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Swan Lake (, ''Lebedinoye Ozero'', ''Swan Lake'') is a Ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky presented in either four Acts, four Scenes (primarily outside Russia and Eastern Europe) or three Acts, four Scenes (primarily in Russia and Eastern Europe). It was originally choreographed by Julius Reisinger to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (opus 20). First presented as ''The Lake of the Swans'' by the Ballet Of The Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre on February 20 / March 4 1877 ( Julian / Gregorian Calendar dates) in Moscow, Russia . Although the ballet is presented in many different versions, most Ballet Companies base their stagings both choreographically and musically on the Revival by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov , staged for the Imperial Ballet , first presented January 15 1895 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia . For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre's ''kapellmeister'' Riccardo Drigo . THE BALLET: SYNOPSIS AND SCORE The score used in this comparison is Tchaikovsky's score,The correspondence is drawn from http://www.rohedswanlake.org.uk/pgs/main/news_story.asp?id=2, which describes a four-act play. Drigo's version of the ballet is in three acts. which may be Different From Drigo's Edition Of The Score , which is commonly performed today. The titles for each number are taken from the original published score. Some of the numbers are titled simply as musical indications, those that are not are translated from their original French titles. HISTORY Original Reisinger/Tchaikovsky production See Also: Reisinger/Tchaikovsky production of Swan Lake Libretto, score, and choreography The origins of the ballet ''Swan Lake'' are rather obscured, since very few records concerning the first production of the work have survived. The most authoritative, though speculative, theory suggests that the libretto was written by Vladimir Petrovich Begichev , director of the Moscow Imperial Theatres during the time that the ballet was originally produced. Begichev commissioned the score of ''Swan Lake'' from Tchaikovsky in 1875 for a rather modest fee of 800 Ruble s, and soon Begichev began to choose artists that would participate in the creation of the ballet. The choreographer assigned to the production was the Czech Julius Reisinger (1827-1892), who had been engaged as balletmaster to the Ballet Of The Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre (today known as the Bolshoi Ballet) since 1873. ''Swan Lake'' was the first ballet set to the score of a symphonic composer. At this time, scores for ballets were almost always written by composers known as "specialists" - composers who were highly skilled at scoring the light, decorative, melodious, and rhythmically clear music that was at that time in vogue for ballet. Tchaikovsky studied the music of these "specialists" before setting to work on ''Swan Lake''. Tchaikovsky drew on previous compositions in for his ''Swan Lake'' score. He made use of material from '' The Voyevoda '', an opera that he had abandoned in 1868, in ''Swan Lake'''s ''Grand Adagio'' (aka the ''Love Duet''), ''Waltz of the Prospective Fiancées'', and the ''Entr'acte'' of the fourth scene. According to Tchaikovsky's nephew, Tchaikovsky originally created the famous ''Swan's Theme'' for a little ballet called ''The Lake of the Swans'' he had written at his home for the amusement of his relatives. It is not known what sort of collaborative processes were involved between Tchaikovsky and Reisinger. Tchaikovsky likely had some form of instruction in composing ''Swan Lake'', as he had to know what sort of dances would be required. But unlike the instructions that Tchaikovsky received for the scores of ''The Sleeping Beauty'' and ''The Nutcracker'', no such written instruction is known to have survived. By April of 1876 the score was complete, and rehearsals began. Soon Reisinger began setting certain numbers aside that he dubbed "unsuitable for ballet." Reisinger even began choreographing dances to other composers' music, but Tchaikovsky protested, and his pieces were reinstated. Premiere and reception ''Swan Lake'' (or ''The Lake of the Swans'' as it was called then) had its premiere on March 4 , 1877 . It was given as a benefit performance for the ballerina Pelagia Karpakova , who created the role of Odette, with the Bolshoi Theatre's ''Premiere Danseur'' Victor Gillert as Prince Siegfried. Karpakova likely also danced the part Odile, although it is not known for certain. The Russian ballerina Anna Sobeschenskaya - for whom the original (1877) role of Odette was intended - was pulled from the premiere performance when a governing official in Moscow complained about her, stating that she had accepted several pieces of expensive jewelry from him, only to then marry a fellow danseur and sell the pieces for cash. Sobeschenskaya was replaced by Polina Karpakova who danced the role of the Swan Queen until the former was reinstated by Petipa. The premiere was not well-received, with near unanimous criticism concerning the dancers, orchestra, and décor. Unfortunately Tchaikovsky's masterful score was lost in the debacle of