Sunday 19 October 2008

On Saturday evening I went to see The Australian Ballet’s Swan Lake at the Lowry and it was fantastic...


Set to Tchaikovsky’s brilliant music, this unique production was made more exceptional by its collaboration with the wonderful BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. This is the first time in recent history that the Orchestra have accompanied a ballet performance and it was breathtaking.

Swan Lake is one of my favourite ballets and I have seen it danced by the Royal Ballet and the Kirov and seen Matthew Bourne's version but The Australian Ballet’s dazzling version, created by Australia’s leading choreographer Graeme Murphy, was another incredible experience. Featuring a contemporary storyline full of drama, wit and passion, with more than 70 talented dancers, stunning sets and costumes, the work contrasts heartbreaking duets with lavish scenes at the Royal Court and by the frozen lake, a dreamlike setting where Odette seeks solace from her turbulent marriage to Prince Siegfried. Like Matthew Bourne, Murphy has brought the spirit but also the scale of classical ballet into the 21st century with extraordinary results.

It was one of those incredible evenings where you simply don't want it to end and then you want to see ity all over again. The passion, the power, the discipline, the beauty, the magic was extraordinary. It was a great production of the greatest ballet of all time and I will remember for it a very long time.
Chris

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