The idea of staging the ballet " Swan Lake"belonged to the director of the Moscow Imperial Troupe Vladimir Petrovich Begichev. He invited Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as a composer.
The plot was based on an old German legend about the beautiful princess Odette, who evil sorcerer Rothbart turned into a white swan. In the ballet, the young Prince Siegfried falls in love with the beautiful swan girl Odette and vows to be faithful to her. However, at the ball organized by the Queen Mother for Siegfried to choose a bride, the insidious Rothbart appears with his daughter Odile. The black swan Odile is the double and, at the same time, the antipode of Odette. Siegfried unwittingly falls under Odile's spell and proposes to her. Realizing his mistake, the prince runs to the shore of the lake to ask for forgiveness from the beautiful Odette... In the original version of the libretto, the fairy tale turns into a tragedy: Siegfried and Odette die in the waves.
At first, Odette and Odile were completely different characters. But while working on the ballet music, Tchaikovsky decided that the girls should be kind of doubles, which leads Siegfried to tragic mistake. Then it was decided that the parts of Odette and Odile should be performed by the same ballerina.
First failures
Work on the score continued from the spring of 1875 to April 10, 1876 (this is the date indicated in the score by the composer himself). However, rehearsals on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater began even before the end of composing the music, on March 23, 1876. The first director of Swan Lake was the Czech choreographer Julius Wenzel Reisinger. However, the play, which premiered on February 20, 1877, was not a success and, after 27 performances, left the stage.In 1880 or 1882, Belgian choreographer Joseph Hansen decided to revive the production. Despite the fact that Hansen slightly changed the dance scenes, in essence, the new version of Swan Lake differed little from the previous one. As a result, the ballet was shown only 11 times and, it would seem, disappeared forever into oblivion.
Birth of a legend
On October 6, 1893, without waiting for the triumph of his creation, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in St. Petersburg. In memory of him, the St. Petersburg Imperial Troupe decided to give a grandiose concert consisting of fragments different works composer, including the second act of the unsuccessful ballet Swan Lake. However, the theater's chief choreographer Marius Petipa did not undertake staging scenes from the obviously failed ballet. Then this work was entrusted to his assistant Lev Ivanov.Ivanov brilliantly coped with the task assigned to him. It was he who managed to turn “Swan Lake” into a legend. Ivanov gave the second act of the ballet a romantic sound. In addition, the choreographer decided to take a revolutionary step for that time: he removed artificial wings from the swans’ costumes and gave the movements of their arms a resemblance to flapping wings. At the same time, the famous “Dance of the Little Swans” appeared.
The work of Lev Ivanov made a strong impression on Marius Petipa, and he invited the choreographer to stage together full version ballet For the new edition of Swan Lake, it was decided to rework the libretto. This work was entrusted to Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky. However, the changes in the content of the ballet were not significant, and the ending remained tragic.
On January 15, 1895, the premiere of a new version of the ballet “Swan Lake” took place on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. This time, the production was a triumphant success. It was the Petipa-Ivanov version that began to be considered a classic and, to this day, forms the basis for all productions of Swan Lake.
Today “Swan Lake” is considered a symbol of classical ballet and does not leave the stage of leading theaters in Russia and the world. It should also be noted that most modern ballet productions have a happy ending. And this is not surprising: “Swan Lake” is wonderful fairy tale, and fairy tales should end well.
The ballet begins with Siegfried and his friends celebrating his coming of age with charming girls. In the midst of the fun, the mother of the hero of the day appears and reminds the guy that he single life ends today. After this not very pleasant news, the woman gracefully leaves. The court jester, to amuse the prince, engages him in a dance, and everything becomes fun and good again. When everyone had left, Siegfried suddenly noticed a flock of swans in the sky. Taking a crossbow with him, he went to the forest lake. He stopped, fascinated beautiful dance, and watching a black kite soar in the sky.
