Swan Lake

Categories: Ballets | Compositions by Pyotr Tchaikovsky | Suites

Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое Озеро) is one of the most famous and critically-acclaimed ballets, with music by Tchaikovsky.

The original ballet was first performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia on February 20, 1877 and remained in the repertoire until 1883. After Tchaikovsky's death, the ballet was revised by his brother Modest and the conductor Riccardo Drigo. This revised version received its premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg on January 15, 1895 with choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, and many later stagings have followed their work more or less closely.

A single dancer dances the twin roles of Odette and Odile, which is one of the most taxing of all roles because it requires acting two entirely contrasting characters, as well as the strenuous showpiece dancing itself, including thirty-two fouettés. This feat was put into the choreography because it was a party piece of Pierina Legnani, first prima ballerina assoluta of the Maryinsky ballet. Pavel Gerdt played Prince Siegfried.

The ballet's premiere in St. Petersburg was very poorly received. It had lackluster costumes and scenery, unusual choreography, and a mediocre orchestra. It also departed from the traditional Russian format of ballet, which used a story with just enough plot to sustain the virtuoso dancing; Tchaikovsky's ballet, on the other hand, included a well-unified storyline which lost much of the audience. A later revival in the year after Tchaikovsky's death was acclaimed as a masterpiece, however, having used phenomenal talent in all aspects.

Synopsis

Swan Lake concerns a prince named Siegfried who falls in love with a swan -- or rather, he falls in love with princess named Odette, who takes human form at night but each morning is turned into a swan by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. A retinue of other swan-maidens attend her in the environs of Swan Lake, which was formed by the tears of Odette's parents when Von Rothbart kidnapped her. The prince, while out hunting, sees her dancing in a moonlit glade by the lake and falls in love with her, and she with him.

Von Rothbart appears and Siegfried threatens to kill him. Odette intercedes, because if Von Rothbart dies before the spell is broken, it can never be broken. The spell may only be broken if a prince pledges eternal fidelity to her. Moreover, Von Rothbart's overall power may only be destroyed if someone his or her life for the Swan Queen.

The Prince returns to the castle to attend a ball. Von Rothbart appears in disguise at this party with his own daughter Odile, making her seem identical to Odette in all respects except that she wears black while Odette wore white. The prince mistakes her for Odette, dances with her, and proclaims to the court that he intends to make her his wife. Only a moment too late, Siegfried sees the real Odette (in some versions she arrives at the castle; in other versions, Rothbart shows him a magical vision of her) and realizes his mistake.

At this point different versions of the ballet diverge. Many different versions exist, among them the following:

• The true love between Siegfried and Odette overcomes and defeats Von Rothbart, and Odette resumes her human form to unite happily with the prince. This version has been used in the former Soviet Union and China.
• Siegfried journeys to the lake to beg forgiveness from Odette and takes her in his arms, but she dies. The lake's waters consume the lovers.
• In the version currently (2004) danced by New York City Ballet (with choreography by Peter Martins after Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa, and George Balanchine), the Prince's declaration that he wishes to marry Odile constitutes a betrayal that condemns Odette to remain a swan forever. Odette is called away into swan form, and Siegfried is left alone in grief as the curtain falls.
• In the version currently (2005) danced by American Ballet Theatre, Siegfried's mistaken pledge of fidelity to Odile consigns Odette to eternal swanhood. Realizing that her last moment of humanity is at hand, Odette commits suicide by throwing herself into the lake. The Prince does so as well. This act of sacrifice and love breaks Von Rothbart's power, and he is destroyed. In the final tableau, the lovers are seen rising together to heaven in apotheosis.bg:Лебедово езеро

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