The Swan Lake ballet was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a Russian composer.Tchaikovsky was a popular Russian composer of all time. His music has always held a great appeal to the general public due to its open-hearted and tuneful melodies.It isn’t easy to talk about ballet without talking about Tchaikovsky. He was the second child of Ilya Tchaikovsky and Alexandra Assier and manifested a deep interest in music right from his childhood. He is responsible for creating some of the most performed, loved, and greatest ballet works of all time, like Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. Tchaikovsky’s music gives his ballet works an outstanding quality. There are quite a number of theories about how Tchaikovsky came up with the idea for Swan Lake. Some claim that the ballet’s story was influenced by the life story of the Bavarian King Ludwig II, who is also popularly referred to as the Swan King. It is also said that Swan Lake was inspired by stories from German Folk tales like ‘The Stolen Veil’ and ‘The White Duck.’ The White Swan, seen in the Swan Lake ballet, is a common theme in a lot of German and Slavic literature. Tchaikovsky clearly enjoyed working on Swan Lake because he created a lot of material that was required for the ballet. The version of the Swan Lake ballet that is performed today is an edited one that was created after Tchaikovsky’s death.Swan Lake Ballet ReviewsSwan Lake has had a massive influence on the evolution of ballet as well as the pop culture prevalent these days. Before Tchaikovsky, ballet music mainly consisted of vapid material, but his composition of Swan Lake gave a whole new life and meaning to ballet performances. Swan Lake was derived from German and Russian folktales.Swan Lake originally premiered in the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1877. Despite this ballet being one of the most performed ballets around the world, the very first performance of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake was a complete failure. The critics dismissed Swan Lake after the first time it was performed, saying that the music used in the ballet was too noisy and ’too symphonic’.The performance at the Bolshoi Theatre received unanimous criticism on various production aspects, from the dancers and orchestra, to the stage sets. Some of the critics understood and valued the score of the ballet, but many considered the composition to be too complicated to be used in a ballet performance. The choreography by Reisinger was considered to be unmemorable and unimaginative. The audience at the Bolshoi Theatre distrusted the German origins of the story and considered the complicated surnames of the characters to be stupid.Despite its poor reception, Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake has been performed a total of 41 times since its premiere in 1877. After his death, Swan Lake was revived by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa for a ballet company named Mariinsky Ballet. The ending of the original Swan Lake was changed and the revived version was performed in the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in January 1895.This revived version was considered to be one of the most outstanding ballet performances. The performance was lauded for finding a balance between dancing, technique, and emotional power. The music, dancers, and costumes were sophisticated, delicate, and refined. To this day, this version is still considered to be spellbinding.Cast Of The Swan Lake BalletSwan Lake tells the story of two star-crossed lovers, Princess Odette and Prince Siegfried. Prince Siegfried discovers a group of swans when he goes hunting one night and one of the swans transforms into Odette. Princess Odette, the White Swan, then explains to him how she and her companions were transformed into swans by an evil sorcerer named Von Rothbart. Princess Odette says that her spell can only be broken if someone swears undying love to her and marries her. Even though Prince Siegfried agrees to this, they are tricked by the Evil Sorcerer’s daughter, Odile, the Black Swan. Princess Odette is heartbroken by the broken promise. In the end, Prince Siegfried and Princess Odette decide to die together and throw themselves into the enchanted lake.In Moscow 1877, the ballerina who played Odette and Odile was Pelageya Karpakova. Odile is depicted by the Black Swan in the ballet, and Odette, who is the Swan Queen, is depicted by the White Swan. Prince Siegfried was played by Victor Gillert. The Queen was played by the ballerina, Olga Nikolayeva, and the Evil Sorcerer was portrayed by Sergey Sokolov.In April 1877, the Swan Princess was portrayed by Anna Sobeshchanskaya. She was dissatisfied