Swan Lake on a lake: a unique summer treat in Sofia

There’s no live ballet in July, right, it’s time for summer break? Wrong. At least this much is true if you head to Bulgaria. Sofia’s opera house closes and ballet goers head to Pancharevo Lake, a peaceful location approximately 15 km from the centre of the capital for “muses on the water”, a selection of performances from Sofia Opera and Ballet against a picturesque lakeside as the sun sets. It’s as dreamy as it sounds.

Even better, this is an abridged Swan Lake. No one wants a three hour plus marathon when it’s July, you’ve brought the kids and it’s 33ºC. Danced to recorded music with sparse scenery, the performances are better framed as summer novelties to be enjoyed with a glass of something refreshing as the company takes us through the highlights of Tchaikovsky’s score.

The function of Act 1, largely to set the scene for the story, benefits from this treatment as we are quickly invited into Prince Siegfried’s (Tsetso Ivanov) celebration, the entrance of the Queen (Lyudmila Ilieva) and the pas de trois. Francesco Congiusti’s lively Jester stands out, the stamina required for the endless cavorting, split jumps and tours in the relentless heat is beyond human, but executed with endless enthusiasm and character.

It’s the white acts which are the highlight however, made all the more magical by the setting. Ivanov’s Prince is troubled and sombre, but ultimately beguiled by the arrival of Katerina Petrova’s Odette. Petrova is a tall dancer who covers the expansive stage well. She dances Petipa’s choreography (adapted for the outdoor environment by Oleg Danovski) with wild attack, later fearful when approached by Siegfried.

From a purely aesthetic perspective, it’s the sixteen swans filling the stage, moon reflecting in the lake behind, that will live in the memory. Danovski has stripped things right back; simple patterns, clean angles and the flapping swan arms are slowed down and the corps look all the better for it on the exposing outdoor stage. The finesse of the cygnets is also impressive, finely drilled and without a hint of hesitation, neat little pas de chats, heads bobbing, they are a strong quartet.

In order for the narrative to work in a shortened format, Tchaikovsky’s score has been rather brutally edited. Acts 1 and 2 work well but the cuts later become a distraction as some sections of the music are haphazardly skipped over, repeated and simply don’t flow to the audience. In Act 3, Odile’s solo is skipped, while the overlong national dances are largely untouched. Naturally, the fireworks of the coda remain, Ivanov leaping easily through the air. Petrova’s fouettés are more manic and she travels a lot down the stage, really digging in until the end, but she manages. Her long arms and free movement style suiting the attitude of Odile better than her more innocent counterpart.

In Act 4, Siegfried’s defeat of Rothbart is similarly swift and requires a lot of imagination before the sorcerer simply rolls over (literally) and dies. My plus one asked me “how did he win?” which seemed a fair question. It doesn’t matter too much however, there is water rippling gently in the background at twilight on Pancharevo Lake, the simple image of Odette and Siegfried united is all that’s required for a majestic conclusion.