the poor production, and though there were a few critics who recognized its virtues, most considered it to be far too complicated for ballet. According to Modeste Tchaikovsky - ''"The poverty of the production, meaning the décor and costumes, the absence of outstanding performers, the Balletmaster's weakness of imagination, and, finally, the orchestra...all of this together permitted (Tchaikovsky) with good reason to cast the blame for the failure on others."'' The Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux In spite of the poor reaction to the premiere, the ballet nevertheless continued being performed. On April 26 1877 the prima ballerina of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre Anna Sobeshchanskaya made her début as Odette/Odile in ''Swan Lake'', and from the start she was completely dissatisfied with the production of the ballet, but most of all with Reisinger's choreography and Tchaikovsky's music. Sobeshchanskaya traveled to St. Petersburg to have a new ''Pas de Deux'' choreographed to replace the ''Grand Pas de Six'', which functioned as the ballet's '' Grand Pas ''. (This was standard practice in 19th century ballet.) In response, Petipa fashioned a ''Pas de Deux'' to the specially composed music of Léon Minkus . Word of this change soon found its way to Tchaikovsky, who became very angry. Eventually, Tchaikovsky agreed to compose a ''Pas'' that would correspond precisely to Minkus' music, fitting the new choreography. (In doing so, Tchaikovsky merely re-scored most of Minkus' music, with slight melodic and harmonic modifications.) Sobeshchanskaya was so pleased with Tchaikovsky's new version of the Minkus music that she requested he compose for her an additional variation, which he did. Until 1953 this ''Pas de Deux'' was thought to be lost, until an accidentally discovered repétitéur was found in the archives of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre. In 1960 George Balanchine choreographed a ''Pas de Deux'' to this music for the Ballerina Violette Verdy , and the Danseur Conrad Ludlow under the title ''Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux'', as it is still known and performed today. Subsequent productions (1879-1894) Julius Reisinger left Moscow in 1879, and his successor as Balletmaster was Joseph Peter Hansen . Hansen, made considerable efforts throughout the late 1870s/early 1880s to salvage ''Swan Lake'', and on January 13 1880 he presented a new production of the ballet for his own benefit performance. The part of Odette/Odile was danced by Evdokia Kalmykova , a student of the Moscow Imperial Ballet School , with Alfred Bekefi as Prince Siegfried. This production was far more well-received than the original, though it was by no means a great success. Hansen presented another version of ''Swan Lake'' on October 28 1882 , again with Kalmykova as Odette/Odile. For this production Hansen arranged a '' Grand Pas '' for the ballroom scene which he titled ''La Cosmopolitana''. This was taken from the European section of the ''Grand Pas d'action'' known as ''The Allegory of the Continents'' from Marius Petipa's 1875 ballet '' The Bandits '' to the music of Ludwig Minkus . Hansen's version of ''Swan Lake'' was given only four times, the final performance being on January 2 1883 , and soon the ballet was dropped from the repertory altogether. In all, ''Swan Lake'' was given a total of forty-one performances between its premiere and the final performance of 1883 - a rather lengthy run for a ballet that was so poorly received upon its premiere. Hansen would go on to become Balletmaster to the Alhambra Theatre in London, and on December 1 1884 he presented a one-act ballet titled ''The Swans'', which was inspired by the second scene of ''Swan Lake''. The music was composed by the Alhambra Theatre's ''chef d'orchestre'' Georges Jacoby . The second scene of ''Swan Lake'' was then presented on February 21 1888 in Prague by the Ballet Of The National Theatre in a version mounted by the Balletmaster August Berger . The ballet was given during two concerts which were conducted by Tchaikovsky. The composer noted in his diary that he experienced ''"a moment of absolute happiness"'' when the ballet was performed. Berger's production followed the 1877 libretto, though the names of Prince Siegfried and Benno were changed to Jaroslav and Zdenek, with the role of Benno danced by a female dancer ''en travestie''. The role of Prince Siegfried was danced by Berger himself with the Ballerina Giulietta Paltriniera-Bergrova as Odette. Berger's production was only given eight performances, and was even planned for production at the Fantasia Garden in Moscow in 1893, but it never materialized. 