with the ballet and asked Petipa to create a new pas de deux to replace pas de six in Act Three. Tchaikovsky was angered by the newly created pas de deux, and he agreed to compose a new pas de deux to such a degree that the ballerina would not even have to rehearse it.The 1895 production of Swan Lake had a different cast. Odette and Odile were portrayed by Pierina Legnani. Legnani was the first ballerina to perform this role in the Petipa version and is considered to have set a high standard for the role. The Prince was played by Pavel Gerdt and the Sorcerer by Victor Gillert.The 1964 version by Rudolph Noureev is remembered due to the stellar performance of Margot Fonteyn as Princess Odette. Maïa Plissetskaïa is another prima ballerina, who gave an unforgettable and historic performance in 1976. Currently, Léonore Baulac, a dancer of Franco-Norweigan descent, plays the part of Odette.Unique Features Of The Swan Lake BalletThe Swan Lake ballet has been called a national ballet by Fyodor Lopukhov. The age recommendation for this ballet is between the ages of 7-12. The Swan Lake ballet is made up of 60 swans, including the White and Black Swan, 120 dancers, and a total of 124 minutes of music. It is said that the vision of all of the swans dancing together on stage is a true vision.There are a number of components or features that make Swan Lake unique and special. The dual role of Odette and Odile, the White and Black Swan, played by the same ballerina was iconic and required mastery over both technical and emotional aspects. Tchaikovsky’s music composed for Swan Lake was his first musical score for a ballet. This score was a symphonic work and radically changed the standards set for ballet music. The Swan Theme is a stirring section of the musical score, which builds a sense of mystery, wistfulness, and romance in the ballet performance.Another special aspect of the ballet is the ‘port de bras’ of the swans. This movement of the arms of the ballerinas is lyrical and resembles the fluttering wings of swans. This movement is prominent in the fourth and second acts and is said to give the audience goosebumps. Swan Lake is also famous for the movement called ‘fouettés en tournant.’ There are approximately 32 such movements in Act Three of the ballet and are considered to be a great athletic feat.The costumes of the ballerinas from the black tutu of Odile and the feathered headpieces of Odette create unique magic in the performance. The whole ballet uses over 470 accessories in the form of headpieces, boots, and other items. The white tutus of the swans set them apart and give their costumes a feathery effect, just like real swans.The diversity of the choreography of Swan Lake is one of its striking qualities. Marius Petipa created the choreography by drawing from many traditional dances from different parts of the world. It has a blend of movements from Italy, Poland, Russia, Hungary, and Spain.One of the most striking pieces of choreography in the ballet is called the ‘Black Swan pas de deux’. It is well known for its dramatic cohesion and technical difficulty. This choreography marks the part where Prince Seigfried is tricked by Odile. The ballerina who plays this part has to dance in two different ways with equal skill to portray the characters of both Odette and Odile. The diversity and richness of the choreography coupled with Tchaikovsky’s symphonic music elevated this ballet from a simple piece to a masterpiece, remembered and enjoyed years after its conception.Swan Lake Ballet Inspired Halloween CostumesThe Ballet Arizona’s production of Swan Lake featured 24 swan ballerinas. It is said that during this production, a ballerina uses up to three pairs of ballet shoes during a single performance. The costumes used in the production were made all over the world.Ballet costumes are a popular choice by many children as Halloween costumes. Many children enrolled in ballet academies have a never-ending and never dying passion for dressing up as ballerinas in tiny tutus and ballet shoes. Many parents find inspiration to make ballerina costumes from the Swan Lake ballet. Feathers are added to costumes to make them similar to that of the White Swan in Swan Lake.The Black Swan has also inspired a lot of Halloween costumes. The horror movie ‘Black Swan’, starring Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman, which is based on the Swan Lake ballet has also inspired a number of Halloween costumes. The elaborate headdresses, black feathers, and black tutu which are worn by the Black Swan in the ballet have all been modified and donned by a number of children during Halloween.
The Swan Lake ballet was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a Russian composer.