The prince does not know that this sorcerer Rothbard turned the girls into snow-white swans. Suddenly his gaze was attracted by a beautiful white swan with a golden crown. Without thinking twice, Siegfried took aim, and then the swan turned into a charming, fragile girl who instantly won the prince’s heart. Odette enjoyed Siegfried’s company all night, but in the morning she was saddened, since at dawn she was supposed to turn into a swan again. The prince intends to disenchant the girl and marry her.
Returning to the palace, Siegfried rejects all suitors for his hand and heart, and dreams of being only with Odette. One day, a black knight appears on the threshold of his house with his daughter, whom Siegfried immediately recognizes as Odette! He is not even confused by the fact that his bride is dressed all in black. He has no idea that in front of him is Odile, the daughter of the evil sorcerer Rodbart. Siegfried is happy and does not let go of his beloved.
Night falls, and the black knight turns into an evil kite, and a white swan with a crown appears in the window. Realizing the horror of what was happening, Siegfried quickly leaves the palace and runs after Odette. The kite also rushes after the girl. The prince shoots with a crossbow and wounds the evil bird. Having lost his charm, Rothbard dies. Siegfried and Odette freeze in each other's arms, and dawn comes.
The ballet “Swan Lake” teaches that love still conquers evil.
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Most people consider it the most Russian ballet.” It is “Swan” that is the symbol of Russian ballet.
Hundreds of beautiful ballerinas created the images of Odette and Odile, and dozens of choreographers created their own versions of this immortal performance.
It’s hard to even imagine now, but the premiere "Swan Lake" at the Bolshoi Theater in 1877 was more than modest. About the future triumphs of his ballet Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky I never found out.
Ballet is not an art
IN mid-19th century centuries, serious musicians looked down on ballet, considering it a second-class art, a relative of melodrama and vaudeville. However, conservatory professor, composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – famous author operas, symphonies, instrumental music and romances - he regularly attended ballet performances and even understood dance techniques.
Of course, about writing music for ballet Tchaikovsky and did not think, and it was not a creative impulse at all, but the prose of life that forced him to accept the offer of the directorate of the Moscow Imperial 
Bolshoi Theater to compose a ballet. The promised fee of 800 rubles was a great help. Salary of a teacher at the Moscow Conservatory Tchaikovsky desperately lacked, and he openly admitted that he undertook this work partly for the sake of money.
Background of "Swan Lake"
In 1875 Tchaikovsky began composing a ballet, calling it “Lake of Swans”. The ballet took place in Southern Germany, and the plot told about tragic fate Prince Siegfried and his beloved swan fairy Odette.
The composition of the ballet was influenced by the work of Richard Wagner. Once upon a time in my youth Tchaikovsky I first heard his opera “Lohengrin” and now the theme of the Swan Knight again took possession of the composer’s thoughts.
For a deeper study of Germany, he went to Bayreuth. It was there, at the presentation of the tetralogy “The Ring of the Nibelungs”, Tchaikovsky met Wagner. The name Siegfried, the hero of Wagner's opera, also became the name of the hero of the ballet Tchaikovsky.
Pyotr Ilyich I was also greatly impressed by Wagner’s famous patron, the Bavarian King Ludwig II. He was called the "Swan King". 
A lonely dreamer, in love with knightly legends and the music of Wagner, Ludwig was fond of building fantastic castles in the foothills of the Alps. One of them is called “New Swan Castle”. Ludwig of Bavaria died in the lake under mysterious circumstances. Tchaikovsky was deeply worried, the thought did not leave him that the end of his "Swan Lake" he prophesied such a tragic death for the king.
The plot of the ballet
Authors of the libretto "Swan Lake" were listed as the manager of the Bolshoi Theater Vladimir Begichev and the dancer Vasily Geltser, but soon also the choreographer Wenzel Reizenger, and himself Tchaikovsky actively involved in work on the libretto.
Pyotr Ilyich soon became so carried away romantic theme, that the voluminous score of the four-act ballet became 
lyrical reflection A 36-year-old composer about his own destiny, about the impulses of a noble soul, about the unattainability of the ideal, about devilish temptations and sublime love.
The plot is based on an old German legend about a beautiful girl transformed into a white swan. The ballet intertwines real and fantastic scenes.
