| Ulyana Lopatkina danced "Swan Lake" A neat corps de ballet, a deftly spinning jester (Andrei Ivanov), a solid pas de trois - this is how they danced at the Mariinsky Theater fifty years ago, and fifty years later they will dance this way. “Swan Lake”, edited by Konstantin Sergeev, is measured, a little boring. In 1950, when Sergeev made his edition, ballet, protecting itself from the poisonous dust of history, continued to fence itself off, to stop time - and stopped it so successfully that it became known as the most conservative of the arts. “Swan” became a fairy tale that happened in the country of Nowhere and Never. For him, not only days/minutes, but also seasons ceased to matter. At the current Mariinsky Festival, Ulyana Lopatkina pulled ballet out of this country.
After she returned this year from a long vacation (first an injury, then expecting a child), Lopatkina already danced “Swan” once. Feedback from fans was different - from “it has not yet regained its previous form” to foamy delight. But then the ballerina appeared in St. Petersburg; now - if you count the foreign buses on the square near the theater and the overseas critics living in the stalls - to the whole world. After the Mariinsky's new asset - Forsythe, on the second day of the festival, as the best ballerina in the country - its most important existing asset. It seemed new, familiar, unusual.
The premier of the Paris Opera, Jose Martinez, was supposed to dance with Lopatkina at the festival, but due to injury he was unable to come. Danila Korsuntsev became Prince Siegfried - a neat and attentive partner, and... nothing more. Siegfried's part in the wings is usually called “variations and a half.” Stars remember these variations. Korsuntsev does not. It is impossible to say “a performance by Lopatkina and Korsuntsev.” The performance was only by Lopatkina.
She turned Swan Lake into a story about three seasons, three seasons. The first picture - when it was not yet on the stage and the prince absentmindedly watched the dancing of the village women - remained out of time, the miracle did not extend to it. The second picture - the swan - became spring. White - what early spring can be like.
The restraint of this early spring. No fuss with your face. There is no coquetry in the Swan caught on the lake. And before this was not characteristic of Lopatkina, but now there is a feeling that during the two years that she was absent, she went through gestures, emotions, micromovements at home and threw away what she considered unnecessary. So that nothing interferes with singing the arabesque lines, so that the music of movement is not disturbed even for a second. There is no trepidation or fear at all in the small steps of the feet; it is something external, like the ripples of water; It’s not that this Swan was sure of a happy ending to the story (rather the opposite), but there is a feeling that even if she is betrayed, she will not betray herself. Stoicism? Oh, that's too strong a word. But right. Previously, Lopatkina's Swan was a mystical creature, a test created by someone for the prince; now this is a more human story, a story about Odette’s personal ordeal. The test of the Stoic is hope.
Therefore, through this restraint - the most intimate, gentle gesture. The prince holds Odette's hand, and she suddenly puts her other hand on top and looks into his face; then he bends down (he stands on one knee) and touches his temple with his temple, as if kissing his ear. Gentle ardor, absolute trust. Odette believed the prince - here it is the same: she relied on him.
In the “black” act there is a celebration of black summer. A black swan is a swan that has freed itself from conventions and decided to grab a piece of happiness at any cost. Here we are not talking about witchcraft, not about Rothbart’s machinations (although the wizard is present on stage, and Ilya Kuznetsov clearly plays out everything he should). No one can rule over this Odile. And she fights not “for the prince,” but “with Odette.” Proving he's right. Lopatkina’s long legs recklessly cut through the space. A precisely executed fouetté is like a statement of victory. And the bouquet of white roses that Odile throws into the air in ecstasy at the finale of the “black” act is her personal exclamation point.
And there are no exclamation points in the last act. Here it is autumn, here Odette puts an end to it. White swans are mixed with equally sad black ones (in Sergeev’s edition, this idea, which was present in the original production, was retained). Fading, freezing of life, farewell waltz. Odette Lopatkina does not complain to her friends about the prince (we have seen ballerinas who turned several gestures into a guilty verdict), she does not even really “tell” them about what happened. Her dance is a return to herself, a hidden smile (what a stupid hope that was...), anticipation of winter.
The play's "happy" ending is incredibly inappropriate - but that was the way to edit a classic in 1950. And yet, Lopatkina’s “Swan” is related in spirit not to Sergeev’s version, but to Vaganov’s, 1933. It featured dances of the four seasons. At the ball in the castle, Spring, Summer and Autumn flashed. And Odetta-Ulanova ran around wearing a Winter mask. Winter is like truth and like fate. Can we then be surprised that Swan Lake has become our national ballet?
caption under the picture: Restraint of early spring - the theme of Odette (Ulyana Lopatkina) and Siegfried (Danila Korsuntsev) Anna GORDEEVA |
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