Swan Lake facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Swan Lake
Act 2 set design, Moscow 1877
Choreographed by	Julius Reisinger
Composed by	Tchaikovsky
Libretto by	Vladimir Petrovich Begitchev Vasily Geltzer
Based on	German fairy tale
Date of premiere	4 March 1877
Place of premiere	Bolshoi Theatre Moscow
Original ballet company	Bolshoi Ballet
Characters	Odette Prince Siegfried Queen Mother Von Rothbart Odile
Designs by	Karl Valts (Acts 2 & 4) Ivan Shangin (Act 1) Karl Groppius (Act 3)
Setting	Germany Fairy tale times
Created for	Pauline Karpakova and the Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow
Genre	Fairy tale
Type	Romantic ballet

Swan Lake is a famous romantic ballet with four acts. A romantic ballet often tells a story about love, magic, and faraway places. The amazing music for Swan Lake was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He first wrote a small ballet about swans in 1871 for his nieces and nephews. He later used some of that music in Swan Lake.

The story of Swan Lake comes from a German fairy tale. It tells the tale of Prince Siegfried, who falls in love with Princess Odette. Odette is under a terrible magic spell. She is a swan during the day but turns into a young woman at night. The spell can only be broken if a man promises to love her forever.

Prince Siegfried makes this promise to Odette. However, he is tricked by the evil magician who cast the spell. The ballet usually ends with Siegfried and Odette dying.

Swan Lake was first shown on March 4, 1877, at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. At first, critics did not like it. But in 1895, some important changes were made to the ballet. It was then performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. This time, everyone loved it! Most performances you see today are based on this successful 1895 version.

The Story of Swan Lake

The ballet tells a magical story of love, betrayal, and a powerful spell. It is divided into four main parts, called acts.

Act 1: Prince Siegfried's Birthday

The curtain opens on Prince Siegfried's 21st birthday party. Everyone is celebrating! The next evening, a big ball will be held. At this ball, Siegfried must choose a bride from six visiting princesses.

His tutor, Wolfgang, brings in some peasants to join the fun. The Queen Mother enters and thinks Siegfried is not serious enough. After she leaves, Siegfried's friend Benno encourages him to keep celebrating. There are many dances, including a Pas de trois (a dance for three people) and a Pas de deux (a dance for two people).

As the sun sets, Siegfried suggests one last dance. The merrymakers dance a polonaise while holding their goblets. Suddenly, a flock of swans flies overhead. Benno suggests they go hunting. The Prince agrees, and they set off.

Act 2: The Swan Princess

The scene changes to a beautiful lake shining in the moonlight. Siegfried and his friends watch a flock of swans gliding on the water. As the hunters aim, the swans magically turn into maidens!

Their leader, Princess Odette, asks Siegfried why he is bothering them. She explains that she and her friends have been turned into swans by her wicked stepmother. They are watched by Von Rothbart, her stepmother's companion, who looks like an owl. Odette tells Siegfried that only a true marriage vow can break the spell. This spell makes her a swan by day and a maiden by night.

Siegfried tells Odette that he loves her. She promises to come to tomorrow's ball. But she warns him that her stepmother is very dangerous. As dawn breaks, Odette and her friends return to the lake, changing back into swans.

Act 3: The Ball and the Deception

Guests arrive at Siegfried's castle for the ball, where he will choose his bride. Everyone dances, even a group of dwarves. The six princesses arrive, but Siegfried does not choose any of them.

Then, Von Rothbart enters with his daughter, Odile. She is cleverly disguised to look exactly like Odette. The princesses dance, followed by exciting Hungarian, Spanish, Neapolitan, and Mazurka dances.

Siegfried, believing Odile is his beloved Odette, chooses her as his bride. As soon as he does, Von Rothbart quickly leaves the hall, turning into an owl. Siegfried realizes he has been tricked! He rushes out into the night to find the real Odette.

Tchaikovsky later added a famous dance to Act 3. It is known as the "Black Swan pas de deux."

Act 4: The Storm and the Ending

Odette's friends wait for her return by the lake. Odette arrives, collapsing into their arms. She tells them about the terrible trick that has happened. A storm begins to rise.

Siegfried finally reaches Odette and begs her to forgive him. In most versions, Odette dies of sadness in his arms. Siegfried throws her crown into the water, and the waves take him too. The swans are then seen gliding away across the lake.

Creating the Ballet

Swan Lake was a big project for Tchaikovsky, who was already a famous composer.

The Story and Music Begin

In 1871, Tchaikovsky was spending the summer with his sister in Ukraine. At her home, he wrote a short ballet about swans for her children to perform. The story was based on a German fairy tale called "The Lake of Swans." Tchaikovsky used a musical idea from this children's ballet in the full Swan Lake.

