June 14, 2004
The Australian Ballet, State Theatre until June 14 , 2004
After seeing four performances and four casts within a week, Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake still intrigues. It is a ballet that could take many viewings, filled with nuances that add conviction to the drama of the tragic love triangle of Prince Siegfried and his two lovers, the innocent Princess Odette, and the passionately demanding Baroness von Rothbart, played out within the glittering but fickle society of the royal court.
Of the four Siegfrieds, Damien Welch and Stephen Heathcote present the most developed interpretations. Welch is more kinaesthetic, conveying emotion through muscular tension. Heathcote is passionate, torn between the sexual magnetism of the Baroness and the idealised sweetness of Odette. His musicality and utter engagement indicate just why he has retained his principal status for 17 years.
Each of the Odettes (Kirsty Martin, Rachel Rawlins, Madeleine Eastoe and Amber Scott) had valid interpretations.
The big surprise, however, was Scott. She is still a member of the corps de ballet, but delivered a rounded performance that grew in strength from her shyly tentative prologue to the final duo where she seemed to understand the redemptive power of love.
Both Rawlins and Scott subjugate technical facility in the service of dramatic conviction.
The role of the Baroness von Rothbart is a gem that allows plenty of temperamental display, and the four contenders, Olivia Bell, Annabel Bronner Reid, Lynette Wills and Lucinda Dunn presented a spectrum from regal superiority to spitfire velocity.
Murphy has devised wonderful yet demanding roles for his principals. The dances are complex, requiring enormous stamina, technical ability and dramatic power. It says a great deal about the strength of the company that all four casts could produce excellent and divergent performances.
From: http://www.theage.com.au