22.04.2024
Seven decades of Swans
The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s association with Swan Lake stretches back 71 years.
Even in its humble beginnings, Swan Lake was pivotal to the RNZB.
Act II, with the traditional choreography of Lev Ivanov adapted by Poul Gnatt, featured in the New Zealand Ballet’s first season in 1953. Act II returned to the repertoire a handful of times, in various guises and with Ivanov’s steps arranged by Russell Kerr (1965 – Svetlana Beriosova guesting from London’s Royal Ballet as Odette), Bryan Ashbridge (1971 – a production broadcast by TVNZ), and Philip Chatfield and Rowena Jackson (1976), but it was not until 1985 that, newly recognised as the Royal New Zealand Ballet, the company staged its first full length Swan Lake.
The 1985 Swan Lake, also performed in 1986, caught the mood of the opulent 1980s. Artistic Director Harry Haythorne’s production drew on his extensive knowledge of ballet history, including the ballet’s score as it was first composed by Tchaikovsky in 1877.
Harry noted in his programme introduction to the ballet that Swan Lake was intended originally for a company of not less than 60 dancers. This was a number far in excess of those available to the RNZB in 1985, but his production was nonetheless conceived on a grand scale, with richly detailed sets and costumes by Kristian Fredrikson and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra touring alongside the company to perform in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin.
The demanding dual role of Odette/Odile was danced by two dancers: Sherilyn Kennedy as Odette; and Kerry-Anne Gilberd as Odile. A further innovation made in this production was Harry’s decision for the female dancers to only dance on pointe in the ‘fantasy’ scenes. This decision, placing Odette and her swans clearly within the balletic lineage of other white-clad representatives of the supernatural world (the Wilis in Giselle, the Sylphs in La Sylphide), who skimmed across the stage on pointe, helped to ground this first New Zealand Swan Lake in the era in which its composer created it, when echoes of Romanticism were still heard in Russian theatres and ballet had not yet become the spectacular entertainment that it was to become by the end of the 19th century.
Russell Kerr’s only full-length Swan Lake, just the second full production in the RNZB’s history, was first seen in 1996 and was subsequently restaged in 2002, 2007 and 2013, the latter to mark the RNZB’s 60th birthday.
The late Kristian Fredrikson again created the designs, writing in the programme created for the production that Swan Lake, of Tchaikovsky’s three great ballets, is probably the most satisfying for the designer: ‘After all, what a rich canvas to paint upon – a peasant celebration, a moonlit gathering of enchanted maidens, and a royal assembly filled with courtiers, richly clad dancers from various countries, princesses, and a malevolent sorcerer and his demon daughter… But, having said this, the designer must admit there is not one way to interpret this ballet. Like all enduring dramas it can be pictured many different ways without obscuring its theme of love and death. One of the most sought after gifts by a designer would have to be several opportunities in one lifetime to explore ‘The Lake of Swans.’
In 1996, for the first time at the RNZB, Odette/Odile was performed by a single dancer. Diana Shand, Anne Anderson and Sonya Behrnes all performed the role, with Ou Lu, Xavier Ferla and Stephen Wellington as Siegfried. Jon Trimmer appeared as Wolfgang, the Prince’s tutor – a role he reprised in revivals in 2002, 2007 and 2013 – and Anne Rowse, former Director of the National School of Ballet and a lifelong friend and professional colleague of Russell’s, appeared as the Princess Mother.
Revivals saw international guest artists appearing alongside company members in the leading roles. As well as offering inspiration to company dancers, this proved to be an important opportunity for New Zealand dancers and who had made their careers overseas to come home to perform: in 2007, Lisa-Maree Cullum (partnered by Slovakian Roman Lazik), Gaylene Cummerfield and Matthew Lawrence; and in 2013, alongside American Principal Guest Artist Gillian Murphy and Cuban Karel Cruz, Amber Scott and Ty King-Wall.
Wellington, NZ. 29 May 2019. Black Swan, White Swan by the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Photo credit: Stephen A’Court. COPYRIGHT ©Stephen A’Court
In 2019, former Artistic Director Patricia Barker brought a different take on Swan Lake to the RNZB. Slovak choreographer Mário Radačovský’s Black Swan, White Swan was contemporary in style while retaining Tchaikovsky’s score and some of the traditional narrative arc. The story focused on Siegfried and his battle with cancer, embodied by a Von Rothbart figure, and his hallucinations of swans, a white swan figure representing hope and redemption and a black one representing temptation.
While Swan Lake in its traditional form has been absent from the RNZB’s repertoire since 2013, parts of the ballet have been included in Tutus on Tour on several recent occasions, with the ‘White Swan’ pas de deux being performed in 2021 and substantial excerpts from Acts II and III being included in Tutus on Tour earlier this year. Principals Mayu Tanigaito and Laurynas Vėjalis also performed the ‘Black Swan’ pas de deux in the Platinum Gala staged to mark the RNZB’s 70th birthday in October 2023.
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