27 January: Swan Lake

On this date in 1895 Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake premièred in St Petersburg, Russia. 10 things you might not know about Swan Lake.

1. It was, however, the second, updated version which premiered on this day. It originally premiered 18 years earlier, on March 4th, 1877.
2. On that occasion, it wasn't very well received. Critics said the Music was too loud, too ‘Wagnerian‘ and too symphonic. Another criticised the production and the dancers, writing "I must say that I had never seen a poorer presentation on the Bolshoi stage. The costumes, decor, and machines did not hide in the least the emptiness of the dances. Not a single balletomane got out of it even five minutes of pleasure." This guy, Herman Laroche, did like the music, however. Audiences weren't so harsh. There were 40 more performances of this version up until 1883.
3. In 1875 Vladimir Begitchev asked Tchaikovsky to write a ballet about swans for the Moscow Imperial Theatre. Tchaikovsky hadn't written ballet music before, but was keen to give it a go. It took him a year to write.
4. The story of the ballet was based on The Lake of Swans, a German fairy tale.
5. Tchaikovsky had written a short ballet about swans already, for his nieces and nephews in 1871. He used some of the music from that for Swan Lake.
6. The company started rehearsals before the score was completely finished. Initially, the orchestra's conductor and the dancers hated it. They described the music as "undanceable" because it was so complex.
7. The plot is as follows: Prince Seigfried is turning 21. At his birthday party, he is expected to choose a bride. Six hopeful princesses are attending the ball for him to choose from. The day before the party, Seigfried and his friends go hunting and are about to shoot a flock of swans when they turn into young women. Their leader, Princess Odette, explains that her wicked stepmother has cast a spell on them so that they are swans by day and maidens by night. The spell can only be broken by a vow of marriage. Seigfried falls in love with Odette and she agrees to attend the ball. However, her stepmother's companion Von Rothbart is watching, disguised as an owl. He decides to screw things up for Odette. He arrives at the ball with his daughter Odile, who is disguised as Odette. Seigfried is completely fooled and asks Odile to marry him. Odette arrives in time to see this and flees back to the lake in despair, knowing the spell can never now be broken. Seigfried by now has realised his mistake and goes to the lake to beg forgiveness from Odette. She is so stricken with grief that she dies in his arms, after which Seigfriend drowns and the swans swim away.
8. In the early 1890s, discussions began with Tchaikovsky about the possiblity of a revival with a few changes to the story by Tchaikovsky's brother Modest. He made the ending happier by having the spirits of the lovers reunited in the afterlife.
9. However, Tchaikovsky died in November 1893, two years before the premier of the new version. Today, when someone in the music business dies there is a surge of interest in their music. It was the same then – because Tchaikovsky had died, people wanted to hear his music. However, the premier of the new version was postponed because Tsar Alexander III died in November 1894 and due to a period of mourning, all performances and rehearsals had to stop.
10. The 2010 film Black Swan features the ballet. Odette is often referred to as The White Swan and Odile as the Black Swan. One dancer usually takes both roles but in the film, ballerina Nina is unable to embody the Black Swan even though her White Swan performance is perfect. The film tells of a bitter rivalry between Nina and the dancer brought in to be the Black Swan.

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