The Snow Queen

Very occasionally, one walks into a theatre and knows almost immediately that something special is going to transpire, and so it is with Michael Corder’s, English National Ballet adaptation of The Snow Queen.

Breathtaking does not do this production justice. With larger than life sets, costumes laced with more crystal than a Royal banquet table and music performed so masterfully, it is of course the performances that makes the ballet stand out.

Daria Klimentova is sublime, taking the role of The Snow Queen to her heart and squeezing every ounce of passion from the role that she can, to swoop and pirouette across the stage with ease and grace.

Yosvani Ramos and Fernanda Oliveira, too, take the roles of the young lovers, Kay and Gerda, and turn them into the living metaphors for romance Andersen surly intended them to be, as love is seen as all conquering and so capable of removing the queen’s cold splinters of glass from the beguiled Kay’s heart and eyes.

In support, Crystal Costa and Simone Clarke as Two Foxes, captivated the audience with their duel routine, receiving the most exuberant of ovations at its finale, whilst Elena Glurdjidze, playing The Gypsy Girl, and Zhanat Atymtayev, as The Gypsy Boy, graced the stage with a zest that can only be described as astonishing.

In all, this is an evening of ballet to die for and to all of those involved, a sincere and hearty Bravo.
Chris High