Prince Siegfried is having fun in the palace park, celebrating his coming of age with friends. He notices a flock of swans flying by and follows them into the forest. On the shore of the lake, among the swan girls, the prince finds Odette, the swan queen with a crown on her head. Captivated by her beauty and shocked by the story of persecution by the evil owner of the lake, Rothber, Siegfried swears to Odette to eternal love.
At a ball in the castle, Siegfried's mother told him to choose a bride. Odile appeared, in whom the prince saw Odette, 
he gave preference to her. Realizing that he had made a fatal mistake, Siegfried ran to the lake to beg Odette for forgiveness, but did not receive it. Tearing off the crown from Odette's head, Siegfried challenges Rothber, who personifies the image of Fatum (the owner of the lake) in the ballet (the crown saved Odette from persecution). The prince hopes that the Swan girl will go with him to the human world. The evil spell of the knight von Rothber and his daughter Odile led to the death of the lovers in the waves of a stormy lake.
Ballet score Tchaikovsky completed in 1876, not at all imagining that a real masterpiece had come from his pen.
Failure
Premiere "Swan Lake" took place in 1877. 
Tchaikovsky I waited for this day with anxiety and, as it turned out, not in vain. On the days of the premiere, the first-born ballet Tchaikovsky no luck. He fell victim to not very gifted directors and theatrical intrigues. The score proved to be very difficult for the in-house choreographer, Wenzel Reisenger. The premiere was danced by ballerina Polina Karpakova. She did not succeed in the role of Odette. The reception was cool, the reviews were not encouraging: “The card de ballet is marking time in the same place, waving its arms like windmill wings, and the soloists jump around the stage with gymnastic steps.”
Only the fifth performance was performed by the Bolshoi prima, Anna Sobeschanskaya. Her participation, however, changed the production little. The design and costumes were also far from perfect.
Swan Lake is the most popular ballet
Today productions "Swan Lake" became an adornment of the ballet repertoire. Famous primas fight for the right to dance the main roles in this ballet, and then, after the premiere in 1877, in Bolshoi Theater We went not to watch, but to listen. The musical side decisively prevailed over the choreographic side. “The music is the best ballet I’ve ever done.” 
heard,” the critic wrote.
For 5 seasons "Swan" It was shown only 39 times, after which it was removed from the repertoire. Tchaikovsky was so disappointed that he tried to forget about composing music for ballet for 13 years.
Before triumph "Swan Lake" the composer did not live to see it. He left this ballet as a will, which came into force immediately after the death of the genius. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in 1893. At the evening in his memory at the Mariinsky Theater they performed the second white swan act of the ballet choreographed by Lev Ivanov. It was a lyrical requiem for the great creator of ballet music.
A year later, supplemented by the choreography of Marius Petipa, it was born on stage to henceforth win the glory of Russian ballet itself. And since then, the number of performances performed can no longer be counted.
"Swan Lake" by Pyotr Tchaikovsky- one of the ballets that is most often staged in the world. Ballet music gave the greatest artists the opportunity to express themselves. And great artists again and again reveal the depths of a brilliant score.
Ballet "Swan Lake" by Pyotr Tchaikovsky updated: April 9, 2019 by: Elena
First you need to figure out what role the swans play in the ballet “Swan Lake”, and also who they are?
Swan Lake is a ballet in four acts, the music for which was written by genius composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It is difficult to find a work with such complexity stage fate, but at the same time has earned fame throughout the world.
“Swan Lake” had three production versions, of which the first two were unsuccessful. And the third became the basis for all editions of the ballet that followed it, and brought the work dizzying success and immortality, making it a symbol of ballet art. And this despite the fact that the production did not meet all the laws of academic choreography!
The plot is based on folklore (folk) motifs, which were used both in literary works, and in opera and ballet librettos.
The beautiful girl Odette is bewitched by the evil wizard Rothbart. During the day, she is a white swan, and when night comes, she turns into a human. She is surrounded by the same enchanted swan girls who call Odette their queen - for her kindness and beautiful soul.
