In the world choreographic heritage the ballet “Swan Lake” shares the same greatness of leadership only with the no-less famous “Giselle”. There is not a single great ballet dancer of the 20th century who did not dance the part of Odetta/Odile. And there is hardly a serious theatre company that never had “Swan Lake” in its repertoire and on its posters.

The secret of such exceptional popularity can be explained, in the first place, by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s great music.  “Swan Lake” was the composer’s first experience of cooperating with a ballet theatre.  Strange as it may seem, this creation was not among his favorite works. In one of his letters Tchaikovsky even called his score “total rubbish”! Perhaps such an attitude can be explained by the fact that the composer did not have a chance to see a truly exceptional stage version of the ballet. 

The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, which at the time wallowed in routine and non-professional performances, commissioned the score.  Tchaikovsky’s music turned out to be innovative.  Before Tchaikovsky, the established ballet composers of the theatre staff wrote only melodies that were pleasant to hear and easy to dance and could not claim any value or importance of their own.  Tchaikovsky’s music became the dramatic and ideological cornerstone of the ballet performance and opened philosophic and poetic depths that were unthinkable in the ballets of the past. 

Such innovative music demanded an equally innovative approach to choreography, beyond the skills of the Bolshoi Theatre of the time.  The script was weak, the choreographer Reisinger was hopelessly mediocre and the theatre did not even care to make new dresses for the first night.  It is no wonder that the first night performance of “Swan Lake” that took place on 4th March 1877 did not become an important cultural event.  In the following two years the ballet was performed only four times and then disappeared from the stage altogether for a further twelve years. 

One may say that the real stage history of “Swan Lake” started in 1895 (after the composer’s death) when Marius Petipa together with Leo Ivanov staged the ballet in the Maryinsky theatre of Saint Petersburg.  To be more exact, Ivanov had staged the famous “White Act”, Act 2, two years before.  It was his artistic concept that was taken into consideration by the greatest choreographers of the 20th century in later interpretations of “Swan Lake”.  Petipa, together with Tchaikovsky’s brother Modest, drastically changed the script and staged Act I and Act 3, including the masterpiece of the pas-de-deux of Siegfried and Odile.  Act 4 was a joint production of Petipa and Ivanov. 

In those days the Italian prima ballerina Pierina Leniani, who was famous for her virtuoso dancing, danced the part of Odette-Odile.  She was the first ballet dancer to succeed in doing 32 fouettes, a feat greatly admired by all ballet lovers.  This performance marked the beginning of the ballet’s triumphant procession all over the world.  This Petipa- Ivanov version became a classic, and was the starting point for such choreographers as Gorsky, Lopukhov, Messerre, Vaganova, Burmeister, and Grigorovich.  “Swan Lake” has been adapted as often as it’s been admired.  For example, during the Soviet times it was decided to change the tragic ending of the ballet, where the main characters died fighting the Evil Rothbart.  The Soviets insisted on having an optimistic happy ending, as the state ideology in the USSR did not allow pessimism even in the ballet.  Yet despite all the improvements and updating attempted over the years, “Swan Lake” remains as fresh, as beloved, and as beautiful today as it was a century ago.  The Russian National Ballet Theatre of Moscow version is magical, spellbinding, and exquisite, an evening of great theatre not to be missed!