In 1875, Vladimir Begitchev asked Tchaikovsky to write a new ballet about swans. Begitchev was in charge of the shows at the Imperial Theatres. Tchaikovsky agreed, saying he wanted the money and had always wanted to try writing ballet music. He finished the music for the ballet by April 10, 1876.

It is not completely clear who wrote the story (libretto) for the ballet. Both Begitchev and the dancer Vasily Geltzer were given credit. They likely used ideas from talks with artists and from old German fairy tales collected by Johann Musäus.

Tchaikovsky's Composition Process

When Tchaikovsky started Swan Lake in 1875, he had never written ballet music for a professional theater. He studied the ballet music of other composers, like Leo Delibes, whose music he found pretty and tuneful.

Tchaikovsky decided to make Swan Lake grand, like a symphony. He completed the music in April 1876. The music director at the Bolshoi Theatre found Tchaikovsky's music hard to understand at first. A special musical theme from Tchaikovsky's earlier children's ballet, called the "Song of the Swans," became an important repeating tune (a leitmotif) in Swan Lake.

Characters in the Ballet

The story of Swan Lake comes alive through its memorable characters.

Odette: The Swan Princess. She is a swan by day and a maiden by night. She appears in Acts 2 and 4, and briefly in Act 3.
Prince Siegfried: Odette's true love. He promises to be loyal to her forever but accidentally betrays her. He is in all four acts.
Von Rothbart: A powerful magician who trapped Odette and her friends in a magic spell. He can turn into an owl. He is defeated at the end of the ballet. He appears in Acts 2, 3, and 4. His name means "Red Beard."
Odile: Von Rothbart's daughter. She pretends to be Odette and tricks the Prince into breaking his promise. She appears only in Act 3. Sometimes, the same ballerina plays both Odette and Odile.
Wolfgang: The Prince's tutor.
Benno: The Prince's friend. He suggests hunting the swans in Act 1. Benno appears in Acts 1 and 3.
Queen Mother: Siegfried's mother. She wants her son to choose a bride. She often gives him a crossbow as a birthday gift in Act 1. She appears in Acts 1 and 3.

Music and Structure

Tchaikovsky carefully built the music of Swan Lake to tell the story.

How the Music Tells the Story

The music in Swan Lake helps to show the drama. For example, the key of B is used for sad or tragic parts, often linked to Von Rothbart's dark magic. The main action, however, is in the key of A.

Tchaikovsky balanced all the different musical parts. The fun, light dances are very appealing. The dances that move the story forward have more musical depth. The parts that tell the story or show action are grand, like a symphony. Some early critics thought Tchaikovsky's music was "too noisy" or "too symphonic" for a ballet.

Parts of the Ballet

The ballet is divided into many musical numbers, each with its own mood and purpose.

Overture

Act 1

No.1: Scène (Scene)
No.2: Valse (Waltz)
No.3: Scène
No.4: Pas de trois (Dance for three)
No.5: Pas de deux (Dance for two)
No.6: Pas d'action (Action dance)
No.7: Sujet (Theme)
No.8: Danses des couppes (Goblet Dance)
No.9: Finale (Ending)

Act 2

No.10: Scène
No.11: Scène
No.12: Scène
No.13: Danses des cygnes (Dances of the Swans)
No.14: Scène

Act 3

No.16: Danse du corps de ballet and des nains (Dance for the group of dancers and the dwarves)
No.17: Scène —La sortie des invités et la Valse (Arrival of the guests and Waltz)
No.18: Scène
No.19: Pas de six (Dance for six princesses)
No.20: Danse hongroise (Hungarian dance)
No.21: Danse espangnole (Spanish dance)
No.22: Danse napolitaine (Neapolitan dance)
No.23: Danse Mazurka (Mazurka)
No.24: Scène
A famous pas de deux (now called the Black Swan pas de deux) was added later after the Mazurka.

Act 4

No.25: Entr'acte (Interlude)
No.26: Scène
No.27: Danse des petits cygnes (Dance of the little swans)
No.28: Scène
No.29: Scène finale (Final scene)

The First Performance

Rehearsals for Swan Lake started even before Tchaikovsky finished the music. They lasted for 11 months! Everyone involved found the music very complex for a ballet. Some even said it was "undanceable." The conductor himself felt overwhelmed by the music.

The choreographer, Julius Reisinger, was not very good. Also, the sets for the ballet looked messy because three different people designed them. The Bolshoi Theatre also had problems, like not having a ballet master who could create a good show from the music. The main role of Odette was given to a dancer who was not the best, possibly for political reasons.