Legend says that Odette's mother shed many tears for her kidnapped daughter. She cried so long and a lot that a magical “swan lake” was formed from her tears, where the swan daughter settled.
The magic of the evil sorcerer can be destroyed only if a young man falls in love with the beautiful swan girl, and his love is true. If he breaks the oath of eternal love, Odette will not be able to become a human again and will forever remain a white swan.
In four paintings of the work real pictures alternate with fantastic ones. Prince Siegfried celebrates his coming of age in the palace park with his friends. A flock of swans, which flies over them at this time, beckons the prince to follow them. And he doesn't resist it. Finding himself on the shore of a forest lake, Siegfried finds there beautiful swan with a crown on his head. This is Odette, whose beauty the prince is captivated by. The girl’s story about the evil owner of the lake, Rothbart, who is pursuing her, shocked the prince. He swears eternal love to Odette.
The prince's mother insists that he choose a bride for himself at the ball. The first beauties dance in front of him. Here are Spanish and Neapolitan, and here are Hungarian and Polish national dances. But nothing touches or worries Siegfried. However, when Odile appears, the prince chooses her because he sees her as Odette. Very quickly he realizes that he has made an irreparable mistake.
Siegfried rushes to the lake in the hope of obtaining Odette's forgiveness. But his pleas lead to nothing, forgiveness is not granted. Then the prince tears off the crown from the swan girl’s head, which served as protection from persecution, and challenges the owner of the lake, the wizard Rothbart. It is his image that in the ballet personifies the forces of evil and fate.
Siegfried's hope never dies that Odette will go with him into the human world. But this does not happen, and the raging waves of the “swan” lake swallow both the prince and Odette.
How many swans are there in the ballet Swan Lake?
IN real life A flock of swans numbers from 15 to 20 individuals, but there are flocks of 50 or more birds.
How many swans can be used in a ballet? The number is limited by the size of the stage. For example, in the Moscow Bolshoi Theater there are approximately 25 to 30 swan ballerinas who participate in crowd scenes during a performance. On the stages of other theaters the number ranges from 9 to 20 ballerinas.
Why exactly 4 little swans?
In a real swan flock, there are few small swans - about a third of the total number of birds. Why in the ballet the “Dance of the Little Swans” scene is performed by four swans?
Everything is quite simple: it was originally planned according to the script. Four dancers danced in the 1877 production. All subsequent productions were based on this number. Although there were examples when the “Dance of the Little Swans” was performed by three ballerinas, and also by more than four.
Screen adaptation
In 1953 - 1954, director Herbert Rappoport created a film about ballets and ballet dancers of the Kirov Theater in Leningrad called “Masters of Russian Ballet”.
Fragments from the work “Swan Lake”, as well as from the ballets “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” and “The Flame of Paris” staged by the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after Kirov (this was the name Mariinsky Theater in the Soviet Union) were included in this film as greatest masterpieces Soviet ballet art.
Interesting facts about the ballet “Swan Lake”
During times Soviet power the ballet “Swan Lake” was included in the list of achievements of the ruling regime. And although classical ballet passed, figuratively speaking, “inherited” to Soviet power from the imperial troupe, it was declared an achievement “ national economy" That is why ballet at that time was a means of political struggle. On ballet performances invited high-ranking guests from different countries world, this was part of the compulsory cultural program.
The popularity of the ballet “Swan Lake” was enormous. However, serious political events in the USSR are also associated with it. In the Soviet Union and in the post-Soviet space, the demonstration of the work “Swan Lake” on TV on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater was a sign of the political changes taking place in the life of the country! The ballet was shown during the period of mourning and funeral of the General Secretaries of the Central Committee of the CPSU Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Konstantin Chernenko.
The performance-ballet “Swan Lake” became a symbol of another period, which is associated with Gorbachev’s Perestroika. During the August 1991 putsch, when representatives of the self-proclaimed headquarters of the State Emergency Committee (GKChP) tried to forcefully remove Mikhail Gorbachev from the post of President of the USSR, the ballet “Swan Lake” was broadcast on all television channels for three days (!). All prepared programs for August 18-21 were urgently taken off the air and replaced with this work in order to somehow divert the attention of the people.
