'Swan Lake' review — the State Ballet of Georgia's production is a real crowd-pleaser

Read our review of Swan Lake, now in performances at the London Coliseum to 26 July.

Summary

• The State Ballet of Georgia bring their Swan Lake to the London Coliseum
• The opening night cast includes Nino Samadashvili and Oleg Ligai
• There are storybook designs and a magnificent rendering of Tchaikovsky's score

In 2024, the State Ballet of Georgia brought their production of Swan Lake to the London Coliseum, which marked their first visit to Britain – the fact that Russian companies are no longer welcome following the invasion of Ukraine has created an opening for other companies from the former Soviet nations. Led by artistic director Nina Ananiashvili (one of the great Soviet-era ballerinas), the Georgians, a people with a rich tradition of folklore and folk dancing, return for a fortnight this summer with a new production of the same crowd-pleaser and the same principals dancing the opening performance.

However, while this staging (the choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov features restaging by Ananiashvili and Alexey Fadeechev) showcases classicism, grace, and athleticism, it is resolutely traditional and feels as if it could have been around for decades. There are frequent stop-starts with the milking of applause between variations, and the clunky set changes further contribute to the old-fashioned vibes.

Swan Lake is quite a slow burn, in which the lengthy first scene takes place at Prince Siegfried’s 21st birthday party where his mother is keen to marry him off. Unfortunately, Oleg Ligai, while a great jumper, struggles to contribute much in the way of dramatic engagement, coming across as more of a dutiful son going through the motions than a conflicted young man. More enjoyable are Tomone Kagawa as Adelina, one of the young ladies being introduced to Siegfried, and Masaaki Goto’s virtuoso dancing as his friend Benno.

Nino Samadashvili is a willowy Odette who is convincingly tentative, though the romance struggles to ignite as there isn’t much chemistry with Ligai She has more fun with “Black Swan” Odile, in which she has free rein to engage the audience. The corps de ballet of swans is lovely to watch, and Marcelo Soares is a convincingly villainous Baron Von Rothbart in his iridescent feathers.

Set designer David Monavardisashvili provides a storybook enchanted lake and golden ecclesiastical-style architecture for the ballroom scene. There are colourful, kitschy medieval-esque costumes (designed by Cyrille Gassilline) for the courtly characters, and the silver ensemble with a huge headpiece worn by the Queen (Ina Amaiparashvili) could be something out of a sci-fi film.

But the real star of the evening is Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia is led by Georgian conductor Levan Jagaev, who rightly offers heart hands to his players at the end. With all the colours, drama, and wistfulness, it must be incredibly invigorating to play.

Swan Lake is at the London Coliseum to 26 July. Book Swan Lake tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Swan Lake (Photos by Katja Ogrin)