Using the medium of classical dance, Swan Lake tells the story of Prince Siegfried and his love for the enchanted Princess Odette, who is trapped in the body of a swan. Alternating between swan and human, it is her destiny to be the object of the fantasies of the unhappy prince. In Patrice Bart’s interpretation, it is Siegfried’s mother who adores her son and holds all the threads of his fate in her hands. Without scruples, she manipulates his friend Benno and uses Prime Minister Rotbart as her accomplice. Drawing inspiration from the Romanov era in the Russian Tsarist Empire, this production is permeated by a haunting sense of decline, characterized by the unsettling combination of emotional coldness and decadence. The young prince finds refuge in his encounters with the swans.

The captivating effect of these majestic birds is expressed in the large-scale swan images of the ballet, which are choreographically inspired by the archaic flight formations and their natural yet unreal beauty. With the dancers’ tutus resembling the white plumage of the birds, these imposing scenes have become synonymous with classical ballet.

But Swan Lake has also become legendary because of the music by Peter I. Tchaikovsky, who imparts his unmistakable sound to the contrasting moods: whether it’s the longing that brings Prince Siegfried and Odette together or the deceptive splendour of the ball scenes, where the entire court falls under the spell of the seductive Odile. As Odette’s doppelgänger, she leads the prince to the tragic vow that betrays his sincere love.

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