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Svengali

Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s anticipated psycho-thrilled Svengali was indeed hypnotizing — sometimes to a fault

A show dealing with mind control and sexual power plays should crackle with taut energy and nail-biting drama.

However, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s highly anticipated psycho-thriller Svengali ultimately succumbed to its own hypnotic spell by the end of the two-hour production, powerless against overly cryptic symbolism and lack of clarity. The world premiere by Montreal-based choreographer Mark Godden ran Oct. 19 to 23 before the company takes the show on the road next month for a nine-city Canadian tour.

The full-length story ballet based on George du Maurier’s Victorian novel Trilby tells the tale of Svengali who escapes his mother’s repressive ballet studio, aka The Prettiest One of All Ballet Academy for decadent cabarets suggestive of mid-20th century Weimar. He encounters Trilby — the ultimate survivor — whom he hypnotizes to become famous ballerina, La Svengali. As Trilby’s star rises, she eventually eclipses his emotional grasp.

Godden is renowned for his epic imagination, as seen in his bloodthirsty RWB hit Dracula. His eye for architecture and inventive movement vocabulary blended with classical technique are always a joy to watch. Yet, even with all these elements in place, a ballet strongly moored to a notorious character needs that figure to be omnipresent. All too often, Svengali was conspicuously absent.

That said, the company turned in strong individual performances as well as virtuosic ensemble work. Second soloist Harrison James, 20, in his first major role as the title character sealed his status as a new rising star. His confident theatricality and bravura technique particularly displayed during his explosive Act 2 solo left you wanting more. Soloist Amanda Green brought her ever-regal presence to the stage as Trilby, oozing sexual energy while also embodying her character’s emotional vulnerability. The two leads’ searing Act 1 pas de deux in which they recognize each other as broken souls is the very heart of this ballet. Soloist Jo-Ann Sundermeier as Svengali’s Mother lords her imperious power over her son and the lockstep Acolytes in the ballet studio like an emotional steamroller.

Unfortunately, the abstract ballet failed to maintain a cogent through-line (both narrative and emotional) with several unconvincing plot twists. Several sections — such as the Act 2 performance/fantasy sequence — felt overly long. Quirky ideas didn’t always read. The ballet’s resolution came far too quickly without logic. An eclectic score ranging from Rachmaninoff to gypsy-style klezmer music added Eastern European flair, but Andrew Beck’s set design of cut away, corrugated panels dimly lit by Pierre Lavoie was somewhat puzzling. Paul Daigle’s costumes were artfully effective while revealing Svengali and Trilby’s emotional trajectories.

It’s always cause for celebration whenever a new ballet is produced. Svengali is one of those that should be lauded. With greater refinement it will also gain sharper focus, cutting through its trance like a knife.