San Francisco's New 'Swan' Takes to Flight

By Eman Isadiar

Several thousand lucky ballet fans witnessed the unveiling of yet another version of Tchaikovsky’s timeless Swan Lake, this time by San Francisco’s very own Helgi Tomasson. The new production, which closed on March 1, was presented at the city’s War Memorial Opera House in nine remarkably well-attended performances.

San Francisco Ballet's artistic director Helgi Tomasson creates a new Swan Lake
(Photo by Erik Tomasson / San Francisco Ballet)

Swan Lake is the single most universally recognized ballet of all time, perhaps with the exception of The Nutcracker. It affords such vast artistic possibilities that many generations of dancers and choreographers have retold the story, each in their own unique way. Thankfully, Swan Lake allows for creative variations and new twists even today.

The ballet is based on a Germanic folk tale about sorcery, deception and death. The evil magician Von Rothbart casts a spell on the beautiful Odette, thereby turning her into a swan during a chance encounter on the lakeshore.

The spell allows Odette to return to her human form for a few fleeting moments each day—just long enough only for the handsome Prince Siegfried to catch a glimpse and fall in love.

Meanwhile, the queen mother is busy trying to find a worthy wife for the prince. She throws a lavish ball, where royals and aristocrats from exotic kingdoms far and near parade themselves in order to win favor with the price. But Siegfried is already hopelessly smitten with Odette.

Suddenly, Von Rothbart enters the ballroom with his daughter, Odile, whom he has magically disguised as Odette. Thinking that he has found his beloved Odette, the prince tells the queen mother that he seeks no other bride. Upon hearing these words, Von Rothbart urges Siegfried to announce to the guests his intention to marry the young woman before him, which the prince does without a moment’s hesitation.

At this time, Von Rothbart lifts the disguise and declares that he has made the prince’s promise to marry the wrong woman into a powerful spell from which he can never escape. The prince flees to the wilderness in search of the real Odette, whom he finds by the lake.

Each bound by an unbreakable spell, Odette and Siegfried decide to seek reunion in the only way possible: death. The lake, which was once the birthplace of their love, becomes their watery grave. Von Rothbart—whose most powerful spells are now broken—also dies.

As customary, San Francisco Ballet displayed a different cast in the principal roles at each performance of its new Swan Lake. The show covered by this article featured Vanessa Zahorian, who was absolutely stellar in the twin roles of Odette and her imposter Odile. Even without her triple pirouettes of Act 4, which were all perfectly executed, Zahorian’s graceful demeanor brought great emotional depth to an already stunning production.

Other co-stars were Spanish born Ruben Martin and Arizona native Anthony Spaulding, who danced the parts of Siegfried and Von Rothbart with impressive prowess and skill.

Appearing in a supporting role, Japanese dancer Hansuke Yamamoto deserves mention for a few striking moves of his own, including some gravity-defying strides at Prince Siegfried’s 21st birthday celebration in Act 1.

Of the three sets designed by Jonathan Fensom, the scene outside the palace in Act 1 was the most imposing. In fact, a few of the set elements bore a vague resemblance to some of the exterior architectural details of the War Memorial Opera House itself and adjacent plaza. The ballroom scene of Act 3 was also intriguing with its pair of giant curving staircases and oversized full moon. The lakeside scene of Act 2 and Act 4, consisting of a single, colossal moonlit rock in the center, was bold, stark and dramatic.

Helgi Tomasson brilliantly incorporated some of the original choreography—probably dating back to the 1877 premiere—with the work of Pepita and Ivanov. He also included a solo for Prince Siegfried in Act 1, as first instituted by Nureyev. This solo was accompanied by a beautiful lighting effect, casting the dancer’s shadow on the palace gate behind him. Without a doubt, Tomasson’s new production leaves the most demanding and expressive parts to Odette and Odile.

The backbone of the ballet—the orchestra—was led masterfully by Paul Hoskins, who re-created the lush, symphonic sounds conceived by Tchaikovsky.

One of the most innovative additions to the ballet was in the final scene, where, at the precise moment of Siegfried’s and Odette’s drowning, a pair of electronically projected swans emerge from the lake and fly away. This brought a somewhat brighter ending to an otherwise gloomy tale.

It must be noted that Tchaikovsky’s haunting “swan” motif, which is heard repeatedly in the minor mode throughout the piece, makes its final appearance in a major key at the end, signaling perhaps the triumph of love over death itself.

---

Eman Isadiar teaches piano at the Peninsula Conservatory and writes about music in the San Francisco Bay Area.