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Swan Lake

This article is about the ballet. For other uses, see Swan Lake (disambiguation).
Ballets by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Swan Lake (1876)
Sleeping Beauty (1889)
The Nutcracker (1892)
List of all compositions



Origins of the Swan Lake story

Many critics have disputed the original source of the Swan Lake story. The libretto is based on a story by the German author Johann Karl August Musäus, "Der geraubte Schleier" (The Stolen Veil),[3] though this story provides only the general outline of the plot of Swan Lake. The Russian folktale "The White Duck" also bears some resemblance to the story of the ballet, and may have been another possible source. The contemporaries of Tchaikovsky recalled the composer taking great interest in the life story of Bavarian King Ludwig II, whose tragic life had supposedly been marked by the sign of Swan and who—either consciously or not—was chosen as the prototype of the dreamer Prince Siegfried.[4]

The Russian ballet patriarch Fyodor Lopukhov has called Swan Lake a "national ballet" because of its swans, which he argues originate from Russian lyrically romantic sources, while many of the movements of the corps de ballet originated from Slavonic ring-dances. According to Lopukhov, "both the plot of Swan Lake, the image of the Swan and the very idea of a faithful love are essentially Russian."[4]

Composition history


Origins of the Swan Lake composition

The origins of the ballet Swan Lake are rather obscured, and since there are very few records concerning the first production of the work to have survived, there can only be speculation about who the author of the original libretto was. The most authoritative theory appears to be that it was written by Vladimir Petrovich Begichev, director of the Moscow Imperial Theatres during the time that the ballet was originally produced, and possibly Vasily Geltser, Danseur of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre. However, Geltser was in all probability merely the first person to copy the scenario for publication, as a surviving copy bears his name. Since the first published libretto of the ballet and the actual music composed by Tchaikovsky do not correspond in many places, we may infer that the first actual published libretto was possibly crafted by a newspaper writer who had viewed the initial rehearsals, as new productions of operas and ballets were always reported in the newspapers of Imperial Russia, along with their respective scenarios.

According to two of Tchaikovsky's relatives—his nephew Yuri Lvovich Davydov and his niece Anna Meck-Davydova—the composer had earlier created a little ballet called The Lake of the Swans at their home in 1871. This ballet featured the famous Leitmotif known as the Swan's Theme (or Song of the Swans ). Begichev commissioned the score of Swan Lake from Tchaikovsky in May 1875 for a rather modest fee of 800 rubles, and soon Begichev began to choose artists that would participate in the creation of the ballet. The choreographer assigned to the production was the Czech Julius Reisinger (1827–1892), who had been engaged as balletmaster to the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre (today known as the Bolshoi Ballet) since 1873. It is not known what sort of collaborative processes were involved between Tchaikovsky and Reisinger. It seems that Tchaikovsky worked with only the most basic outline from Reisinger of the requirements for each dance.[5] Tchaikovsky likely had some form of instruction in composing Swan Lake, as he had to know what sort of dances would be required. But unlike the instructions that Tchaikovsky received for the scores of The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, no such written instruction is known to have survived. When Reisinger began choreographing after the score was completed, he demanded some changes from Tchaikovsky. Whether by demanding the addition or removal of a dance, Reisinger made it clear that he was to be a very large part in the creation of this piece. Although the two artists were required to collaborate, each seemed to prefer working as independently of the other as possible.[6]

Tchaikovsky's influences


Tchaikovsky drew on previous compositions for his Swan Lake score. He made use of material from The Voyevoda, an opera that he had abandoned in 1868. The Grand adage (a.k.a. the Love Duet) from the second scene of Swan Lake was fashioned from an aria from that opera, as was the Valse des fiancées from the third scene. Another number which included a theme from The Voyevoda was the Entr'acte of the fourth scene. By April 1876 the score was complete, and rehearsals began. Soon Reisinger began setting certain numbers aside that he dubbed "undanceable." Reisinger even began choreographing dances to other composers' music, but Tchaikovsky protested and his pieces were reinstated.

