ABT 2025: Swan Lake
Scene from Swan Lake. Photo: Rosalie O’Connor
On June 10, 2025, American Ballet Theatre returned to the Metropolitan Opera house to raise the curtain on this year's Summer Season. This opening night featured ABT's celebrated production of 'Swan Lake' and was danced to intoxicating effect by the artists of the company, making for an utterly thrilling season premiere.
Leading the orchestra was company conductor Charles Barker, whose experience with Tchaikovsky's score resulted in breathtaking exploration of all the romance, despair, and redemption to be found within the unfolding drama.
In the role of Odette, principal dancer Isabella Boylston was a vision of elegance and athleticism. Her introductory struggle with Von Rothbart displayed great delicacy as she's set upon, before a stunning final lift which evoked a bird being tossed about in a storm just before her character is transfigured into a swan. Her later scene and dances with Prince Siegfried carried with tremendous beauty as Odette's initial shyness melted away; the frailty of her shaking legs that appeared during the earlier phrases of their pas de deux were wonderfully contrasted by the utter bravura of Boylston's piqué steps just minutes later.
Her time as the black swan, Odile, saw Boylston demonstrate a more assertive approach in her bearing and energy which finely emphasized the difference in character. Her dances with Siegfried built with excitement and beauty, capping off the 32 fouettés with utter aplomb as she sealed the deal on the prince's heart for a near show-stopper.
Dancing the part of Prince Siegfried was principal Daniel Camargo, who imbued his scenes with much charm and strength. His time during the opening maypole dance was tinged with a fitting discontent as his character's loneliness crept upon him now and then, yet this did not inhibit the energy which fueled his leaps and turns and carried him well across the stage.
Isabella Boylston and Daniel Camargo in Swan Lake. Photo: Rosalie O’Connor.
Sharing the role of Von Rothbart was Roman Zhurbin and Jose Sebastian. The former, as Rothbart's true self, effectively conjured a fearsome presence in his scenes with Odette and Siegfried, relishing in the malice of the sorcerer to bring the most out of the character role.
In his human guise, Sebastian brought all these qualities inward, creating an icy veneer which added an evil allure to his time onstage. This made for a tense prologue as Sebastian seizes upon Boylston's Odette, resulting in a charged exchange while still providing a stable base for her acrobatics. His dance during the ball gave him ample time to display these sinister qualities as Sebastian took the floor with fiendish grace bolstered by the near-wail of the violins. It was also a nice touch to see the women of the court orbit him with the same mix of curiosity and apprehension which we saw lead Odette into disaster during the prologue.
As the prince's friend, Benno, dancer Carlos Gonzalez was often a source of congenial charm, his moments adding a refreshing lightness to their scenes. His supportive nature was also finely demonstrated through his act 1 pas de trois as he adapted to his partners, Fangqi Li and Yoon Jung Seo, with flair as well as sensitivity through their variations.
The corps de ballet truly shone as well, bringing much vivacity to their respective scenes and dances. Moments such as the maypole dance or act 2's grand divertissiment carried with infectious energy and great local color which added depth to the settings. Even calmer moments were explored in a way which hinted at the world around them, such as the brief parenthetical dance between the Prince and an aristocrat played by Zimmi Coker, which seemed to suggest a deeper relationship between the two before Siegfried's fateful visit to the lake.
This night, all the swans were on point as they splendidly navigated the artistic and physical demands of their choreography. Moments such as the dance of the swans in the first act were pure bliss, and their appearance to witness the rise of the lovers into heaven helped shaped the finale into one of utter transcendence.
Tuesday's performance had an abundance of drama and beauty to be savored by the nearly-full house, and was everything one could ask for on opening night. With such experience and expressivity at their command, the rest of American Ballet Theatre's summer season is looking to be truly bright.
-written by Logan Martell