United States Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake: Dancers of Boston Ballet, Members of Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and other artists / Mischa Santora (conductor). Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, 26.6.2025. (JRo)
Production:
Choreography – Mikko Nissinen (after Petipa & Ivanov)
Sets & Costumes – Robert Perdziola
Lighting – Mark Stanley
Projection – Seághan McKay
Principal Dancers:
Odette / Odile –Viktorina Kapitonova
Prince Siegfried – Sangmin Lee
Von Rothbart – Lasha Khozashvili
Swans rising out of the mist on an enchanted lake, courtiers in a lush palace garden and visiting princesses vying for the hand of a prince in a sumptuous ballroom combine to set the stage for the unfolding drama of Swan Lake. The three principals – a captive swan queen, an evil sorcerer and an innocent prince locked in a battle for the queen – form the centerpiece of the ballet. For a production to succeed, every element needs to work in harmony, and Boston Ballet’s production was harmonious, indeed.
All the essentials were in place: beautiful sets, splendid costumes and, most gratifying of all, superb principal dancers, a precise and emotionally moving corps of swans and an engaging group of soloists.
Russian ballerina Viktorina Kapitonova, with her long, elegant line, graceful position of the head and neck, pliant back and beautiful feet, was an ideal swan. Her fluid arms were capable of a dazzling wave of movement, emanating deep in the back. Her swan arms might have been excessively dramatic, very much in the manner of the Bolshoi where she trained as a young dancer, but they generated awe – she was frighteningly believable as a hybrid creature, entirely otherworldly.
In her twin role as Odile, the sorcerer’s daughter who seduces Prince Siegfried into betraying Odette, she manipulated him with skilled dramatic intent. She flirted and trifled with Siegfried – haughty at one moment, seemingly sincere and appealing at another. Whenever he appeared unsure of her true identity, a slight, swan-like inclination of the limbs or torso reassured him. Her thirty-two fouettés were a wonder – so assured that they seemed to seal her power over him.
Sangmin Lee, with his refined bearing and graceful proportions, proved a fitting partner for Kapitonova. He exuded an innocence that felt real: he shied away from the Queen Mother’s demand that he needed to choose a bride, reveled in his birthday gift of a crossbow and acknowledged the birthday wishes of the courtiers with the dignity of a young prince in training for his future position. It was an understated performance which grew in fervor after his meeting with Odette and, I imagine, will grow in depth as he continues to perform the role.
In ‘Siegfried’s Variation’ of Act III, his jumps were exquisite and his landings soft and controlled. Both Kapitonova and Lee were dazzling in the Act III Coda from the Black Swan pas de deux.
The buoyant music, in contrast to the sustained adagio of much of Act I informed the sparkling dancing of both. Under the baton of music director Mischa Santora, musicians of the largely LA Opera Orchestra gave a stirring performance of Tchaikovsky’s enduring score.
The sorcerer Von Rothbart, the third member of the ill-fated triangle, was danced with malevolent authority by Lasha Khozashvili. Embodied in every movement was an underpinning of menace. Von Rothbart is often depicted as an owl or bat-like creature. Khozashvili was costumed in a brown and black feathery jacket and dark tights, emphasizing his more human form, which made him less a fairy tale character and all the more frightening.
The soloists were a talented group of dancers. Of particular note were Ji Young Chae, Chisako Oga and Yue Shi in the Act I pas de trois, and Lauren Herfindahl and Sage Humphries as the two lead swans. The four cygnets, Evelina Godunova, Chenxin Liu, Courtney Nitting and Alexis Workowski, were perfection. The Act III pas de cinq was notable for the dancing of Alexandria Heath, Emma Topalova, Daniel R. Durrett and Wesley Miller. The ballroom divertissements were charming with their joyous performers and vibrant costumes.
The corps of swans was splendid – moodily romantic and technically precise. Sumptuous sets and costumes by Robert Perdziola honored the magnificence of this most important of Russian story ballets, and the lighting by Mark Stanley was in turn mysterious at the lakeside and glittering at the palace. Additional choreography by Mikko Nissinen after Petipa and Ivanov stayed true to the spirit of the ballet.
Boston Ballet is a welcome addition to the roster of national and international companies that frequent Los Angeles. Can the Dorothy Chandler stage persuade Nissinen and Santora to bring us another Tchaikovsky story ballet? It would be a sellout.
Jane Rosenberg
Fearured Image: Boston Ballet’s Swan Lake © Theik Smith