Composition process


Performance history


Moscow Première (World Première)

  • Date: 4 March (O.S. 20 February) 1877
  • Place: Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
  • Balletmaster: Julius Reisinger
  • Conductor: Stepan Ryabov

St. Petersburg Première

Other Notable Productions

Original Interpreters

Rôle Moscow 1877 Moscow 1880 St. Petersburg 1895[8] Moscow 1901 London 1911
Princess Olga Nikolayeva Giuseppina Cecchetti
Siegfried Victor Gillert Alfred Bekefi Pavel Gerdt Mikhail Mordkin Vaslav Nijinsky
Benno Sergey Nikitin Aleksandr Oblakov
Wolfgang Wilhelm Wanner Gillert
Odette Pelageya Karpakova Yevdokiya Kalmїkova Pierina Legnani Adelaide Giuri Mathilde Kschessinska
Von Rothbart Sergey Sokolov Aleksey Bulgakov K. Kubakin
Pierina Legnani Mathilde Kschessinska

Original Production of 1877

The première of Swan Lake on Friday, 4 March 1877, was given as a benefit performance for the ballerina Pelageya Karpakova (also known as Polina Karpakova), who performed the role of Odette, with the Bolshoi Theatre's Première danseur Victor Gillert as Prince Siegfried. Karpakova likely also danced the part Odile, although it is not known for certain.

The Russian ballerina Anna Sobeshchanskaya — for whom the original (1877) role of Odette was intended — was pulled from the première performance when a governing official in Moscow complained about her, stating that she had accepted several pieces of expensive jewelry from him, only to then marry a fellow danseur and sell the pieces for cash. Sobeshchanskaya was replaced by Pelageya Karpakova who danced the rôle of the Swan Queen until the former was reinstated by Petipa.

The première was not well-received, with near unanimous criticism concerning the dancers, orchestra, and stage sets. Unfortunately Tchaikovsky's masterful score was lost in the debacle of the poor production, and though there were a few critics who recognised its virtues, most considered it to be far too complicated for ballet. Most of the critics were not themselves familiar with ballet or music but rather with spoken melodrama. Critics considered Tchaikovsky's music "too noisy, too 'Wagnerian' and too symphonic."[9] The critics also found fault with Reisinger's choreography which they thought was "unimaginative and altogether unmemorable."[9]

The production's "failure" was due to several reasons. The German origins of the story of Swan Lake were "treated with suspicion while the tale itself was regarded as 'stupid' with unpronounceable surnames for its characters."[9] The dancer of Odette (and probably Odile though this has never been proved for certain) was a secondary soloist and "not particularly convincing."[9]
Modest Tchaikovsky, brother of the composer
Yet the fact remains (and is too often omitted in accounts of this initial production) that this staging survived for six years with a total of 41 performances - many more than several other ballets from the repertoire of this theatre.[10]


Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux 1877


In spite of the poor reaction to the première, the ballet nevertheless continued to be performed. On 26 April 1877 the prima ballerina of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre Anna Sobeshchanskaya made her début as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, and from the start she was completely dissatisfied with the production of the ballet, but most of all with Reisinger's choreography and Tchaikovsky's music. Sobeshchanskaya travelled to St. Petersburg to have Marius PetipaPremier Maître de Ballet of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres—choreograph a new pas de deux to replace the pas de six that functioned as the third act's Grand Pas. For a ballerina to request a supplemental pas or variation was standard practice in 19th century ballet, and often these "custom-made" dances quite literally became the legal property of the ballerina they were composed for.

Petipa choreographed Sobeshchanskaya's pas de deux to music composed by Ludwig Minkus, who held the post of Ballet composer to the St Petersburg Imperial Theatres. The piece was a standard pas de deux classique that consisted of a short entrée, the grand adage, a variation for the dancer, a variation for the ballerina, and a coda.

Word of this change soon found its way to Tchaikovsky, who became very angry, stating that, whether the ballet is good or bad, he alone shall be held responsible for its music. He then agreed to compose a new pas de deux for the ballerina, but soon a problem arose: Sobeshchanskaya had no reservations about performing a pas to Tchaikovsky's new music, but she wanted to retain Petipa's choreography, and she had no wish to travel to St. Petersburg again to have the Ballet Master arrange a new pas for her. In light of this, Tchaikovsky agreed to compose a pas that would correspond to Minkus' music to such a degree that the ballerina would not even be required to rehearse. Sobeshchanskaya was so pleased with Tchaikovsky's new version of the Minkus music that she requested he compose for her an additional variation, which he did.

