THOUGH 145 years have passed since its premiere, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” is still the most popular ballet in the world. So much so that there is hardly any ballet ensemble whose repertoire does not include a version of this renowned work.
Often dismissed as a failure, the first performance of “Swan Lake” premiered at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow in 1877, and 130 years ago today, it was performed at the Mayan Theater in St. Petersburg. This most influential version by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov became the original production of the most famous ballet of all time.
During the 20th century, “Swan Lake” gained worldwide popularity as Russian artists included it in their repertoire on tours, above all the famous dancer Anna Pavlova. The English National Ballet first performed the complete ballet in four acts in Verona in 1964.
However, the details of Tchaikovsky’s commission to write the score of “Swan Lake” for the Bolshoi Theater remain a mystery. He claimed that he composed it “partly because I need money, and partly because I have long had a desire to try my hand at this kind of music”. A project close to his heart, Swan Lake was Tchaikovsky’s first ballet, followed by other classics such as Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.
Hurt by the poor reception of “Swan Lake” by critics and dancers (who found his music challenging), Tchaikovsky turned his back on ballet music for 13 years. After the 1895 performance, Tchaikovsky never saw the complete ballet on stage again. The music of “Swan Lake”, composed by Tchaikovsky, is as star as the players themselves.
It is interesting that there are many different versions of the “Swan Lake” ballet. While in the original version, which was presented in St. Petersburg, the end of the ballet ends tragically, in some modern choreographies the story changes. These versions add an element of hope and love, which makes the ballet even more emotional.
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Source: www.novosti.rs