1895 Petipa/Ivanov/Drigo revival See Also: Petipa/Ivanov/Drigo revival of Swan Lake Preparation During the late 1880s and early 1890s, Pepita and Vsevolozhsky considered reviving Swan Lake and were in talks with Tchaikovsky about doing so. However, Tchaikovsky died on November 6 1893 , just when plans to revive ''Swan Lake'' were beginning to come to fruition. It remains uncertain whether Tchaikovsky was even going to revise the music for the prospected revival of ''Swan Lake''. Whatever the case, as a result of Tchaikovsky's death, Drigo was forced to revise the score himself, but not before receiving approval from Modeste. There are major Differences Between Drigo's Swan Lake Score And Tchaikovsky's Score . (Today, it is Riccardo Drigo's revision of Tchaikovsky's score as done for Petipa and Ivanov's 1895 revival, and not Tchaikovsky's original score of 1877, that almost every ballet company uses when performing ''Swan Lake''.) In February 1894, two memorial concerts planned by Vsevolozhsky were given in honor of Tchaikovsky. The production included the second scene of ''Swan Lake'', choreographed Lev Ivanov , Second Balletmaster to the Imperial Ballet. Ivanov's choreography for the memorial concert was unanimously hailed as wonderful. The Ballerina who danced Odette was the Italian virtuosa Pierina Legnani , and it was because of her great talent that the prospected revival of ''Swan Lake'' was planned for her benefit performance in the 1894-1895 season. Her performance demonstrated her phenomenal technique, climaxing in no less than thirty two '' Fouettés En Tournant '' (the most ever performed) during the ''grand pas''. The dazzled public roared with demands for an encore, and the Ballerina repeated her variation, this time performing twenty eight fouettés en tournant. However, the death of Tsar Alexander III on November 1 1894 and the period of official mourning which followed it brought all ballet performances and rehearsals to a close for some time, and as a result all efforts were able to be concentrated on the pre-production of the revival of ''Swan Lake''. Ivanov and Petipa chose to collaborate on the production, with Ivanov retaining his dances for the second scene while choreographing the fourth, and with Petipa staging the first and third scenes. Tchaikovsky's brother Modeste was called upon to make the required changes to the ballet's libretto, the most prominent being his revision of the ballet's finale - instead of the lovers simply drowning at the hand of the wicked Von Rothbart as in the original 1877 scenario, Odette commits suicide by drowning herself, with Prince Siegfried choosing to die as well, rather than live without her, and soon the lovers' spirits are reunited in an ''apotheosis''. Aside from the revision of the libretto the ballet was changed from four acts to three - with Act II becoming Act I-Scene 2, Act III becoming Act II, and Act IV becoming Act III. Premiere All was ready by the beginning of 1895, and the ballet had its premiere on January 15 . Pierina Legnani danced Odette/Odile, with Pavel Gerdt as Prince Siegfried, Alexei Bulgakov as Von Rothbart, and Alexander Oblakov as Benno. The premiere of the Petipa/Ivanov/Drigo was quite a success, though not as much of one as it has been in modern times. Most of the reviews in the St. Petersburg newspapers were positive. Unlike the premiere of ''The Sleeping Beauty'', ''Swan Lake'' did not dominate the repertory of the Mariinsky Theatre in its first season. It was given only sixteen performances between the premiere and the 1895-1896 season, and was not performed at all in 1897. Even more surprising, the ballet was performed only four times in 1898 and 1899. The ballet belonged solely to Legnani until she left St. Petersburg for her native Italy in 1901. After her departure, the ballet was taken over by Mathilde Kschessinskaya , who was as much celebrated in the role as was her Italian predecessor. Productions and dance adaptations after 1895 as Odette in a 2007 production of ''Swan Lake'' at London 's Royal Opera House ]] See Also: List of major productions of Swan Lake derived from its 1895 revival Throughout the long and complex performance history of ''Swan Lake'' the 1895 edition of Petipa, Ivanov, and Drigo has served as the definitive version from which nearly every staging has been based. Nearly every Balletmaster/choreographer who has re-staged Swan Lake has sought to make modifications to the ballet's scenario, while still maintaining to a considerable extent the traditional choreography for the dances, which is regarded as virtually sacrosanct. Likewise, over time the role of Siegfried has become far more prominent, due largely to the evolution of ballet technique. Several notable productions have diverged from the original and its 1895 revival. Matthew Bourne's ''Swan Lake'' , for instance, departed from the traditional ballet by replacing the female corps de ballet with male dancers. Since its inception in 1995, Matthew Bourne's production has never been off the stage, somewhere in the world, for more than a few months. It has toured the United Kingdom and returned to London several times. It has been performed on extended tours in Greece, Israel, Turkey, Australia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States, in addition to the United Kingdom. Graeme Murphy 's ''Swan Lake'', first performed in 2002, combined roles of Von Rothbart and Odile into that of a Baroness, and the focus of the story is a love triangle.http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_05/jul05/interview_mcallister_murphy.htm ADAPTATIONS IN OTHER MEDIA Film
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REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS Background
Video recordings of the ballet:
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