Until 1953 this pas de deux was thought to be lost, until an accidentally discovered repétiteur was found in the archives of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre among the orchestral parts used for Alexander Gorsky's revival of Le Corsaire (Gorsky had included the piece in his version of Le Corsaire staged in 1912). In 1960 George Balanchine choreographed a pas de deux to this music for the Ballerina Violette Verdy, and the Danseur Conrad Ludlow performed on the City Center of Music and Drama in New York City under the title Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux,[11] as it is still known and performed today.

Subsequent productions 1879–1894




Petipa-Ivanov-Drigo revival of 1895

During the late 1880s and early 1890s, Petipa and Vsevolozhsky considered reviving Swan Lake and were in talks with Tchaikovsky about doing so. However, Tchaikovsky died on 6 November 1893, just when plans to revive Swan Lake were beginning to come to fruition. It remains uncertain whether Tchaikovsky was even going to revise the music for the prospected revival of Swan Lake. Whatever the case, as a result of Tchaikovsky's death, Drigo was forced to revise the score himself, but not before receiving approval from Tchaikovsky's younger brother, Modest. There are major differences between Drigo's and Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake score. (Today, it is Riccardo Drigo's revision of Tchaikovsky's score as done for Petipa and Ivanov's 1895 revival, and not Tchaikovsky's original score of 1877, that many—though by no means all—ballet companies use when performing Swan Lake.)

Pavel Gerdt as Prince Siegfried (Mariinsky Theatre, 1895)


The Ballerina who danced Odette and Odile was the Italian virtuosa Pierina Legnani, and it was because of her great talent that the prospected revival of Swan Lake was planned for her benefit performance in the 1894–1895 season. She had made her début with the Imperial Ballet in Cinderella, produced in December 1893 (choreographed by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, and Enrico Cecchetti to the music of Baron Boris Fitinhof-Schell). Her performance demonstrated her phenomenal technique, climaxing in her variation from the final tableau no fewer than thirty-two fouettés en tournant (the most ever performed at that time) during the grand pas. The dazzled public roared with demands for an encore, and the Ballerina repeated her variation, this time performing twenty-eight fouettés en tournant. However, the death of Tsar Alexander III on 1 November 1894 and the period of official mourning that followed it brought all ballet performances and rehearsals to a close for some time, and as a result all efforts were able to be concentrated on the pre-production of the revival of Swan Lake. Ivanov and Petipa chose to collaborate on the production, with Ivanov retaining his dances for the second Act while choreographing the fourth, and with Petipa staging the first and third Acts.

Modest Tchaikovsky was called upon to make the required changes to the ballet's libretto, the most prominent being his revision of the ballet's finale: instead of the lovers simply drowning at the hand of the wicked Von Rothbart as in the original 1877 scenario, Odette commits suicide by drowning herself, with Prince Siegfried choosing to die as well, rather than live without her, and soon the lovers' spirits are reunited in an apotheosis. Aside from the revision of the libretto the ballet was changed from four acts to three—with Act II becoming Act I-Scene 2.

All was ready by the beginning of 1895 and the ballet had its première on Friday, 27 January. Pierina Legnani danced Odette/Odile, with Pavel Gerdt as Prince Siegfried, Alexei Bulgakov as Von Rothbart, and Alexander Oblakov as Benno.

The première of the Petipa/Ivanov/Drigo was quite a success, though not as much of one as it has been in modern times. Most of the reviews in the St. Petersburg newspapers were positive.


Later productions

Zenaida Yanowsky as Odette in a 2007 production of Swan Lake at London's Royal Opera House

Throughout the long and complex performance history of Swan Lake the 1895 edition of Petipa, Ivanov, and Drigo has served as the version from which many stagings have been based. Nearly every balletmaster or choreographer who has re-staged Swan Lake has sought to make modifications to the ballet's scenario, while still maintaining to a considerable extent the traditional choreography for the dances, which is regarded as virtually sacrosanct. Likewise, over time the rôle of Siegfried has become far more prominent, due largely to the evolution of ballet technique.



  • Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake departed from the traditional ballet by replacing the female corps de ballet with male dancers. Since its inception in 1995, Matthew Bourne's production has never been off the stage for more than a few months.[citation needed] It has toured the United Kingdom and returned to London several times. It has been performed on extended tours in Greece, Israel, Turkey, Australia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, and Ireland in addition to the United Kingdom. Bourne's Swan Lake has won over 30 international awards to date.[13]
  • Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake was first performed in 2002, and was loosely based on the breakdown of the marriage of Lady Diana to Prince Charles and his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. It combined the rôles of Von Rothbart and Odile into that of a Baroness, and the focus of the story is a love triangle.[14]




  • Princess Odette (The Queen of the Swans and the White Swan or also the Swan Princess), the heroine of the story; a beautiful Princess, who has been transformed into a swan
  • Prince Siegfried, the hero of the story; a handsome Prince who falls in love with Odette
  • Von Rothbart, the antagonist of the story; an evil sorcerer, who has enchanted Odette
  • Odile (The Black Swan), his daughter, the secondary antagonist
  • Benno von Sommerstern, the Prince's friend
  • The Queen, Prince Siegfried's mother
  • Wolfgang, his tutor
  • Baron von Stein
  • The Baroness, his wife
  • Freiherr von Schwarzfels
  • His wife
  • A herald
  • A footman

By 1895 Benno von Sommerstern had become just "Benno," and Odette "Queen of the Swans." Also Baron von Stein, his wife, and Freiherr von Schwarzfels and his wife were no longer identified on the program. The sovereign or ruling Princess is often rendered "Queen Mother." Rothbart ("Redbeard") may also be spelled Rotbart.


Princess Odette is the lead ballerina role. Von Rothbart's daughter Odile is danced by the same ballerina; this facilitates the scene in which Odile, disguised as Odette, tricks Prince Siegfried into being unfaithful. Odette also appears in many adaptations of the ballet.

Odette is often referred to as a "tragic heroine" and is always portrayed as vulnerable, gentle, caring, modest and warm-hearted. She appears in the second and fourth acts, though she also makes a minor appearance in the third act when she appears as a vision during the Ball. As the heroine of the story, she has been transformed into a swan by Von Rothbart and can only regain her human form at night. She has many companions under the same spell, who have made her their queen, hence her title "The Swan Queen." She is forced to live by a lake that was magically formed from the tears of her grieving mother after Rothbart kidnapped her. The only way for the spell to be broken is by the power of eternal love between Odette and a young man who will remain faithful to her, for if the vow of eternal love is broken, she will remain a swan forever. When Odette falls in love with Prince Siegfried, hope for her freedom has come at last, until Siegfried is tricked into breaking his vow by Von Rothbart, trapping Odette as a swan forever. To escape the spell, Odette chooses to die and Siegfried chooses to die with her; the lovers drown themselves in the lake and are reunited forever in death.


Prince Siegfried is the lead male ballet dancer role. Like Odette and Von Rothbart, he appears in many adaptations of the ballet, although he has a different name in almost every one, despite retaining some or all of his characteristics.

Out of all the characters in the ballet, Siegfried is the only one to appear on all four acts. He is a young Prince, full of bright spirit and enthusiasm, and seems to have little interest in his royal role. He clearly cares more for socialising, merry events and sporting activities, as shown when he is celebrating his 21st birthday with his best friend, Benno and his tutor, Wolfgang. When his mother, the Queen tells him he must soon marry, he refuses because he has not yet found a woman of his preference. His favourite hobby is hunting, so to end his birthday celebrations, he and Benno head into the forest on a hunting expedition with their companions. However, everything takes an ironic twist on this expedition, for deep in the forest, Siegfried and his friends arrive at a lake, where Siegfried spots a beautiful swan wearing a crown. But before he can shoot it, the swan transforms into the most beautiful girl he has ever seen: Princess Odette, the Queen of the Swans. Struck by her beauty, Siegfried falls in love with her at once. She tells him her story, explaining that she is under a spell of the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. It is at this point in the ballet that Siegfried's carefree spirit is overcome by a sudden growth to manhood out of his love for Odette and from that point, it becomes his goal to save and marry her. He invites her to attend a Ball at his castle and promises to choose her as his bride, but everything takes a turn for the worst.

