PNB turns to the grand 'Swan Lake' as its opener at McCaw Hall

Ask almost anyone to name a ballet, and the first one that invariably springs to mind is "Swan Lake." The image of supple, otherworldly creatures gliding across the stage is iconic in the world of classical ballet and many a great ballerina -- not to mention legions of lesser ones -- has cut her teeth on the magnificent Act II dances for the corps of swan maidens.

COMING UP

SWAN LAKE

WHAT: Pacific Northwest Ballet production choreographed by Kent Stowell after Petipa/Ivanov, staged by Francia Russell

WHEN: Opens Thursday, through Oct. 5

WHERE: McCaw Hall

TICKETS: $16-$125, child/student/senior discounts; 206-441-2424 or www.pnb.org

Indeed, the choreography for that act, from the maidens' winglike fluttering of the back and arms to the interlinking "dance without arms" of unison cross-stitching footwork, has inspired a host of send-ups, making the original even more astonishing when it is performed to perfection.

Of course, there is so much more to "Swan Lake" than the Act II choreography, which is why, apart from being simply popular, it is arguably the greatest work in the classical repertoire.

"First of all, there is the music, which is absolutely glorious," says Pacific Northwest Ballet's Francia Russell. "And then there are two choreographers of genius who created wonderful vehicles for both principal dancers, Odette-Odile and the prince. And there's the display of the entire company and the opportunity to have fabulous sets and costumes."

For co-artistic director Kent Stowell, the story is also key. "It's heart wrenching and yet emotionally fulfilling for the audience because they see the tragic drama but also its beauty."

So it's not hard to understand why Stowell and Russell chose the work for PNB's inaugural performances at McCaw Hall. After several years of declining audiences at the old Opera House and Mercer Arts Arena and major budget deficits, they're betting a dazzling new "Swan Lake" will bring back traditional audiences and attract new ones.

With a work of such complete artistic integrity, it's hard to know where to begin an analysis but many, like Russell, start with Tchaikovsky's magnificent score. Amazingly, it was his first for ballet and composed in 1877 under extraordinary circumstances. Unlike his other ballets, he wrote this music in relative isolation from the choreographer and at Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet rather than at St. Petersburg's Imperial Ballet, where it was ultimately shaped into the form we know today.

Considered too symphonic and "undanceable" at its premiere, the highly original score had to be significantly reworked to become suitable for a story ballet. But by 1894, its majesty and power were apparent. A memorial concert that year in honor of the composer, who had died in 1893, featured a revival of Act II, this time with new choreography by Lev Ivanov, assistant ballet master to Marius Petipa at the Imperial Ballet.

That performance was such a success that Petipa made plans for a full revival in 1895. Petipa, who had trained at the Paris Opera Ballet, with its tradition of famous romantic ballets such as "Giselle" and "La Sylphide," took naturally to "Swan Lake's" story of ethereal beings, betrayed love, sorcery and an ending in which the dead heroine is reunited with her earthly lover. But he realized that significant changes had to be made to the Bolshoi production, so he hired conductor Riccardo Drigo to edit the score, Tchaikovsky's brother Modeste to streamline the story, and divided the choreography between himself (Acts I and III) and Ivanov (II and IV).

The piece de resistance of the revival was ballerina Pierina Legnani, a star of the Imperial Ballet and, like other Italian dancers of the period, a great gymnast. Although noted for her grace and elegance, she also had the capacity to perform 32 fouettes (whipping turns) without stopping, and counting them became the favorite activity of her adoring public. Legnani added the fouettes to the famous third act Black Swan Pas de Deux and a great ballet tradition was born, one that inspires -- or haunts -- ballerinas to this day.

But it's really Ivanov's "lakeside" or "white" acts that have made "Swan Lake's" reputation and place it among the greatest classical works. Although Petipa's contributions were significant, Ivanov's choreography, used in almost all productions today, is transcendent. His swan movements -- so taxing that PNB dancers' arms and backs ached for two weeks when they began rehearsals -- are remarkable for the extent to which they embody the gliding, swimming and preening of these elegant birds.

In these acts, and especially the pas de deux by Odette-Odile and the prince, the arabesques seem the most extended, the lifts the highest, the plies the deepest possible for the human form to achieve. It seems that Ivanov is pushing the movement to its extreme as a mirror of the emotional intensity in the love tragedy being played out.

To ensure its production will be stunning, PNB is spending $750,000 and has hired Ming Cho Lee, one of America's foremost set designers, and Tony Award nominee Paul Tazewell as costume designer. Both have been keeping the PNB scene and costume shops humming for months.

Resident lighting designer Randall G. Chiarelli will bring his extraordinary skill to bear as well.

With respect to the movement and story, this PNB "Swan Lake" is essentially the same as the 1981 version Stowell and Russell brought to Seattle from Frankfurt Ballet.

That production drew on the Petipa/Ivanov original but was also Stowell's own, with his choreography for most of Act I, the national dances in Act III and most of Act IV.

This time around, Stowell has made a few more changes, making the choreography for Act I more demanding, and converting peasants into courtiers. Act II now has 24 rather than 16 swans and there will be five different casts for the 13 performances, all signs of a more mature and larger PNB.

One thing, though, has not changed: Stowell has held to his own ending, which he describes as "keeping the human drama and letting the tragedy fulfill itself." Unlike the original, Stowell does not unite the lovers. In his version, although Odette forgives Prince Siegfried for betraying her with Odile, she remains under the sorcerer's spell and, as the final curtain descends, Siegfried is left alone in his grief.

Now that's true tragic love.

Alice Kaderlan Halsey is a Seattle free-lance dance and theater critic. She can be reached at crisispro@aol.com.

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