Swan Lake Tickets

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's creation, the Swan Lake ballet, was composed in 1875-76 and was originally adapted from Russian folk tales. The story revolved around a princess named Odette who was cursed by a sorcerer and turned into a swan. It was first performed in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and was choreographed by Julius Reisinger under the original title The Lake of the Swans. Later, many more versions were presented, the most popular being the one by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa, who prepared it for the Imperial Ballet in 1895. Most of the companies presenting this ballet later based it on this revival, for which Riccardo Drigo revised Tchaikovsky's score. This revised version was first presented at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The origin of this story has been much discussed by critics, and many claim it to be the national ballet due to its swans, which come from classic Russian romantic stories, and its dance movements, which come from Slovanic ring dances. Other critics also comment on its resemblance to the Russian folk tale The White Duck. The libretto is based on Der geraubte Schleier (The Stolen Veil), a story written by German author Johann Karl August Musaus.

It is still controversial as to where this ballet originated first, especially its libretto's author. Most critics credit it to Vladimir Petrovich Begichev and Vasily Geltser, director and Danseur of the Imperial Theatres of Moscow respectively, at the time when it was produced. It is narrated by Tchaikovsky's relatives that the original story was titled The Lake of the Swans rather than The Swan Lake.

Swan Lake is believed to be one of the first ballets set by a symphonic composer. Before starting his work on Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky studied the artistic work of specialist composers who used to set music for ballets written in those days and were highly skilled in their field. Tchaikovsky later admitted that he could have made it even better if he had studied Delibes' ballet before writing Swan Lake. Nevertheless, he made up for this when he later wrote The Sleeping Beauty.

Tchaikovsky was very excited while working on Swan Lake, and his passion for this piece of art can be appreciated by the fact that he composed the whole ballet within one year. Although the work was quite tough, he still managed to finish it in such a short time, as his letters written to his friends reveal that he always wanted to work with this kind of music. In making Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky worked in collaboration with Begichev, which, according to some critics, was a bit difficult for both artists to pull off. This was because both felt more comfortable working independently and desired to give Swan Lake a color of their own imagination. Nevertheless, the end result of their combined effort was still a masterpiece.

The storyline is about Princess Odette, the leading ballerina, her being converted to a swan by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart's magic, and her Prince Siegfried who has been unfaithful to her. Later, he sees the Princess in her semi-human form and falls in love with her. The story then moves on to how the Princess is rescued and how Rothbart tries to punish both of them. There are several alternative endings for the story in various versions of the play.

For those who admire the beauty and charm of classic stories and themes, Swan Lake tickets offer much more than just entertainment. It is a whole experience that keeps the audience spellbound until the very last moment of the show!