On the night of the Ball, Siegfried is thinking of nothing but Odette, and after rejecting various potential brides in her favour, he is overjoyed when she finally arrives. But it is actually Von Rothbart's daughter Odile in disguise, for Rothbart has magically disguised her as Odette. Suspecting nothing, Siegfried falls for the trickery and pledges eternal love to Odile, thinking she is Odette and now all seems lost. Siegfried follows Odette back to the lake and begs her to forgive him, swearing that he loves her only. She forgives him, but explains that she has chosen to die so she can escape Rothbart's spell. Unwilling to live without her, Siegfried chooses to die with Odette and the lovers throw themselves into the lake, reuniting in death for all eternity.


Odile is the daughter of Von Rothbart, who is also an evil witch and who is willing to follow in her father's footsteps. She only appears in the third act, usually dressed in black (though in the 1895 production, she did not wear black) and magically disguised as Odette in order to help her father trick Siegfried into breaking his vow of love to Odette. In some productions, Odile is known as the Black Swan and, rather than being magically disguised as her, is actually Odette's evil twin or double; an example of this type of portrayal is seen in the production by the Bolshoi Ballet. There are also some productions where Odette and Odile are danced by two different ballerinas.


Rothbart is the central antagonist in the ballet. Rothbart is rarely seen in human form, as he appears as a giant owl in the second and fourth acts. His human form is seen only in the third act with his daughter Odile, when she dances with the Prince Siegfried.

Rothbart is a powerful and evil sorcerer who casts a spell on Odette that turns her into a swan every day and returns her to human form at night. The reason for Rothbart's curse upon Odette is unknown; several versions, including two feature films, have suggested reasons, but none is typically explained by the ballet.

When Rothbart realises that Odette has fallen in love with Prince Siegfried, he tries to intervene by tricking Siegfried into declaring his love for his daughter Odile. The plan succeeds, yet in the end, Rothbart is not triumphant. When Siegfried and Odette make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of their love by throwing themselves into the lake, Rothbart's powers are overcome and he is destroyed.

However, his fate is different in some versions, as there are productions where Rothbart is triumphant and survives. One example is the Bolshoi Ballet's version, where he is portrayed as a sadistic schemer and plays a wicked game of fate with Siegfried, which he wins at the end, causing Siegfried to lose everything. In the second American Ballet Theatre production of Swan Lake, he is portrayed by two dancers. One of them depicts him as young and handsome; it is this von Rothbart that is able to lure Odette and transform her into a swan (this is shown during the introduction to the ballet in a danced prologue especially created by choreographer Kevin McKenzie). He is also able to entice the Prince to dance with Odile, and thus seal Odette's doom. The other von Rothbart, a repulsive, reptilian-like creature, reveals himself only after he has performed an evil deed, such as transforming Odette into a swan. In this version, the lovers' joint suicide inspires the rest of von Rothbart's imprisoned swans to turn on him and overcome his spell, which ultimately defeats him.


Below is a synopsis based on the 1876 libretto (author unknown) to which Tchaikovsky originally composed the ballet.[15] Swan Lake is generally presented in either four Acts, four Scenes (primarily outside Russia and Eastern Europe) or three Acts, four Scenes (primarily in Russia and Eastern Europe). Some productions in the West include a prologue that shows the actual transformation by which Princess Odette is first turned into a swan. The biggest difference of productions all over the world is that the ending varies from romantic to tragic.

Act 1

A magnificent park before a palace.

[Scène: Allegro giusto] Prince Siegfried is celebrating his birthday with his tutor, friends and peasants [Waltz]. The revelries are interrupted by Siegfried’s mother, the Queen [Scène: Allegro moderato], who is concerned about her son’s carefree lifestyle. She tells him that he must choose a bride at the royal ball the following evening. Siegfried is upset that he cannot marry for love. His friend Benno and the tutor try to lift his troubled mood. As evening falls [Sujet], Benno sees a flock of swans flying overhead and suggests they go on a hunt [Finale I]. Siegfried and his friends take their crossbows and set off in pursuit of the swans.

