Ballet Swan Lake

Tchaikovsky's ballet " Swan Lake ", 4 acts, 1876. This is Tchaikovsky's first dance piece, based on folklore, and the plot is: Princess Odetta is turned into a white swan by the devil on the banks of Swan Lake. Prince Siegfried travels to Swan Lake and is deeply in love with Odetta. On the night the prince picks a bride, the devil has his daughter Black Swan disguised as Odetta to deceive the prince. The prince was almost deceived and finally found out in time. He fought the devil and killed him. The white swan restores the princess to her original form and joins the prince to a happy ending.

Story Introduction

Introduction

Princess Odetta, who was picking flowers by the lake, was transformed into a swan by a vicious spell cast by the evil lord Rosebart. She can only transform back into human form at night. Only true love can break the evil magic.

Act One

The old king died, and Prince Chigfried would soon inherit the throne, so the wedding had to be held. The prince was afraid of losing his freedom, and he did not want to marry someone he did not love. On the occasion of the prince's 21st birthday, he and his friends gathered in the courtyard of the castle. The servant Benno arranged a birthday party and tried his best to make the prince happy. Unexpectedly, the queen suddenly arrived. She was greatly surprised by the noisy banquet and reminded the prince that the palace was still in the state of mourning. The queen then left, leaving a depressed Chigfried. Benno asked the two courtesans to dance to please the prince, and when they were happy, Benno also danced enthusiastically to toast the future king. The dance ended, and a line of swans flew over the prince's head in pairs. Benno suggested that the prince try a new crossbow, and they hunted and chased in the direction where the swans flew.

Act II

The prince and Benno came to the lake, and the prince sent Benno to find the swan. Left alone, he caught the attention of the demon king Rothbart.

Suddenly a swan approached, and the prince was surprised to see a dignified and noble swan slowly transforming into a beautiful and beautiful girl. The beautiful girl told the handsome prince about her tragic life. It turned out that she was a princess named Odetta, and the hateful devil turned her and her partner into swans, and they could only recover their human form at night. Only true love can break the evil magic. The prince firmly believes that the princess is the sweetheart he has been thinking about every day.

The demon king was found eavesdropping on the side, and the prince wanted to shoot him. Odetta begged the prince not to kill the demon king, or the spell would never be broken. Odetta warned the prince that if he broke his vow of love, she would be a swan forever. Dawn broke, and the prince vowed to save her from her misery, vowing to keep this eternal love in his heart. Odetta and her companions turned back into swans and returned to the lake.

Act III

In the ballroom of the castle, the prince had to choose a fiancée from among the beauties to be elected queen. The princesses danced to please the prince, but the prince's thoughts were not with them and refused to make a choice. A loud trumpet sounded, announcing the arrival of two uninvited guests. They were the disguised ambassadors of the demon king Rothbart and his daughter Augilia. Rothbart turned Augilia into Odetta, and the prince was fascinated by the unknown visitor who looked like Odetta, and he was convinced that it was his swan princess on the dance floor.

Just as the prince and Augilia were dancing, Odetta appeared at the window and begged the prince to remember the oath he had sworn to her, but by then the prince was distracted by the devil's spell. The prince raised his hand at the devil's request and made a vow of love to Augilia - the devil's plot succeeded, and Odetta cried out in despair. There was a flash of lightning and thunder, and the ballroom was in chaos. The prince woke up in despair, but it was too late. He had promised another vow of love to someone else. The deceived prince rushed out to find the real Odetta.

Act IV

Comedy version ending:

The heartbroken Odetta returned to Swan Lake heartbroken. The Demon King created a blizzard to prevent the prince from going to find Odetta.

The prince finally found Odetta, but infinite true love and endless regret could not change the consequences of breaking the covenant. The spell could no longer be broken, and the prince and princess would be separated from each other. The demon king showed his ferocious face and turned the princess and the girls into swans drifting on the lake. The indignant prince and princess hugged each other, and both jumped into the raging waves of the lake with the belief that they could not love or die. In an instant, a miracle appeared, justice triumphed over evil, steadfast love defeated the evil demon, magic was shattered, the cave collapsed, the lake ebbed, and the swan girls were reborn.

The prince and princess basked in the rays of the rising sun, and a beautiful life began again.

The tragic ending:

The prince and the white swan both threw themselves into the lake to die in love, the magic of other swans was lifted, and the devil king died. (Such as American ABT, Emperor, Shangba, etc.)

The prince was killed by the magic of the devil, the magic of the swan was not lifted, and the swan was taken away by the devil. (Such as the Nureyev version, the Paris Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Liaoning Ballet, etc.)