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Osipova's Swan Lake at Royal


Drew

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I would be interested in hearing reactions to Osipova's performances of Swan Lake at the Royal this season...I have seen a few (very positive) tweets concerning tonight's performance--her Royal Ballet debut--but that's all. I know Odette-Odile is a relatively new role for her and not one that obviously suits her style, but I have always imagined that, at some point, she was bound to find an artistically persuasive way to dance it. Any reports?

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Natalia Osipova was better than I feared she might be given subdued reports of her debut in the role but not as good as I had (optimistically) hoped she might be: so she didn't pull off an O/O the equivalent of her extraordinary Bolshoi Giselle at the Royal Opera House. In summary, last night was a very commendable O/O but not one that engaged and moved me profoundly although it's been quite difficult for me to pinpoint why. I'm not an expert in technical specifics but I thought her dancing was very strong : balances, jumps, fouettes were all accomplished with ease. Some of her "swan" movements and gestures looked rather awkward as if she wasn't entirely at ease in the character. What was also lacking at times was a sense of the tragedy and vulnerability of Odile. It's not to say that pathos was absent but I felt she played Odile "big" particularly early on. (I realise that Odile and Kitri are roles which are deemed to play to her strengths but the vulnerable side of her Giselle was astonishing.) It will be interesting to see how her performance changes over her 3 shows since she was probably nervous last night: her partner and the RB production with all the mime are I think new to her. There was a HUGE roar for her at the curtain calls, so the audience certainly appreciated her. Carlos Acosta was remarkable for a man in the twilight of his career, noticeably better than he was a couple of years ago. Of course he doesn't quite have the energy of a young man but his warmth and elegance combined with his perfect partnering, wonderful elevation and great jumps made his performance a total pleasure to watch. The RB production itself is horribly dated and cluttered, but Clement Crisp in his FT review has made all those points for me.

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There is a TBA slot on the ABT calendar for Swan Lake in June 2013. It would not surprise me at all if Osipova ended up being cast in that slot. I think that she would not have been given the opportunity to do this role if she were still at the Bolshoi. The Mik gives her tremendous freedom to do guest appearances. She is doing exactly what she set out to do when she quit the Bolshoi. Good for her.

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There is a TBA slot on the ABT calendar for Swan Lake in June 2013. It would not surprise me at all if Osipova ended up being cast in that slot.

And it's intriguing that Gomes is not cast at all for Swan Lake, even though he's dancing the week before in R&J and the week after in Sylvia. He partnered her in Swan last spring at Mikhailovsky, so he might be under consideration for ABT. But I'd also love to see him again with Murphy on 6/20 in Swan.

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I've seen Osipova live just a couple of times, as Gamzatti and as Kitri, and although she's certainly wonderful technically, she doesn't do it to me in terms of exuding that royalty needed for O/O. Even her Gamzatti didn't have enough of that. Another exact example of this is Cuban Viengsay Valdes, which even being the strong technician she is, is never enough mannered in the right ways for the crowned roles. Both are great Kitris but not so good princesses.

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For those of us that have seen Osipova’s Giselle, a miracle of a performance, seeing her in another ‘white’ ballet was a much anticipated pleasure; however I agree with annamk that she has yet to conquer the O/O role. All the ingredients are there, but the result wasn’t as satisfying as I’d hoped. I actually preferred her Odette to her rather brassy interpretation of Odile but she is performing the role three times in London and it is possible that she will settle into the RB’s frankly weird production.

Coming back to her Odile I was very surprised that she substituted some very fast pirouettes for the fouetté sequence, only reverting to traditional fouettés half way through. In the third act her partner, Carlos Acosta, was on fire and gladdened the heart of us purists with his perfect doubles tours ending in perfect fifth positions – superb! He was a new partner for Osipova but their double work was impeccable and they seemed to have the beginnings of quite remarkable rapport.

Osipova is greatly admired in London and her fans were out in force from the length and breadth of Europe, the evening had a buzz to it that you don’t get very often at Covent Garden.

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Clement Crisp of The Financial Times who is often a stern critic gives Natalia Osipova a rave review

for her performance in "Swan Lake".

http://www.ft.com/cm...144feabdc0.html

He must have seen the ballet a 100 plus times and his witticisms often abound and I am also sure he must echo Richard Buckle's pointed comment in a similar context of, "..one more "Nutcracker" nearer to death."

His review of Marienella Nunez in the same production a few days earlier was less enthusiastic.

http://www.ft.com/cm...144feabdc0.html

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I thoroughly enjoyed the Telegraph review in Leonid's link above. I haven't seen anyone more beautifully articulate Osipova's unique skills:

She astonishes in all the ways you would expect of her. For Osipova is not merely a world-class, instinctive technician (though she is supremely that), but specifically a performer who, by some strange magic, appears to find it easier to be off the ground than on it: the air welcomes and embraces her like no other female dancer I have ever seen. The tiniest skip seems to send her soaring, and yet – however high, far, or fast she jumps – she miraculously manages to land in complete silence.

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