Business Day, South Africa
By Heather Mackie
ABSOLUTELY fabulous; that's the verdict on SWAN LAKE ON ICE. It's a fast, fantastic production that breathes new life into this old favourite.
Ice skating may be a poor relation of ballet, but in this joint Russian and Australian production it becomes a class act combining the skills of the Russian skaters, most of them Olympic medal winners, with the aesthetics of ballet and formidable Australian packaging. The result is a stunningly beautiful, athletic work.
Australian producer Tony Mercer takes some liberties with the original, tweaking the story line so the story makes better sense, and the dual role of Odette (Olga Sharutenko as the white swan) and Odile (Olena Pyatash as her sexy black-clad alter ego) are performed by two different skaters..
The lifts would be impressive in ballet; performed at speed by skaters, they are breathtaking. There's no weak link in this spinning artistry. Stage tricks compete with skater's skills, and high points include a graceful Odile soaring over the lake; two black swans on stilts, the ring of fire circling Von Rothbart, and a sensational pas de quatre by Prince Siegfried (Vadim Yarkov) with three girls nestling on his body, repeated later, with Odette and Odile.
Andrei Penkine's Benno combines the qualities of court jester and prince's friend; he's the crowd-pleasing joker, ending in a spin that sends the ice shattering.
The beautiful sets and costumes evoke the Romanov era when Tchaikovsky's music was written, with the men in tails and top hats and women in softly draped chiffon. But they give it a contemporary spin; and the final curtain call is a tour de force.