The putsch was defeated, but the play “Swan Lake” became one of its most memorable symbols. This did not affect the popularity of the ballet at all, and it confidently continues its stage life today.
Tchaikovsky's ballet “Swan Lake” is one of the symbols of great Russian art, a masterpiece that has become the pearl of the treasury of world music and “ business card» Bolshoi Theater. Every note of the work is saturated with suffering. The intensity of tragedy and beautiful melody, characteristic of the works of Pyotr Ilyich, have become the property of all music lovers and lovers of choreography in the world. The circumstances of the creation of this magnificent ballet are no less dramatic than the chords of the Lake Scene.
Order for ballet
The last quarter of the nineteenth century was a strange time for ballet. Today, when he became integral part classics, it is difficult to imagine that just a few decades ago this art form was treated as something secondary, unworthy of the attention of serious musicians. P. I. Tchaikovsky, being not only a famous composer, but also a connoisseur of music, nevertheless loved ballet and often attended performances, although he himself had no desire to write in this genre. But something unexpected happened; against the backdrop of certain financial difficulties, an order appeared from the management, for which they promised a considerable sum. The fee was promised generously, eight hundred rubles. Pyotr Ilyich served at the conservatory, and in those days, educators also did not live in luxury, although, of course, the concepts of prosperity were different. The composer began to work. The ballet “Swan Lake” (at first the name “Island of Swans” was conceived) was based on German legends.
Wagner and Tchaikovsky
Since the action took place in Germany, P. I. Tchaikovsky, in order to feel the mysterious atmosphere of Teutonic sagas and castles, in which knights and beautiful ladies were quite ordinary characters, went to this country (this, by the way, is about the poverty of the professors of that time) . In the city of Bayreuth, during a performance (they performed “The Ring of the Nibelungs”), a glorious acquaintance of two geniuses took place - Pyotr Ilyich and Richard Wagner. Tchaikovsky was delighted with Lohengrin and other operas of his famous colleague, which he did not fail to inform his German colleague about the musical system. The Russian genius decided to call his main character Siegfried, which the great German did not object to.
Another mysterious German, Ludwig II
There was another mysterious character who seriously influenced the future ballet Swan Lake. Wagner was patronized by the Bavarian monarch, Ludwig II, but very talented in his own way. By building mysterious, fantastic and unusual castles, he created an atmosphere of the Middle Ages, very consonant with the soul of the great Russian composer. Even the death of the king, which occurred at an extremely mysterious circumstances, fit well into the outline of the biography of this extraordinary and charming personality. The death of an extraordinary monarch affected the consciousness of P.I. Tchaikovsky had a depressing effect, he was depressed by the question whether he, albeit unintentionally, had brought disaster on his head with the gloomy story that he wanted to tell people.
Creative process
In ballet as a performance, choreography has always been considered the most important aspect. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, this tradition was broken by the ballet “Swan Lake”. The content, however, was also of no small importance; it emphasized the meaning of beautiful music. It is tragic and fits the definition of unhappy love. Since the theater management acted as the customer for the Swan Lake ballet, the libretto was entrusted to Vladimir Begichev, the director of the Bolshoi. He was helped by V. Geltser, a dancer, and later the author himself joined creative process. The score was ready by 1876, and with all the care shown in creating the ballet, P. I. Tchaikovsky most likely did not imagine that it the work will be included among the masterpieces that immortalized his name.
Characters, time and place
The place and time of action are designated as fabulous. Main characters not much, just thirteen. Among them are the imperious princess with her son Siegfried, the latter’s friend, von Sommerstern, his mentor Wolfgang, von Stein and his wife, von Schwarzfels, also with his wife, a walker, a herald, a master of ceremonies, the swan queen, who is also the enchanted beautiful Odette, like a drop of water her Odile and her father Rothbart, an evil sorcerer. And of course minor characters, including baby swans. In general, quite a few artists appear on stage over the course of four acts.
