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Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake

by Suzanne Yanko 20th October, 2014
by Suzanne Yanko 20th October, 2014

If there were an actual Swan Lake it would be more than a little crowded by now, as the traditional ballet has inspired several standout interpretations yet never lost its own popularity. Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake is showing in Melbourne, at the very time the Australian Ballet is making headlines in Los Angeles with Graeme Murphy’s dramatic re-creation of the story.

These two contemporary works make a more interesting comparison than with the “real” Swan Lake – as some persist in calling it, forgetting that there have been many variations on the original production for the Bolshoi Ballet in 1877. The work did not wait even 20 years before being recreated by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov for the Imperial Ballet in a production that is still the starting point for most companies.

Bourne, like Murphy, diverges from the core of the story that told of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse. Difficulties are real, families (especially Royals!) are dysfunctional, life can be hell without the need for magicians. But where Murphy’s swans are explained as an escapist fantasy, Bourne’s creations inhabit a world of magic realism, appearing until the shocking ending to present a real alternative to living in a world of difficulty and pain.

One of the strengths of Bourne’s production is that that his world is so well created, a “real” world with characters, household routines, social events and a fair dose of incidental humour. One of the lingering memories of the ballet is of the opening scene at the Palace, where an array of black-clad household staff swing into action, their crisp white gloves accentuating every coordinated move. (It should be noted that the cast includes both men and women, with interesting choreography for all, not just the swans!). The same attention to detail is found in the ball scene, with the women in different black evening dresses and a variety of sub-plots danced out simultaneously, one intersecting with the “swan” story.

On opening night, Jonathan Ollivier was a strong Swan/Stranger (the traditional Odette/Odile role), as much a powerful actor as dancer. Bourne has been quoted as explaining: “The idea of a male swan makes complete sense to me … the strength, the beauty, the enormous wingspan of these creatures suggests to me the musculature of a male dancer more readily than a ballerina in her white tutu.” The love story at the centre of the ballet is between such a swan and the main protagonist – the Prince (danced with great emotional range by Chris Marney). Inevitably, this has led some to dismiss Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake as a “gay ballet”. This misses the point. The ballet is about love, and the absence of love, in many forms – and although the strongest emotional bond being between two men is unusual for the genre, it is all the more powerful for that, and with its own beauty. It would be a hard heart indeed which would not be moved by this core element of the story.

There was much else besides to enjoy: the jazz club, the theatre featuring a hilarious parody of a traditional show (involving, oddly, a woodsman and what appeared to be a collection of insects). The comic character of the ditsy, yet sweet girlfriend (Anjali Mehra) came into its own here as she showed a complete unawareness of proper behaviour, with her mobile phone going off mid-show. The Queen (danced by Stephanie Billers as a cold, forbidding mother if ever there was one) was definitely not amused.

As indicated already, the costumes were great although some elements of the set worked better than others – the royal bed, in particular, proved worthy of its central position. But the dancing was everything, with Tchaikovsky’s glorious music to give the work emotional coherence – even though a live orchestra would of course have supported the dancers more specifically.

Soloists and corps gave a virtually flawless performance but it was the glorious, muscular power of the swans that stole the show – as Bourne no doubt intended it should. One of the year’s performance highlights.

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The picture is from the current production and shows Jonathan Ollivier in the role of Swan/Stranger.

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Songmakers Australia: Schwanengesang

August 1 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Songmakers Australia: Schwanengesang

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Mostly Mozart – Musical Mavericks

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August 6 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Ray Chen

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Flinders Quartet Concert 2

August 7 @ 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

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Join Flinders Quartet for the sumptuous romanticism and grandeur of Brahms, and the ingenuity and wit of Haydn. Thibaud Pavlovic-Hobba -…

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Corpus Medicorum Concert #3

August 7 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Corpus Medicorum Concert #3

Corpus Medicorum Rebirth 2022 Concert Series. Artists Charlotte Miles cellist Keith Crellin OAM conductor Program Edward Elgar Cello Concerto, Op.85 Antonín Dvořák Symphony No.7…

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Stewart Kelly – Schubert’s Swansong

August 8 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Stewart Kelly – Schubert’s Swansong

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Melbourne Guitar Quartet – Flow My Tears

August 11 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Melbourne Guitar Quartet – Flow My Tears

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Rutter’s Requiem and the 16th RMP Aria Final

August 14 @ 3:00 pm - 4:15 pm Recurring

Rutter’s Requiem and the 16th RMP Aria Final

Now firmly established as one of Australia’s most prestigious singing events, the RMP Aria is Australia’s pre-eminent competition for oratorio soloists.…

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The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

August 14 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s third concert of the year takes us through works by Benjamin Britten, Don Bank, and…

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Rutter’s Requiem and the 16th RMP Aria Final

August 14 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Recurring

Rutter’s Requiem and the 16th RMP Aria Final

Now firmly established as one of Australia’s most prestigious singing events, the RMP Aria is Australia’s pre-eminent competition for oratorio soloists.…

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Real and Right and True – Lotte Betts-Dean and Calvin Bowman

August 20 @ 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Real and Right and True – Lotte Betts-Dean and Calvin Bowman

"Real and Right and True" - a celebration of the art song tradition of Australia and the United Kingdom. Lotte Betts-Dean,…

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Wanderlust

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The Friends of the Auburn Tower Inc presents Wanderlust, featuring Elyane Laussade, piano, and Luke Severn, bass baritone, in a musical…

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August 1 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Songmakers Australia: Schwanengesang

August 1 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Seraphim Trio – Gallic Charm

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Mostly Mozart – Musical Mavericks

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August 6
August 6 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Ray Chen

August 7
August 7 @ 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Flinders Quartet Concert 2

August 7 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Corpus Medicorum Concert #3

August 8
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Stewart Kelly – Schubert’s Swansong

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August 11
August 11 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Melbourne Guitar Quartet – Flow My Tears

August 14
August 14 @ 3:00 pm - 4:15 pm Recurring

Rutter’s Requiem and the 16th RMP Aria Final

August 14 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

August 14 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Recurring

Rutter’s Requiem and the 16th RMP Aria Final

August 20
August 20 @ 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

Real and Right and True – Lotte Betts-Dean and Calvin Bowman

September 4
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Wanderlust

August 11
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Melbourne Guitar Quartet – Flow My Tears

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August 14
August 14 @ 3:00 pm - 4:15 pm Recurring

Rutter’s Requiem and the 16th RMP Aria Final

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The University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

August 14 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Recurring

Rutter’s Requiem and the 16th RMP Aria Final

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Real and Right and True – Lotte Betts-Dean and Calvin Bowman

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Wanderlust

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