Riding on a wave of unprecedented success, the Cape Town City Ballet (CTCB) is gearing itself for its 80th anniversary production of the greatest and most beloved ballet of all time, SWAN LAKE, at the Artscape Opera House from 5 to 20 April.
This year, CTCB is proudly celebrating 80 years of ballet in Cape Town and to date it has already been an incredible journey. In January, the company boldly danced into the New Year with a sell-out success of the
Cole Porter ballet, NIGHT AND DAY, enjoying rapturous applause and standing ovations night after night. At the same time, the auspicious announcement was made that, from 25-30 September, the CTCB will be presenting three extraordinary ballets by John Neumeier, one of the greatest living ballet choreographers of the 21st century. Then, shortly after that, a triumphant season of LES SYLPHIDES and THE FIREBIRD followed at Maynardville Open-Air Theatre - again with packed houses and having to provide extra seating, prompting capacity attendance figures. The poignant tale of the love between Princess Odette and Prince Siegfried, the malicious determination of the evil sorcerer, Von Rothbart, to trick Siegfried into falling in love with his daughter, Princess Odile, and the dramatic misunderstanding that follows, will once again captivate and enchant, just as this spectacular version of the ballet did the first time it was first performed in Cape Town in 1971. Laura Bösenberg, partnered by
Thomas Thorne as Prince Siegfried, will dance the highly demanding dual roles of Princess Odette and Princess Odile, an exercise that puts great demands on a ballerina's technical and interpretive skills and stamina. For the other performances, Daniel Szybkowski will partner Angela Hansford (Odette) and Kim Vieira (Odile) and Jesse Milligan will partner Kirstel Jensen (Odette) and Mami Fujii (Odile). In a major scoop for the CTCB, the production will also feature two leading dancers from the Royal Ballet in London, Hikaru Kobayashi and Federico Bonelli. The real-life husband and wife team will make their star appearances on 19 and 20 April and, in what is a further scoop for the CTCB, audiences will have the pleasure of witnessing them dancing the famous roles together as a couple for the first time.
The performance schedule is as follows:
SAT 5 APR @ 19h30 - Laura Bösenberg &
Thomas Thorne WED 9 APR @ 19h30 - Angela Hansford, Kim Vieira & Daniel Szybkowski SAT 12 APR @ 14h00 - Kirstel Jensen, Mami Fujii & Jesse Milligan SAT 12 APR @ 19h30 - Laura Bösenberg &
Thomas Thorne SUN 13 APR @ 19h30 - Angela Hansford, Kim Vieira & Daniel Szybkowski (recorded music) WED 16 APR @ 19h30 - Kirstel Jensen, Mami Fujii & Jesse Milligan SAT 19 APR @ 14h00 - Laura Bösenberg &
Thomas Thorne SAT 19 APR @ 19h30 - Hikaru Kobayashi & Federico Bonelli SUN 20 APR @ 15h00 - Hikaru Kobayashi & Federico Bonelli
All but one of the scheduled nine performances of SWAN LAKE will be accompanied by the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, which is celebrating 100 years of orchestral music in Cape Town! The orchestra will be conducted by Graham Scott. Produced by Professor Elizabeth Triegaardt, Honorary Executive Director of the CTCB, SWAN LAKE marks the 4th restaging of Attilio Labis's version for the CTCB. It was originally created for the CAPAB Ballet Co by Labis, based on his many performances in productions around the world. Having had the honour of dancing the role of Odette/Odile in that first production, while simultaneously, as Ballet Mistress of the CAPAB Ballet Company, rehearsing the corps de ballet for 15 years, Professor Triegaardt still regards this version as completely satisfying, both artistically and technically. It is also one of the few versions of SWAN LAKE that has a happy ending! The costume designs for the original production were those of Peter Cazalet, who, together with lighting designer, Emile Aucamp, created magic, allowing the dancers to feel comfortable in their roles. Many of those costumes and sets are still in evidence in this production, while several different lighting designers, including Aden Love and John T Baker, have lit the ballet. The current lighting design is that of Shamiel Abrahams. Bookings for SWAN LAKE opened towards the end of January and judging by advance ticket sales, CTCB is set to celebrate another triumph at the box-office.
With just over six weeks before opening night, audiences are advised to make their way to
Computicket (tel: 0861 915 8000) or Artscape Dial-a-Seat (tel: 021 421 7695) without delay to secure the best available seats. SWAN LAKE is on at the Artscape Opera House from 5 to 20 April 2014.
