Has anyone seen Swan Lake in St. Petersburg?

[vmarq]

We evidently have the chance to attend Swan Lake at the Alexandrinsky Theatre the evening we are in St. Petersburg. Has anyone had the opportunity to do this and what were your opinions? Thank you in advance.

[Pet Nit Noy]

We evidently have the chance to attend Swan Lake at the Alexandrinsky Theatre the evening we are in St. Petersburg. Has anyone had the opportunity to do this and what were your opinions? Thank you in advance.

 

The Alexandrinsky Theater is the most opulent of all the historic theaters offering ballet. Major plus.

The skill of the ballet dancers is not great. The dual role of Odette/Odile was too demanding for one ballerina to handle the role so two dancers shared it. There's no great show of fouettes in the grand pas de deux. From the moment the ballet began, I knew not to expect the classic 32 fouettes, but the quality of the ones that were performed weren't technically strong either. The lead male lost his balance twice and I held my breath every time he lifted his partner. Fortunately, he didn't let either Odette or Odile fall but it remained a possibility with each lift.

The version you'll see continues to use the Soviet-era ending instead of returning to the original Petipa choreography. (If you don't mind spoiler alerts, look up Soviet ending.)

If you attend top ballet at home, you may be dissatisfied with your evening at the Alexandrinsky. If you want to pretend you're back in the Romanov era, the red velvet and gilt of the theater is a great escape.

Incidentally, only the Mariinsky company which dances in the theater of the same name is a top group. Few of the dances are presented in the historic theater so you may be trading quality dance for a modern theater (Mariinsky II) with comfortable seating, good sightlines and good acoustics.

[ljandgb]

We're ballet fans and I was initially excited to see some in SPB. Everything I'd read, though, made it seem that summer is off season and most ballets are lower quality, for the tourists sort of productions. Instead, we saw the Paris Opera Ballet at the Copenhagen Opera House during our pre-cruise days in Copenhagen. It was amazing.

 

Wobbly fouettes would make me crazy.

 

So, you may have other ballet options if you're a fan.

[Andi2008]

My daughter and I had the great fortune to see this beautiful ballet performed by the Mariinsky Company while in St. Petersburg a few years ago. It was amazing!!!! I wish I could give you better advice on the production you have the opportunity to see. But just being in an amazing theatre in St. Petersburg seeing a beautiful ballet was so awesome.

[katrina915]

You can get very detailed info on ballet on trip advisor forum with locals often answering questions. I went to Mariinsky and it was great but seats were somewhat uncomfortable. I would definitely go back.