About the Show
The Story
Act I
Prior to our viewing, Princess Odette, while gathering flowers, is overcome by the powers of the evil Baron Von Rothbart and he will henceforth control her destiny. Von Rothbart transforms Princess Odette into a swan, which is the symbol of beauty and purity. Because she refused his hand in marriage, he bewitched her so that she could not marry another. Von Rothbart’s expectation was that in captivity, she would eventually consent to marry him.
Scene I - The Terrace of Prince Siegfried’s Castle (That Afternoon)
On the afternoon of Prince Siegfried’s birthday, a party is given. The Queen, his mother, arrives reminding Prince Siegfried of his duty to choose a bride. The Prince is more interested in his gift of a crossbow for hunting. The afternoon’s dancing concludes with a lively ribbon dance, after which the women of the court retire to the castle. Prince Siegfried is sad but his friends encourage him to go on a hunt.
Scene II - The Swan Lake (Later That Day)
Siegfried, preferring to hunt by himself, sends the others off into the forest. He sees a swan and when about to shoot it, he realizes it is Odette, Baron Von Rothbart’s Swan Queen. Unaware of Siegfried’s presence, she preens herself. When she discovers him, she is frightened of his crossbow and attempts to flee. He captures her and assures her that he will do no harm to her. He learns she is victim of a spell cast by Von Rothbart and that the Swan Lake has been created by her tears and those of all the maidens who have been captured and transformed into swans. Instantly enamored with Odette, Siegfried desires to protect her. Von Rothbart then returns and reasserts his powers over the forest and the swan maidens. Prince Sigfried understands that if he keeps his pledge of love to Odette, he may rescue her. If he pledges his love for another, Odette will forever be the slave of Von Rothbart.
Act II
Scene I - The Great Hall of the Castle (The Following Night)
The Royal Court is gathered in continued celebration of the Princes birthday. Princesses are presented to Prince Sigfried, one of whom he is to choose as his bride. Several dancers entertain the Royal court. Von Rothbart arrives with his wicked accomplice, Odile, who is disguised as a black swan to look exactly like Odette. Indeed, Siegfried believes she is Odette and is overjoyed. Odile lures and entices Siegfried. While dancing the Black Swan Pas de Deux, a vision of Odette appears in which she attempts to communicate with Siegfried and warn him of the deception. She remains unnoticed and Siegfried finally promises his eternal love for Odile who then tells the assemblage that the Prince has made a vow of love to her. Laughing at the gullible Prince, Odile and Von Rothbart vanish leaving the court astonished by these events. Siegfried, overwhelmed, flees to the forest in search of his true love, Odette, hoping that it is not too late to rescue her.
Scene II - The The Swan Lake (Later That Day)
The Swans dance in sorrow of their captivity. Siegfried arrives in search of Odette. Finding Odette, Siegfried begs her forgiveness. She forgives him knowing he was unaware of Von Rothbart’s treacherous plot. Baron Von Rothbart once more engages in a struggle with Prince Siegfried, trying to win Odette’s love. In the fury of the fight, the swans unite and rebel against Von Rothbart and expel him from the Kingdom altogether. Odette is released from her spell and she and Siegfried are united in true and everlasting love.
The History
The ballet Swan Lake has endured for more than 130 years. The score, composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky between August of 1875 and March of 1876, is haunting and memorable but was not entirely successful initially. A new version was mounted by Olaf Hanson in 1880 with a reworking of the score and libretto. The result of these efforts downgraded the production, causing its downfall over the next 15 years. Tchaikovsky died in 1893 believing the ballet was a failed score. It is not known whether I. A. Vsevolozhsky, director of the Imperial Theaters in St. Petersburg, or Marius Petipa, choreographer/ballet master, or his assistant Lev Ivanov, conceived the idea to remount a portion of Swan Lake as a memorial to Tchaikovsky in 1894. It is certain that Petipa was credited with the choreography for Acts I and III and Ivanov with Acts II and IV, for the completely new version, which premiered at the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, On January 27, 1895. For the first time, the greatness of Tchaikovsky’s score was realized and equaled by the choreographic genius of Petipa and Ivanov.
The roles of Odette and Odile were danced by two ballerinas initially. However, because of the virtuosity of Prima Ballerina Pierina Lagnani, the new version was created for her alone. This production was an immediate critical and popular success. Very little of the Petipa/Ivanov choreography survives today. However, portions of Act II, including the first entrance of the swans, the White Swan Pas de Deux, the Dance of the Four Cygnets. Many current productions are more evocations of the style and mood of nineteenth century classicism than they are exact duplications of the original choreography. The original score contains over four hours of music. The Next Generation Ballet version has condensed the four acts to two by editing and merging Acts I and II and Acts III and IV bringing in the ballet with intermission at two hours. The story remains in tact and all the major elements are presented including the Swan dances of the original Act II and the Black Swan pas de duex.