Storyline
Young, cheerful and rich, Siegfried has a pleasant time with friends. It’s his celebration, his coming of age day. But a flock of swan appears, and something draws the young prince into the forest after her. Odette, having assumed human form, captivates him with her beauty and tells him about the treachery of Rothbart, who bewitched her. The prince makes a vow of eternal love, but the mother-queen has her own plan for the matrimonial arrangement of her son's destiny. At the ball, he is introduced to Odile, a girl very similar to the swan queen. But the resemblance is limited to appearance, and Siegfried soon realizes his mistake. He enters into a duel with the villain Rothbart, but the forces are unequal. In the finale, the lovers die, and so does the villain (reincarnated as an owl). That's the plot. “Swan Lake” became an outstanding ballet not because of its unusualness, but because of Tchaikovsky’s magical music.
Disastrous premiere
In 1877, the premiere took place at the Bolshoi. Pyotr Ilyich awaited the date of February 20 with anxiety and impatience. There were grounds for excitement; Wenzel Reisinger took over the production, having successfully failed all previous premieres. There was little hope that he would succeed this time. And so it happened. Not all contemporaries appreciated great music, psychologically perceiving the action as a whole. The efforts of the ballerina Polina Karpakova in creating the image of Odette were not crowned with success. The corps de ballet earned a lot of caustic criticism from critics for inappropriately waving their arms. The costumes and sets were unfinished. Only on the fifth attempt, after changing the soloist (she was danced by Anna Sobeshchanskaya, a prima ballerina from the Bolshoi Theater troupe), was it possible to somehow captivate the audience. P.I. Tchaikovsky was dejected by the failure.
Mariinsky production
It so happened that the ballet “Swan Lake” was appreciated only after the death of the author, who was not destined to enjoy his triumph. For eight years the production ran on the Bolshoi stage without much success, until it was finally removed from the repertoire. Choreographer Marius Petipa began work on the new stage version together with the author, helped by Lev Ivanov, who had a truly extraordinary abilities and an excellent musical memory.
The script was rewritten, all choreographic numbers were rethought. The death of the great composer shocked Petipa, he fell ill (others also contributed to this, but, having recovered, he set himself the goal of creating a ballet “Swan Lake” that would become miraculous monument P.I. Tchaikovsky. He succeeded.
Already on February 17, 1894, shortly after the death of the composer, at an evening in his memory, Petipa’s student L. Ivanov offered to the public’s attention new option interpretation of the second act, characterized by critics as a brilliant breakthrough. Then, in January 1895, the ballet was staged at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. This time the triumph was extraordinary. The new happy ending was somewhat dissonant with the general spirit of the work. It was suggested by the late composer's brother, Modest Tchaikovsky. Subsequently, the troupe returned to the original version, which is still staged to this day with constant success by theaters all over the world.
The fate of ballet
The failure with Swan Lake, apparently, was the reason why the composer did not take on ballets for thirteen years. Tchaikovsky may have also been embarrassed by the fact that this genre was still considered lightweight, in contrast to the operas, symphonies, suites, cantatas and concertos that he preferred to create. The composer wrote three ballets in total, the other two being “The Sleeping Beauty,” which premiered in 1890, and “The Nutcracker,” which was presented to the public a couple of years later.
As for “Swan Lake”, its life has become long, and, most likely, eternal. Throughout the twentieth century, ballet has not left the stage of the world's leading theaters. We implemented our ideas during its production outstanding choreographers modernity A. Gorsky, A. Vaganova, K. Sergeev and many others. The revolutionary approach to the musical part of the work prompted the search for new creative ways in dance, confirming the world leadership of Russian ballet. Art connoisseurs from different countries, when visiting Moscow, consider the Bolshoi Theater an indispensable place to visit. “Swan Lake” is a performance that leaves no one indifferent; watching it is the dream of all balletomanes. Hundreds of outstanding ballerinas consider their peak creative career Odette's part.
If only Pyotr Ilyich knew...
