'Swan Lake' an enchanted evening for Jakarta ballet lovers
'Swan Lake' an enchanted evening for Jakarta ballet lovers
Chisato Hara, Contributor, Jakarta
The hush of the audience filling the seats of the Taman Ismail
Marzuki arts center in Central Jakarta was palpable as the house
lights dimmed.
Even President Megawati Soekarnoputri and her entourage, who
made an unannounced appearance, were indistinguishable from the
rest of the guests in their anticipatory stillness and bated
breath, waiting for the curtain to rise on Friday's first of two
consecutive performance of Swan Lake by the Russian State Ballet
of Moscow.
Softly, the opening bars to Tchaikovsky's ballet filled the
theater, and the curtains parted to reveal a world awash with
hues of blue and green. The lush terrace of a castle filled with
youthful courtiers opened before our eyes, and in the distance,
the broad expanse of an enchanted lake, lulling us into this
classic fairy tale.
Swan Lake, as with all timeless fairy tales, is the simple
story of true love vanquishing evil. In a faraway land, Prince
Ziegfried falls in love with Odette, who has been transformed
into a swan under the spell of the wicked sorcerer Rothbart,
which can only be broken by true love.
The prince makes a vow of eternal love to her, and the
sorcerer hatches a plan to make the prince break this vow - and
so keep Odette under his powers forever. Tricked by the charms of
Odile, the sorcerer's daughter, the prince mistakes her for
Odette and chooses her as his bride. As he does so, he sees a
vision of Odette outside the castle window.
The prince, despairing, rushes to the lake and professes his
undying love to Odette. Rothbart appears and tries to claim her,
but the prince fights the sorcerer and defeats him.
Artistic director Viatcheslav Gordeev's rendition of the
classic choreography does justice to the fairy tale, bringing all
its magic and wonder to Jakarta under the patronage of the
President and various ministries, the Russian Embassy of Jakarta
and corporate sponsors for the Indonesian Heart Foundation's
annual fund-raising event.
It was truly a wonder to see the 50-strong troupe fill the
stage on Friday, with notable performances by the Jester, soloist
Vitaly Manin, who kept the audience giggling intermittently with
his "Petrouschka"-like antics and provided comic relief, and
Odile, danced by Irina Ablitsova, whose mischievous smile and
seductive presence held us enthralled. Maya Ivanova's Odette, on
the other hand, lent a mystical mood with her vulnerable grace.
Maxim Fomin, as Prince Ziegfried, seemed more like a swan with
his coltish long legs than a dashing prince at first, but during
his solo in Act II, he suddenly took flight, soaring over the
stage with leaps and twirling mid-air in gravity-defying tours
jete.
Dmitry Protsenko, as Rothbart, imbued the atmosphere with an
ominous power as he spread his raven-black wings over Odette and
her flock of swan-maidens.
During the final confrontation, Ziegfried violently rips off
one of Rothbart's wings, killing the magician and so breaking the
spell. As the lovers are reunited, the prophetic light of dawn
permeates the scene -- they will live happily ever after.
In these recent times, when cynicism seems to prevail and
there appears to be no clearly defined forces of black and white,
perhaps some may find the test of true love a bit too lovey-
dovey, too romantic, too fanciful.
But, as with the overly enthusiastic audience member who kept
shouting out "Bravo!!" at every appearance of a principal dancer,
it is such fairy tales of virtue and valor that keep our hearts
alive, bringing with each rising dawn the hope that all will be
well -- if only for an evening.