Swan Lake [DVD] [2008] [NTSC]

Recorded at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1990, this is the current Kirov Ballet version, choreographed by Konstantin Sergeyev in 1950 after the original by Petipa and Ivanov. It is a very stylish and classical version.

The two main roles are danced by then rising stars of the Kirov Ballet. Yulia Makhalina - then 22 years old - had just been promoted to a principal in the previous year. Igor Zelensky - then 21 years old - was promoted to a principal in the following year. They look fresh and display impeccable Russian schooling.

Makhalina, slim and lanky, is a very good Odette and Odile: her dancing is stylish and lyrical. She is particulalry good as Odile in the ballroom scene in Act 2, although she is a little cool in the lakeside scenes in Acts 1 and 3. Zelensky is very good in both technique and style.

The supporting soloists, notably Larissa Lezhnina and Veronika Ivanova as Ziegfried's friends in Act 1, are excellent. Another important factor supporting this performance is the superb corps de ballet in the lakeside scenes. They are very well drilled and the synchronization is remarkable. They all obviously feel the pulse of the music and breathe together.

The Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre performs the music beautifully under the sensitive direction of Victor Fedotov.

My only minor reservation is that this is not a live recording so that the viewer does not hear any response from the audience. It would have been better if they had made a live recording as the viewer will be able to feel the atmosphere of the famous theatre.

Out of all the 'Swan Lake' productions I have seen, never have I seen one as amazing as this one! With absolutely beautiful costumes, designs and choreography, the Kirov Ballet present us with the best production of theis most famous and popular of classical ballets. With the beautiful choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with the familiar happy ending in this version by Konstantin Sergeyev in this fabulous production by Oleg Vinogradov, this is a production that all ballet fans should definitely watch! But of course, this production would not have been complete without the amazing dancers of the Kirov Ballet, which includes prima ballerina Yulia Makhalina and international star Igor Zelensky.

Yulia Makhalina is the Swan Queen!! In this performance, we see her performing her best role. Yulia's remarkable Odette stole my heart! Her beautiful soft and smooth technique, her upper body strength, her long legs and her swan-like arms are all suited to the role and her acting is absolutely superb with her tragic innocence and her passionate tenderness. As Odile, she certainly swept me off my feet! Her amazing upper body strength, her jerky technique and her amazing evil face expressions definitely helped me to realise how she can seduce Siegfried - she nearly seduced me! And I have never seen someone perform Odile's 32 fouettes so well. Yulia's fouettes are far more impressive than Darcey Bussell's talent of dancing! She is the best Odette/Odile I have ever seen in my entire life. She makes it look as though she is a real swan in disguise!!

I fell in love with Igor Zelensky's Prince Siegfried. Igor is at the height of all his jumps, his spinning is superb, his acting is so charming and he partners Yulia extremely well. The role of Siegfried is a very demanding role, but Igor makes it look easy with his amazing jumps and his incredible upper body strength. His Siegfried is passionate, desirible, believing and real. His amazing acting makes it look as he is the real Prince Siegfried, he definitely is the greatest Siegfried I have ever seen.

Igor and Yulia's partnership is absolutely outstanding! They certainly filled the White Swan Pas de Deux in Act 1, scene 2 with much passion and love. In fact, throughout the whole Pas de Deux, Igor had a look on his face that suggested that all he wanted to do was to hold Yulia in his arms and never let her go - amazing! The White Swan Pas de Deux has always been one of my favourites and I have never seen it being performed in a more beautiful way. This definitely shows us why Yulia Makhalina and Igor Zelensky's partnership is one of the greatest partnerships ever formed.

In other parts, Yuri Fateyev as the Jester certainly does bring a lot of fun, colour and excitement to Act 1, Scene 1 and Act 2. But it is Eldar Aliyev's Von Rothbart that very nearly steals the show. Eldar's rock hard technique is certainly suited to the role of the evil sorcerer. His extremely evil looks and glares sends a cold shiver down my spine! He looks as though he is staring at me with large amber eyes. In Act 2, he certainly shows that he is extremely determined to stop Odette from escaping his spell, especially when she appears at the window during the Black Swan Pas de Deux. He is definitely one evil sorcerer you do NOT want to mess with!!

This is the best production of 'Swan Lake' I have ever seen in my life. So a word to all ballet fans - 'Buy this DVD because it is the best production of 'Swan Lake' ever! It is especially better than that hideous production by the Royal Ballet!' All praise to the Kirov Ballet.

This is a lavish Kirov production of the Tchaikovsky ballet. Wonderful sets, fabulous costumes, a great corps-de-ballet, a magnificent orchestra, plus very good cinematography and recorded sound... It could have been a dream-Swan-Lake-come-true, if it weren't for the two stars. Yulia Makhalina and Igor Zelensky are two excellent dancers, with very solid classic technique and, unfortunately, rather blunt personalities.

Zelensky does some astonishing jetes (jumps), but his interpretation seemed quite detached and cold to me.

Makhalina is more expressive, but she lacks the personality that would make her portrayal of Odette-Odile truly memorable. Her White Swan (Odette) is classical, not in the Ulanova way (regal and tormented), but more in the porcelain ballerina tradition. Her first turns, taken at a verrry slow pace, impressed me, as they were keeping perfect tempo with the orchestra. Later on, though, it seemed like she just was a rather slow turner.

Her Odile was pretty and smiled a lot. Never would it cross my mind that this was a dangerous, villainous, or even particularly sexy, creature. She did perform all her movements, plus the infamous 32 fouetes, without any excitement.

It's a pity, really. With such a high level of production this might have been a "definitive" version of Swan Lake.