Act 2



Siegfried has become separated from his friends. He arrives at the lakeside clearing, just as a flock of swans land nearby [Scène. Moderato]. He aims his crossbow at the swans [Scène. Allegro moderato-], but freezes when one of them transforms into a beautiful maiden, Odette [Scène. -Moderato]. At first, she is terrified of Siegfried. When he promises not to harm her, she tells him that she is the Swan Queen Odette. She and her companions are victims of a terrible spell cast by the evil owl-like sorcerer Von Rothbart. By day they are turned into swans and only at night, by the side of the enchanted lake – created from the tears of Odette's mother – do they return to human form. The spell can only be broken if one who has never loved before swears to love Odette forever. Von Rothbart suddenly appears [Scène. -Allegro vivo]. Siegfried threatens to kill him but Odette intercedes – if Von Rothbart dies before the spell is broken, it can never be undone.

As Von Rothbart disappears, the swan maidens fill the clearing [Scène: Allegro, Moderato assai quasi andante]. Siegfried breaks his crossbow, and sets about winning Odette’s trust as the two fall in love. But as dawn arrives, the evil spell draws Odette and her companions back to the lake and they are turned into swans again.

Act 3

An opulent hall in the palace.

Guests arrive at the palace for a costume ball. Six princesses are presented to the prince [Entrance of the Guests and Waltz], one of whom his mother hopes he will choose as his bride. Then Von Rothbart arrives in disguise [Scène: Allegro, Allegro giusto] with his enchantress daughter, Odile, transformed so that she appears identical to Odette in all respects. Though the princesses try to attract the prince with their dances [Pas de six], Siegfried, mistaking Odile for Odette, has eyes only for her and dances with Odile. [Scène: Allegro, Tempo di valse, Allegro vivo] Odette appears as a vision and vainly tries to warn Siegfried that he is being deceived. But Siegfried remains oblivious and proclaims to the court that he intends to make Odile his wife. Von Rothbart shows Siegfried a magical vision of Odette and he realises his mistake. Grief-stricken, Siegfried hurries back to the lake.

Act 4

By the lakeside.

Odette is distraught at Siegfried’s betrayal. The swan-maidens try to comfort her, but she is resigned to death. Siegfried returns to the lake and finds Odette. He makes a passionate apology. She forgives him and the pair reaffirm their love. Von Rothbart appears and insists that Siegfried fulfill his pledge to marry Odile, after which Odette will be transformed into a swan forever. Siegfried chooses to die alongside Odette and they leap into the lake. This breaks Von Rothbart's spell over the swan maidens, causing him to lose his power over them and he dies. In an apotheosis, the swan maidens watch as Siegfried and Odette ascend into the Heavens together, forever united in love.

Alternative endings

Many different endings exist, ranging from romantic to tragic.

  • In 1950, Konstantin Sergeyev staged a new Swan Lake for the Mariinsky Ballet (then the Kirov) after Petipa and Ivanov, but included some bits of Vaganova and Gorsky. Under the Soviet regime, the tragic ending was substituted with a happy one, so that in the Mariinsky and Bolshoi versions, Odette and Siegfried lived happily ever after.
  • In the 2012 version performed at Blackpool Grand Theatre[16] by the Russian State Ballet of Siberia the Prince drags Rothbart into the lake and both drown. Odette is left as a swan.
  • In the 2015 English National Ballet version My First Swan Lake,[17] specifically recreated for young children, the power of Siegfried and Odette's love enables the other swans to rise up and defeat Rothbart, who falls to his death. This breaks the curse, and Siegfried and Odette live happily ever after.



