I saw this production by Matthew Bourne at Sadler's Wells. It was packed for an afternoon matinee. 95% were women of a certain age. The novelty of this production is that the corps de ballet are entirely men. The swans and cygnets are incredibly svelte youths who dance with great verve and excitement. There is humour and passion abounding. The storyline is considerably changed from the traditional. The prince is spurned by the haughty princess (perhaps due to his short stature) and spends much time flirting with the guards, the servants, and any other available boy. Facing humiliation the prince becomes obsessed with a swan who appears in his dreams, and then appears in human form as a gigolo who adds to his distress by flaunting his pulling power at a party where he seduces the princess. Murder ensues and the flock of swans turn on the leading swan, who is killed. The prince also dies but the prince and the swan are re-united in death.Beautifully staged and danced but disturbing. On balance I think I prefer a traditional production, especially if performed by a Russian Company. Rating? A spectacular 8/10
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I have seen Bourne's version many times, and each time I see things that I never saw the previous occasion. I think it's the most brilliant modernisation of any ballet I've seen (The Paris Opera's Sylvia is also fantastic but not asw clever). This particular interpretation, in my opinion, incorporates the life of Tchaikovsky into the character of the prince (Tchaikovsky had a disastrous forced marriage to hide that he was gay; Many believe that he committed suicide by drinking choleric water because of exposure of a gay relationship he had for fear of a scandal) Here the rejection of a female suitor is present and his subsequent contemplation of suicide is clearly evident when he writes a suicide note and plants it on a pole next to the lake, but is saved from drowning himself by the appearance of the Swan and he falls in love for the first time. Freud works overtime in this version, as is evidenced by rejection of the domineering mother, the incorporation of frightening dreams and the hiding of monsters (cygnets here)under his bed. There is symbolism too, as is shown by the set in the ball scene where the pillars on either side are those of a fortress and the appearanfce of the Swan (as a threatening figure) liberates him (from the closet/fortress in which he lives). If you ever see it again, think of these images in these terms.
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