Seigfried) to be lacking an emotional connection, which is unfortunate as they are both accomplished soloists. Oleg in particular, had a wonderful lightness.
Nino Samadashvili as Odette and Oleg Linhai as Siegfried in State Ballet of Georgia’s ‘Swan Lake’ © Sasha Gusov
Nino continued to prove herself an assured balletic actress over the course of the evening, choosing to forgo the standard flirtatious interpretation of Odile for a more knowing, mature, in-control woman who had her victim exactly where she wanted him to be (sly looks to the audience showed that she knew it too).
The wider company were generally in fine form, with a slick performance of the famous ‘Dance of the Cygnets’ matched by the wider swan ensemble. Notable mentions must go to Marcelo Soares for bringing pantomime-level dramatics to Rothbart, and Tomone Kagawa whose sprightly steps helped her shine both as one of Siegfried’s sisters and as one half of the Neapolitan couple. However, the real stars of the night were Spanish-Tata Jashi and Ana Modebadze who’s jaw-dropping backbends during the Spanish dance brought the house down.
★★★
Swan Lake by State Ballet of Georgia
London Coliseum / 28 August 2024
Press ticket
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