★★★★★ It had been a long time since there had been a dance festival like this ninth performance of “Swan Lake” at the Teatro Colón. Several ingredients came together to achieve a splendid performance from an artistic point of view. In the first place, the return of the Argentine Marianela Nuñez –today a star of the Royal Ballet of London- making her debut at the Colón one of her emblematic roles, was a highly anticipated event. The presentation of the Korean Kimin Kim, unknown until today to many who surely already joined his fan club, added another point to the evening. And the stupendous performance of the Stable Ballet, with its excellent soloists and its well-trained dance troupe, rounded off a night that no one wanted to end.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Marianela already has a well-earned place in dance stardom. Talking about the perfection of her technique is redundant: her amazing balance, her ‘legato’, her endless arms, her mastery of speed that allows her to turn in ‘slow motion’ flaunting her line without cracks. In each interpretation, the dancer puts all that baggage at the service of her characters, and without a doubt, Odette-Odile’s is one of her most accomplished. To the pain and delicacy of the white swan, Nuñez opposed seduction and malignity in Odile, shared in suggestive glances at the spectators. We are in front of an artist with all the letters, consummate actress, whose brilliant performance was rewarded with standing ovations that forced several ‘curtain calls’.
Kimin Kim’s performance revealed a top-notch performer. From a princely physique, she composed an expressive Siegfried, in love, passionate, perplexed by the deceit, desperate in the outcome. His jumps, of surprising height, reflect perfection, as do his turns and little ‘shakes’, and his excellent work as Marianela’s ‘partenaire’.
The conscientious work carried out by Mario Galizzi and his team of teachers who led the female ballet corps to an outstanding performance is evident. A rarely achieved uniformity of arms, torsos, heads, ranks and steps was seen in the swans; as well as a committed and emphatic performance in the character dances of the third act. Jiva Velázquez stood out as the Jester, a role tailored to her virtuosity and sympathy, and Luciana Barrirero, Natalia Pelayo, Stephanie Kessel and Luisina Rodríguez provided a meticulous ‘pas de quatre’ in the second act.
We celebrate the return of Carlos Calleja to the Teatro Colón, an expert who should never have been without, leading the Orquesta Estable. Tchaikovsky’s difficult score was in the hands of Freddy Varela Montero, a good translator in the violin solos, and in the same way María Agustina Guidolín, trumpeter in the Neapolitan Dance.
