Swan Lake

Swan Lake (Russian: Лебеди́ное о́зеро, romanized: Lebedínoje ózero, IPA: [lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə] listen^ⓘ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between 1875 and 1876. Although its première met with little success, the work has since attained recognition as one of the most celebrated and frequently performed ballets in the repertoire.^[1][2][3]

The narrative, originally conceived in two acts, draws upon elements of Russian and German folk tradition and recounts the tale of Odette, a princess transformed into a swan under the spell of a malevolent sorcerer. The first choreographic realisation was devised by Julius Reisinger (Václav Reisinger), and the ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1877^[4][5] at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Although numerous interpretations have since been staged, most ballet companies base their stagings both choreographically and musically on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet on 15 January 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre's chief conductor and composer Riccardo Drigo.^[6]