Swan Lake ballet. Music by Tchaikovsky. Book by V.P. Begichev and Vasily Geltzer. Choreography by Valery Kovton (1944-2005) after Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa, and Alexandre Gorski. Performed 2019 by the Ballet Company of the National Opera of Ukraine at the National Opera House in Kiev. Stars Natalia Matsak (Odette/Odile); Denys Nedak (Prince Siegfried); Yaroslav Tkachuck (Rothbart); Ganna Muromtseva, Olga Skripchenko, and Oleksandre Skulkine (Pas de trois); Margarita Alyanakh, Irina Borisova, Ganna Muromtseva, and Svetlana Onipko (The Brides and Big Swans); Elisaveta Goguidze, Katerina Didenko, Inna Chorna, and Katerina Chupina (Little Swans); Oleksandre Skulkine (Venetian Dance); Sergey Litvinenko (The Tutor); Vladislav Ivashchenko (The Knight); and Ludmila Melnik (The Queen). Mykola Dyadura conducts the Orchestra of the National Opera of Ukraine. Stage and costume design by Maria Levitskaya. Directed for TV by Bertrand Normand; produced by François Duplat. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
Ukraine is a landlocked developing country that is always the innocent bystander getting grievously injured in the age-old struggles between Russia and Western Europe. It’s about the size (in land and population) of Texas and Oklahoma together. Well, there is no ballet company in Texas/Oklahoma remotely able to maintain Swan Lake in repertory, but the Ukrainians do exactly that. Below is the opera house in Kiev:
And here a shot of the audience that saw this Swan Lake being recorded. This really is an opera house for the people:
Next below is Prince Siegfried’s birthday party. This production dates back to 1986 (34 years old in 2020). The sets show their age. The costumes are also dated a bit, but they appear to be sparkling new. Swan Lake has, of course, many grand scenes that call for long-range, full-stage camera work. This is tremendously challenging to record even with the latest gear and expert camera crews. Alas, TV director Bertrand Normand appears to struggling throughout this title with resolution and motion-sickness issues:
Next below is a mid-range shot of Prince Siegfried (Denys Nedak). In the HT the image is a bit soft:
Moving in closer, resolution clears up substantially as you can see in this shot of Rothbart (Yaroslav Tkachuk):
Ballerinas are picked for dancing ability, not physical beauty. But the members of the Ukraine female corps know well how to dance and they all look as beautiful as show girls! You will not find a more beautiful woman on a stage than Natalia Matsak shown below as Odette:
Maybe all the women of the Ukraine are beauties:
The lighting of the white corps is always so blue! But there is no trimming of numbers in the corps! Next below Odette wins over the Prince surrounded by 32 of her sisters:
Next below is a shot of the betrothal party with the 4 eligible foreign princess for Siegfried to consider. The Ukraine Ballet has trouble filling the big stage with enough dancers to keep you from noticing the ancient set:
Wow! The image below looks fantastic as my current PC wallpaper:
I conclude with two shots of from the forgiveness scene. If you are looking for a Swan Lake with a happy ending, the Ukraine version is for you. Siegfried and Rothbart get in a fight and Rothbart loses when Siegfried snatches off a wing.
We now have 2 titles from the Ukraine Ballet and BelAir. I so impressed with what the folks in Kiev have accomplished, but the competition in the Nutcracker and Swan Lake is Tough! I have to mark down a letter grade for jutter and other motion issues. The blue lighting is too much for the HT and the sets don’t help either. That puts me at a C. But with such a beautiful Odette, great white corps, and a rare happy ending, I have to move the grade back up to a B.
Here’s a clip from BelAir:
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