Swan Lake was the first ballet to be performed by Ballet Nacional de Cuba, when Alicia Alonso established the company in 1948. The star of Swan Lake is usually the ballerina dual role of Odette/Odile but it is Carlos Acosta dancing Prince Siegfried with a restrained elegance that takes the main interest.
Viengsay Valdes is a sturdy ballerina but somehow the poetic artistry in the white acts is subdued and while the technical fireworks as Odile are well-accomplished, she lacks an engaging excitement. As the jester Osiel Gounod is athletic, although more camp than amusing, and the trio Yanela Pinera, a dancer with exceptional ability, Amaya RodrĂguez and Alejandro Virelles are delightfully smooth. The Sorcerer Jaciel Gomez, is more bland than dramatic with a corps of well-rehearsed crisp swans and well-presented national dances.
The drab set does nothing to enhance the show and the orchestra makes Tchaikovsky sound almost dull, but it is interesting to see this dated production with a happy ending and how the Cuban dancers following Soviet training methods perform, even though the artistic essence of the piece seems incomplete.
A new production by the Russian ballet at the Coliseum in the summer should be a more satisfying ticket. The appearance of Alonso now in her nineties at the curtain call rightly drew mighty applause - what a tough job it must have been to create this accessible and popular company in Cuba in the forties.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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