Act I

Introduction: Moderato assai — Allegro non troppo — Tempo I
No. 01 Scène: Allegro giusto
No. 02 Waltz: Tempo di valse
No. 03 Scène: Allegro moderato
No. 04 Pas de trois
1. Intrada (or Entrée): Allegro
2. Andante sostenuto
3. Allegro semplice, Presto
4. Moderato
5. Allegro
6. Coda: Allegro vivace
1. Tempo di valse ma non troppo vivo, quasi moderato
2. Andante – Allegro
3. Tempo di valse
4. Coda: Allegro molto vivace
No. 06 Pas d'action: Andantino quasi moderato – Allegro
No. 07 Sujet (Introduction to the Dance with Goblets)
No. 08 Dance with Goblets: Tempo di polacca
No. 09 Finale: Sujet, Andante

Act II

No. 10 Scène: Moderato
No. 11 Scène: Allegro moderato, Moderato, Allegro vivo
No. 12 Scène: Allegro, Moderato assai quasi andante
No. 13 Dances of the Swans
1. Tempo di valse
2. Moderato assai
3. Tempo di valse
5. Pas d'action: Andante, Andante non troppo, Allegro (material borrowed from Undina)
6. Tempo di valse
7. Coda: Allegro vivo
No. 14 Scène: Moderato


No. 15 Scène: March – Allegro giusto
No. 18 Scène: Allegro, Allegro giusto
No. 19 Pas de six.
1. Intrada (or Entrée): Moderato assai
2. Variation 1: Allegro
4. Variation 3: Moderato
5. Variation 4: Allegro
6. Variation 5: Moderato, Allegro semplice
7. Grand Coda: Allegro molto
Appendix II - No. 20a Danse russe pour Mlle. Pelageya Karpakova: Moderato, Andante semplice, Allegro vivo, Presto
No. 21 Danse Espagnole: Allegro non troppo (Tempo di bolero)
No. 23 Mazurka: Tempo di mazurka

Act IV

No. 25 Entr'acte: Moderato
No. 26 Scène: Allegro non troppo
No. 27 Dance of the Little Swans: Moderato

Adaptations and references

Live action film

  • The opening credits for the 1931 version of Dracula starring Béla Lugosi includes a modified version of the Swan Theme from Act II. The same piece was later used for the credits of The Mummy and is often used as a backing track for the silent film, Phantom of the Opera.
  • The 1940 film I Was an Adventuress featured a long sequence from the ballet.
  • In the 1968 film Funny Girl, Barbra Streisand, playing Fanny Brice, dances in a comedic spoof of Swan Lake.


  • The Chinese State Circus has made an acrobatic version of the ballet,[19] which is on tour around the world. Set to excerpts from Tchaikovsky's suite, it contains such acrobatic moves as Odette doing a pirouette on top of Siegfried's head, without any supports.

Animated theatrical and direct-to-video productions

  • Swan Lake (1981) is a feature-length anime produced by the Japanese company Toei Animation and directed by Koro Yabuki. The adaptation uses Tchaikovsky's score and remains relatively faithful to the story. Two separate English dubs were made, one featuring regular voice actors, and one using celebrities as the main principals (Pam Dawber as Odette, Christopher Atkins as Siegfried, Kay Lenz as Odile, and David Hemmings as Rothbart). The second dub aired on American Movie Classics in February 1991 and The Disney Channel in June 1994.[20] It is presently distributed in United States by The Samuel Goldwyn Company. Also in France and the United Kingdom by Rouge Citron Production.[21]
  • The Swan Princess (1994) is a Nest Entertainment film based on the Swan Lake story. It stays fairly close to the original story, but does contain many differences. For example, instead of the Swan Maidens, we have the addition of sidekicks Puffin the puffin, Speed the turtle, and Jean-Bob the frog. Several of the characters are renamed – Prince Derek instead of Siegfried, his friend Bromley instead of Benno and his tutor Rogers instead of Wolfgang; Derek's mother is named Queen Uberta. Another difference is Odette and Derek knowing each other from when they were children, which introduces us to Odette's father, King William and explains how and why Odette is kidnapped by Rothbart. The character Odile is replaced by an old hag (unnamed in this movie, but known as Bridget in the sequels), as Rothbart's sidekick until the end. Also, this version contains a happy ending, allowing both Odette and Derek to survive as humans once Rothbart is defeated. It has four sequels, The Swan Princess and the Secret of the Castle (1997), The Swan Princess: The Mystery of the Enchanted Kingdom (1998), The Swan Princess Christmas (2012) and The Swan Princess: A Royal Family Tale (2013), which deviate even further from the ballet. None of the films feature Tchaikovsky's music.