Swan Lake first opened on March 4, 1877, at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Julius Reisinger created the dances, and Pauline Karpakova danced Odette. She even added some dances she liked from other ballets into Swan Lake. The ballet was not a success. In 1883, the Bolshoi Theatre stopped performing it. The sets were even falling apart by then. It wasn't until 1901 that a new production of Swan Lake was staged for the Bolshoi.

What People Thought

The first performance of Swan Lake was considered a disaster. A critic named Herman Laroche wrote that he had never seen a worse show at the Bolshoi. He said the costumes, sets, and stage effects did not hide how empty the dances were. He felt no one enjoyed it, even for five minutes.

However, Laroche did praise the music. He wrote that Tchaikovsky was "in excellent humour" and "at the height of his genius." Tchaikovsky's brother, Modest, agreed that the poor production, costumes, and weak choreography were to blame for the failure. Despite the critics, the ballet was somewhat popular with people who went to the theater. It was performed 33 times between 1877 and 1883.

The Successful 1895 Revision

After Tchaikovsky died on November 6, 1893, people became more interested in his music.

New Dances and Success

Lev Ivanov was the assistant Ballet Master at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. He created new dances for Act 2 of Swan Lake. This new Act 2 was performed on March 1, 1894, at a concert in memory of Tchaikovsky. Pierina Legnani danced Odette, and the revised act was a huge success. It was performed again with even greater praise.

Marius Petipa, the Ballet Master at the Mariinsky, was impressed. He decided to stage the complete ballet at the Mariinsky. He designed the dances for Acts 1 and 3, while Ivanov designed Acts 2 and 4.

Music Changes for the Revision

Riccardo Drigo, the conductor of the Mariinsky orchestra, made some changes to the music. He removed some numbers from the ballet. He also added three piano pieces by Tchaikovsky (from his Op. 72) and arranged them for the orchestra. These pieces were "L'Espiègle," "Valse Bluette," and "Un poco di Chopin." He also added a number to Act 3 that he might have written himself.

Tchaikovsky's brother, Modest, also changed the ballet's story slightly for the revision. He gave the ballet a happy ending, which was different from the original sad ending.

The new Swan Lake was performed on January 27, 1895, at the Mariinsky. Pierina Legnani danced both Odette and Odile, showing her amazing skill. This version of the ballet was a great success and is the one usually performed today.

The Famous 32 Fouettés

Dancer performing fouettés en tournant

Swan Lake is famous for a difficult dance move: the 32 fouettés en tournant in Act 3. These are fast, whipping turns performed by the ballerina playing Odile at the end of the "Black Swan" pas de deux.

This pas de deux was added later by Tchaikovsky and was not in the first production. It starts with a slow, graceful part (adagio), followed by a solo dance for the male dancer, then a solo for the ballerina. It ends with a fast section for both dancers, which includes the fouettés.

Pierina Legnani was the first to perform the 32 fouettés in the 1895 Mariinsky production. Some people thought these turns were just a show-off stunt. But others found them very exciting! These fans would go to every performance just to count the turns.

Swan Lake Around the World

Swan Lake became known in Europe and the United States soon after the successful 1895 version.

It was first performed in Europe in Prague in June 1907. The first performance in the United States was at the Metropolitan Opera House in December 1911. Diaghilev's Ballets Russes presented a two-act Swan Lake in London in 1911. They later showed a one-act version in London in 1925.

The complete Swan Lake was first performed in England by the Sadler's Wells Ballet in November 1934. Many famous ballerinas have played Odette, including Mathilde Kchessinska, Anna Pavlova, and Margot Fonteyn. Famous male dancers who have played Prince Siegfried include Pavel Gerdt (in the 1895 St. Petersburg production), Nijinsky, and Rudolph Nureyev.

Images for kids

The Silent Violinist, a professional mime busker act, that references the "swan princess" concept.
Dancers from Little Princess Ballet Academy (LPBA) in Second Life have lined up, waiting to go on stage for Swan Lake in May 2014.
Adelaide Giuri as Odette and Mikhail Mordkin as Prince Siegfried in Aleksandr Gorsky's staging of the Petipa/Ivanov Swan Lake for the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, 1901. A young Vera Karalli is seen kneeling.
Anna Sobeshchanskaya as Odette in Julius Reisinger's original production of Swan Lake, Moscow, 1877
Zenaida Yanowsky as Odette in a 2007 production of Swan Lake at London's Royal Opera House
The Valse des cygnes from Act II of the Ivanov/Petipa edition of Swan Lake
Scene from Act 4 of Swan Lake.Vienna State Opera, 2004