Swan Lake

Swan Lake (ru. Лебединое Озеро), Tchaikovsky's 20^th opus, is one of the most famous and critically acclaimed ballets of all time.

Premiere and revisions

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 St. 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 en tournant. This feat was put into the choreography because it was a party piece of Pierina Legnani, first prima ballerina assoluta of the Mariinsky Ballet. Pavel Gerdt played Prince Siegfried.

Critical reception

The ballet's premiere in Moscow 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. The 1895 revival was acclaimed as a masterpiece, however.

Synopsis

Swan Lake concerns a prince named Siegfried who falls in love with a swan -- or rather, he falls in love with a 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 gave 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. Odette resumes her human form to unite happily with the prince. Rothbart dies after prince breaks one of his wings. This version has been used in the former Soviet Union and China. Perhaps the most well-known video of this version, Lebedinoe ozero (1957), was recorded during a live performance at the Bolshoi Theatre with Maya Plisetskaya.
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 (2006) 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 (2006) 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.

Score

The orchestra for Swan Lake consists of two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four French horns, two cornets, two trumpets, three trombones, a tuba, a set of timpani drums, a triangle, a tambourine, castanets, a snare drum, cymbals, a bass drum, a gong, a glockenspiel, a harp, and the string instruments.

Because interpolations, cuts, and rearrangements of the music occurred during and after Tchaikovsky's lifetime, any list of the musical numbers is a subjective enterprise that depends on what era of performance is being examined. The positions of some pieces (such as the Pas de deux) are hotly debated. The list below represents one arrangement:

Act I

Introduction : Moderato assai - Allegro non troppo - Tempo I

No. 1 Scène : Allegro guisto

No. 2 Valse : Tempo di valse

No. 3 Scène : Allegro moderato

No. 4 Pas de trois

I. Intrada : Allegro

II. Andante sostenuto

III. Allegro simplice - Presto

IV. Moderato

V. Allegro

VI. Coda : Allegro vivace

No. 5 Pas de deux

I. Tempo di valse ma non troppo vivo, quasi moderato

II. Andante - Allegro

III. Tempo di valse

IV. Coda : Allegro molto vivace

No. 6 Pas d'action : Andantino quasi moderato - Allegro

No. 7 Sujet

No. 8 Danse des coupes : Tempo di polacca

No. 9 Finale : Sujet : Andante

Act II

No. 10 Scène : Moderato

No. 11 Scène : Allegro moderato - Moderato - Allegro vivo

No. 12 Scène : Allegro - Moderato assai quasi andante

No. 13 Danse des cygnes

I. Tempo di valse

II. Moderato assai

III. Tempo di valse

IV. Allegro moderato

V. Pas d'action : Andante - Andante non troppo - Tempo I - Allegro

VI. Tempo di valse

VII. Coda : Allegro vivo

No. 14 Scène : Moderato

Act III

No. 15 Scène : Allegro giusto

No. 16 Danse du corps de ballet et des nains : Moderato assai - Allegro vivo

No. 17 La sortie des invités et la valse : Allegro - Tempo di valse

No. 18 Scène : Allegro - Allegro giusto

No. 19 Pas de six. Intrada : Moderato assai

Var. I. Allegro

Var. II. Andante con moto

Var. III. Moderato

Var. IV. Allegro

Var. V. Moderato - Allegro simplice

Coda : Allegro molto

Appendix I. Pas de deux

No. 20 Danse hongroise. Czardas : Moderato assai - Allegro moderato - Vivace

Appendix II. Danse russe : Moderato - Andante simplice - Allegro vivo - Presto

No. 21 Danse espagnole : Allegro non troppo (Tempo di bolero)

No. 22 Danse napolitaine : Allegro moderato - Andantino quasi moderato - Presto

No. 23 Mazurka : Tempo di mazurka

No. 24 Scène : Allegro - Valse - Allegro vivo

Act IV: No. 25 Entr'acte : Moderato; No. 26 Scène : Allegro non troppo; No. 27 Danse des petits cygnes : Moderato; No. 28 Scène : Allegro agitato - Molto meno mosso - Allegro vivace; No. 29 Scène finale : Andante - Allegro agitato - Alla breve. Moderato e maestoso - Moderato

Translated titles

The titles of the various compositions from Swan Lake are traditionally given in French. The following is a list of common English translations:

No. 8 Dance of the Cups/Goblets
No. 13 Dance of the Swans
No. 16 Dance of the Corps de Ballet and the Dwarves
No. 17 Entrance of the Guests and Waltz
No. 20 Hungarian Dance

Appendix II: Russian Dance
No. 21 Spanish Dance
No. 22 Neapolitan Dance
No. 27 Dance of the Cygnets/Little Swans

Adaptations

Dance

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake: First danced in London in 1995, this version departed from the traditional ballet by replacing the female corps de ballet with male dancers and incorporating the theme of homosexuality. A recording of the ballet for TV was aired in the UK in 1996. It was also released on home video. ^*
David McAllister's Swan Lake: An adaptation first performed in 2002 that combines the roles of Von Rothbart and Odile into that of a Baroness. The focus of the story is a love triangle: Siegfried and Odette are married, but the heroine soon learns that the Prince has had an affair with the Baroness. Odette has a mental breakdown and is institutionalized. ^*

Film

Swan Lake (1978): An anime directed by Kimio Yabuki which uses Tchaikovsky's score and remains relatively faithful to the story. ^*
The Swan Princess (1994) and its three sequels: Animated features in the Disney style which use the original story (albeit heavily edited) as a starting point. Features none of Tchaikovsky's music.
Barbie of Swan Lake (2003): A direct-to-video children's movie featuring motion capture from the New York City Ballet.

Literature

The Black Swan (1999): A fantasy novel written by Mercedes Lackey that re-imagines the original story and focuses heavily on Odile. Von Rothbart's daughter is a sorceress in her own right who comes to sympathize with Odette.

Computer and video games

The graphic adventure game LOOM, published in 1990 by Lucasfilm Games, borrowed story elements from the ballet, and also featured excerpts from Tchaikovsky's score in its soundtrack.

Trivia

The music in the Moderato Scene is reminiscent of one of the themes in the first movement of Schubert's 8th Symphony.

External links

Images (JPEGs):

Bolshoi Ballet performing Swan Lake
Galina Ulanova as Odette, in the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre's production of Swan Lake, 1930s.
Wendy Whelan as Odile, in the New York City Ballet's production of Swan Lake, 2003.

QuickTime videos from the 1967 film Schwanensee:

Siegfried (Rudolf Nureyev) and Odette (Margot Fonteyn) dance during the final scene of Act II. (4.7 MB)
Siegfried and Odile dance during Act III's Pas de deux. (2.1 MB)
Odile's 32 fouettés en tournant during the Coda of the Pas de six. (1.34 MB)

Video recordings of the ballet:

(1957)
(1967)
(1996)

Ballets | Compositions by Pyotr Tchaikovsky | Suites