Computer/video games


  • The Swedish dancer/choreographer Fredrik Rydman has produced a modern dance/street dance interpretation of the ballet entitled Swan Lake Reloaded. It features the "swans" as being heroin addict prostitutes who are kept in place by Rothbart, their pimp. The music used in the production uses themes and melodies from Tchaikovsky's score and incorporates them into hip-hop and techno tunes.[22]
  • Several types of character dance were included in Act 2, in order of Hungarian, Russian, Spanish (Flamenco), Itlian (Tarantella), and Polish (Mazurka).


  • Amiri & Odette (2009) is a verse retelling by Walter Dean Myers with illustrations by Javaka Steptoe.[23] Myers sets the story in the Swan Lake Projects of a large city. Amiri is a basketball-playing “Prince of the Night”, a champion of the asphalt courts in the park. Odette belongs to Big Red, a dealer, a power on the streets.
  • The Black Swan (1999) is a fantasy novel written by Mercedes Lackey that re-imagines the original story and focuses heavily on Odile. Von Rothbart's daughter is a sorceress in her own right who comes to sympathise with Odette.
  • Swan Lake (1989) is a children's novel written by Mark Helprin and illustrated by Chris van Allsburg, which re-creates the original story as a tale about political strife in an unnamed Eastern European country. In it, Odette becomes a princess hidden from birth by the puppetmaster (and eventually usurper) behind the throne, with the story being retold to her child.





  • Princess Tutu (2002) is an anime television series that features the heroine, Ahiru, whose costume design is reminiscent of Odette's. She is a duck transformed by a sorcerer into a girl (rather than the other way around), while her antagonist, Rue, dressed as Odile, is a girl who had been raised to believe she is a raven. Other characters include Mytho in the role of Siegfried, who is even referred to by this name towards the end of the second act, and Drosselmeyer playing in the role of Rothbart. The score of Swan Lake, along with that of The Nutcracker, features heavily throughout, as does, occasionally the Petipa choreography, most notably in episode 13, where Ahiru dances the climactic Pas de Deux alone, complete with failed lifts and catches.
  • In the animated children's show The Wonder Pets, Linny, Tuck and Ming-Ming help encourage a baby swan to dance in his own way. The music of Swan Lake is featured.
File:Swan lake - Second Life dancers wait to go on stage.jpg

Virtual world adaptions

In 2014 the Little Princess Ballet Academy (LPBA) performed the entire Swan Lake in Second Life. The adaption follows the original, but some parts like the pas de deux was not possible to perform in Second Life and has been changed. All parts are played by individual avatars.[24]

Selected discography





  1. ^ Kant, Marion (2007). The Cambridge companion to ballet. Cambridge University Press. p. 164. ; 'Old style' date March 4
  3. ^ Der geraubte Schleier at Projekt Gutenberg-DE
  5. ^ Wiley, 1991: p. 40
  6. ^ Wiley, 1991: p. 41
  7. ^ Wiley, 1991: pp. 39-41
  9. ^ a b c d Rosen, Gary (1998). "Swan Lake: An Historical Appreciation". Swan Lake programme (Cape Town: Cape Town City Ballet). 
  10. ^ Wiley, 1991: p. 61
  11. ^ "Repertory Index — New York City Ballet". Retrieved 2010-02-03. 
  13. ^ "Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake". Retrieved 14 September 2013. 
  14. ^ interview, David McAllister and Graeme Murphy, magazine, July, 2005
  15. ^ Wiley, 1991: p. 32
  16. ^ "Swan Lake – Blackpool Grand Theatre". 2007-01-11. Retrieved 2012-01-15. 
  17. ^ "My First Swan Lake - English National Ballet". Retrieved 2015-05-11. 
  18. ^ "Royal Opera House – 'Swan Lake' : From Planning To Performance – The Story of 'Swan Lake'". Retrieved 2012-01-15. 
  19. ^
  20. ^ D., Annie (6 September 2009). "Anime Swan Lake". Retrieved 3 February 2010. 
  21. ^
  23. ^
  24. ^ Video (56:44) - LPBA adaption
  25. ^ Complete ballet (youtube), retrieved 2012-04-26 



External links

Video recordings of the ballet