United States Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake: Dancers of Boston Ballet, Members of Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and different artists / Mischa Santora (conductor). Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, 26.6.2025. (JRo)
Manufacturing:
Choreography – Mikko Nissinen (after Petipa & Ivanov)
Units & Costumes – Robert Perdziola
Lighting – Mark Stanley
Projection – Seághan McKay
Principal Dancers:
Odette / Odile –Viktorina Kapitonova
Prince Siegfried – Sangmin Lee
Von Rothbart – Lasha Khozashvili
Swans rising out of the mist on an enchanted lake, courtiers in a lush palace backyard and visiting princesses vying for the hand of a prince in a luxurious ballroom mix to set the stage for the unfolding drama of Swan Lake. The three principals – a captive swan queen, an evil sorcerer and an harmless prince locked in a battle for the queen – kind the centerpiece of the ballet. For a manufacturing to succeed, each ingredient must work in concord, and Boston Ballet’s manufacturing was harmonious, certainly.
All of the necessities have been in place: lovely units, splendid costumes and, most gratifying of all, excellent principal dancers, a exact and emotionally transferring corps of swans and an interesting group of soloists.
Russian ballerina Viktorina Kapitonova, along with her lengthy, elegant line, sleek place of the pinnacle and neck, pliant again and exquisite toes, was an excellent swan. Her fluid arms have been able to a stunning wave of motion, emanating deep within the again. Her swan arms may need been excessively dramatic, very a lot within the method of the Bolshoi the place she educated as a younger dancer, however they generated awe – she was frighteningly plausible as a hybrid creature, completely otherworldly.
In her twin position as Odile, the sorcerer’s daughter who seduces Prince Siegfried into betraying Odette, she manipulated him with expert dramatic intent. She flirted and trifled with Siegfried – haughty at one second, seemingly honest and interesting at one other. Every time he appeared uncertain of her true identification, a slight, swan-like inclination of the limbs or torso reassured him. Her thirty-two fouettés have been a surprise – so assured that they appeared to seal her energy over him.
Sangmin Lee, together with his refined bearing and sleek proportions, proved a becoming accomplice for Kapitonova. He exuded an innocence that felt actual: he shied away from the Queen Mom’s demand that he wanted to decide on a bride, reveled in his birthday present of a crossbow and acknowledged the birthday needs of the courtiers with the dignity of a younger prince in coaching for his future place. It was an understated efficiency which grew in fervor after his assembly with Odette and, I think about, will develop in depth as he continues to carry out the position.
In ‘Siegfried’s Variation’ of Act III, his jumps have been beautiful and his landings tender and managed. Each Kapitonova and Lee have been dazzling within the Act III Coda from the Black Swan pas de deux.
The buoyant music, in distinction to the sustained adagio of a lot of Act I knowledgeable the glowing dancing of each. Beneath the baton of music director Mischa Santora, musicians of the largely LA Opera Orchestra gave a stirring efficiency of Tchaikovsky’s enduring rating.
The sorcerer Von Rothbart, the third member of the ill-fated triangle, was danced with malevolent authority by Lasha Khozashvili. Embodied in each motion was an underpinning of menace. Von Rothbart is usually depicted as an owl or bat-like creature. Khozashvili was costumed in a brown and black feathery jacket and darkish tights, emphasizing his extra human kind, which made him much less a fairy story character and all of the extra scary.
The soloists have been a proficient group of dancers. Of explicit be aware have been Ji Younger Chae, Chisako Oga and Yue Shi within the Act I pas de trois, and Lauren Herfindahl and Sage Humphries as the 2 lead swans. The 4 cygnets, Evelina Godunova, Chenxin Liu, Courtney Nitting and Alexis Workowski, have been perfection. The Act III pas de cinq was notable for the dancing of Alexandria Heath, Emma Topalova, Daniel R. Durrett and Wesley Miller. The ballroom divertissements have been charming with their joyous performers and vibrant costumes.
The corps of swans was splendid – moodily romantic and technically exact. Luxurious units and costumes by Robert Perdziola honored the magnificence of this most essential of Russian story ballets, and the lighting by Mark Stanley was in flip mysterious on the lakeside and glittering on the palace. Further choreography by Mikko Nissinen after Petipa and Ivanov stayed true to the spirit of the ballet.
Boston Ballet is a welcome addition to the roster of nationwide and worldwide firms that frequent Los Angeles. Can the Dorothy Chandler stage persuade Nissinen and Santora to deliver us one other Tchaikovsky story ballet? It could be a sellout.
Jane Rosenberg
Fearured Picture: Boston Ballet’s Swan Lake © Theik Smith
