odile is the name of the black swan in swan lake.
odile is the name of the black swan in swan lake.
what is the name of the black swan in swan lake?
odile
the character of odile was not a "black swan" at all in either the original production of 1877 nor in the revival of 1895, and she was not performed as such for many years - she was simply rothbart's evil daughter until sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s. as odile, pierina legnani appeared in a glittering multi-colored costume with no feathers to be found - obviously to appear more as an enchantress than as a "black swan." later performances at the mariinsky theatre of "swan lake" used similar costume designs for odile throughout the late 19th century and early 20th century. it is unknown when the tradition of having odile performed as a "black swan" began, but most historians point to a 1941 staging of the third scene (the "ballroom scene") performed by the ballet russe de monte carlo at the metropolitan opera in new york. this production was staged by alexandra fedorova-fokine under the title "the magic swan". odile was danced by the great ballerina tamara toumanova. at the time the only part of "swan lake" that was known in the west was the famous second scene (or the "white act" as it is sometimes called). in an effort to have the audience distinguish odile from the more well-known odette, fedorova-fokine had toumanova perform in a black costume, and almost by accident odile began to be referred to as "the black swan." though toumanova was not the first ballerina to wear such a costume when dancing odile, her 1941 performance set the tradition in motion and soon odile became "the black swan," a tradition that quickly spread everywhere, including russia.
swan lake (1895)
the english-language place name "black swan" occurs as a descriptive toponym in four states, usually as a "name cluster". queensland has a black swan creek near gladstone, together with nearby black swan island and a black swan rock further south near shoalwater bay; another black swan creek near maryborough; and a black swan lagoon inland on the darling downs near warwick. new south wales has a black swan anabranch adjoining a black swan lagoon on the north side of the murray river in the corowa shire. in south australia's arid north, there is a black swan swamp just north of roxby downs and a black swan waterhole further north of the old overland telegraph line. tasmania has a black swan island near the wild south west cape. given the broad sweep of the black swan's natural habitat, the presence of only nine distinctive place names or name clusters within that range indicates the rarity of "black swan" as a toponym. new zealand also has a black swan stream in the south auckland district.
black swan emblems and popular culture