[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="460"]<img alt="" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01373/swan-lake_1373804c.jpg" width="460" height="288" /> Swans in formation, http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01373/swan-lake_1373804c.jpg[/caption]

&nbsp;

<em>Swan Lake</em> is a ballet originally composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1877. It's legacy continues in modern performances and reinterpretations of the piece and it should be preserved because of both it's persistence and the way it transcended the nationalist dogma of the time.

The story features Prince Siegfried as a passionate man forced by the Queen to find a bride. He encounters Odette while out hunting, who has been cursed to turn into a swan during the day by the sorcerer Von Rothbart. Odette and Siegfried fall in love, and it's explained that this will break the curse. Later at a palace ball, Von Rothbart appears with his daughter Odile. Siegfried is deceived and believes Odile to be Odette so he pledges his love to Odile. He realizes his error and finds Odette. The two commit suicide, breaking the curse for the other swans and killing Von Rothbart.

When <em>Swan Lake</em> was released Russia was in a period of social change brought about the Industrial Revolution. Trailing behind the other European powers in this adoption, it held onto the hierarchy of the Aristocratic system. France served as an inspiration for arts and there was a growing desire for a Russian voice in the arts. Nationalism was ubiquitous across Europe and foreshadowed World War 1 in 1914. Tchaikovsky attended two newly formed schools meant to foster this creativity, The Russian Music Society and the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. He was also influenced by a group of operatic and orchestral composers known as the five: Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Modeste Petrovich Moussorgsky, Milli Alexievich Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, and Cesar Antonovitch Cui. "These  men were undoubtedly gifted musicians and they had done much to establish music in Russian life but they were in Tchaikovsky's eyes, talented amateurs with other professions which the world took more seriously" (Hossick). Also of importance was the fact that Tchaikovsky was a closeted homosexual in a religious country that was openly hostile to homosexuality. His marriage to a former student, Antonina Miliukova, was incredibly taxing on him but was seen to be a part of his responsibility as a man.

Swan Lake is typical of other ballets such as <em>La Sylphide</em> and <em>Giselle</em> because it draws from fairy tales for narrative. All sound comes from music which is meant to convey the mood of the scene, and choreography utilized the <em>arabesque </em>style of dancing popularized by French ballet.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="437"]<img class="   " alt="" src="http://balletnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/SwanLake024.jpg" width="437" height="312" /> Arabesque pose from Swan Lake, http://balletnews.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/SwanLake024.jpg[/caption]

Odette and Odile perpetuate Romantic stereotypes of women. "Romantic writers inherited the dual view of womankind that had prevailed since the Middle Ages: like Eve, woman was the <i>femme fatale</i>, the seducer and destroyer of mankind; like Mary, however, woman was the source of salvation and the symbol of all that was pure and true" (Fiero). Tchaikovsky was strongly influenced by the work of Beethoven and Wagner, using nuance during the repetition of themes to create different moods. In the theme of the opera a solo oboe plays a set of notes and concludes with a low note. This sequence is then played back with the entire orchestra to emphasize the build-up of emotion. In the introduction this is done with strings and has a slow somber mood.

[youtube]<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-yvvTy7aBc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-yvvTy7aBc</a>[/youtube]

Later when Siegfried meets Odette this theme is repeated but replaced with a concluding high note, and the orchestra features a horn accompaniment that makes the piece feels more passionate and spontaneous.

[youtube]<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzpqM4THqZ8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzpqM4THqZ8</a>[/youtube]

This musical complexity is what sets it apart from other ballets of the time. Also important are the cultural boundaries it crossed. <em>Swan Lake</em>'s characters have Germanic rather than Slavic names. In Scene 3 different nationalities are represented through dance in the Palace Courtyard with their appropriate music. These differences led to poor reviews during the initial run of the ballet in the Bolshoi Theater. Because of this poor reception the original work was modified by choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov and composer Ludwig Minkus. In 1895 this new <em>Swan Lake</em> was performed at a commemoration ballet for Tchaikovsky, and most productions now use the 1895 <em>Swan Lake</em> as their template. This flexibility also makes<em> Swan Lake</em> unique, because preparing it is an interpretive job. This has allowed choreographers such as Matthew Bourne to experiment: "I didn't want that three-way relationship - Prince, Swan, Rothbart - in the Swan scenes. I just wanted the simplicity of the Prince and the swans without something else controlling it. After all, it's in his mind. So it didn't seem appropriate to have anyone else involved" (Bourne qtd. in Carter). In Bourne's interpretation the swans are also played by men creating a subtext not present before. The 2010 movie <em>Black Swan</em> highlights <em>Swan Lake</em>'s elevated status in ballet and modern culture. It also offers an interpretation of <em>Swan Lake</em> through the perspective of Odette, showing her<em> </em>transformation and inner struggle between dual personalities.

[youtube]<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsvtIzebNcw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsvtIzebNcw</a>[/youtube]

When comparing <em>Swan Lake </em>to <em>La Sylphide </em> the differences in musical composition are very glaring. <em>La Sylphide </em>will have a continual mood for a piece of music, it doesn't feature the same dramatic shifts in tone present in <em>Swan Lake's </em>score. The music is also performed by a smaller orchestra, mostly stringed instruments. The oboe in <em>Swan Lake </em>and the cello in <em>La Sylphide </em>have prominent solo roles. The dance choreography of <em>Swan Lake </em>however is much more complex, using larger numbers of dancers on stage and having them weave in and out of each other in a synchronized fashion. Both stories come from fairy tale inspiration and are about young men falling in love with mythical woman figures and then tricked by an evil mystic. They are also appropriated from different countries. <em>La Sylphide </em>is set in Scotland but was first performed in France. One of the differences in plot is that the deaths of the two lovers in <em>La Sylphide </em>is tragic. The witch Old Madge convinces the protagonist James Ruben to kill his love by touching her, and James dies losing both the sylph and his bride-to-be to his best friend. In <em>Swan Lake</em> the mutual suicide of Siegfried and Odette defeats Von Rothbart and frees the other swans from their curse.

I was very moved by the score of <em>Swan Lake</em>, especially by the main theme which does a fantastic job of starting simply and building up to an emotional crescendo. One of the things I have a hard time with in ballet is the fact that the performers are completely silent and express through dance, which I am not used to appreciating. However I feel like the music does such a good job of building moods and complexity that I had an easier time following the story. In closing I think that the beauty of the music makes the ballet worth preserving.

Bibliography:
<p lang="en"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span><i>Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky [Electronic Resource (Video)] : A Concise Biography / Hossick, Malcolm</i>. n.p.: New York, N.Y. : Films Media Group, [2011], c2006., 2006. <i>ACC Library Catalog</i>. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.</span></span></p>
<p lang="en">This source gave information on the creator as well as background information.</p>
<p lang="en"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span><i>Swan Lake [Electronic Resource (Video)] : From The Royal Opera House / Electric Sky (Firm)</i>. n.p.: New York, N.Y. : Films Media Group, [2010], c2009., 2009. <i>ACC Library Catalog</i>. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.</span></span></p>
<p lang="en">This source helped form a personal reaction to the work.</p>
<p lang="en"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span>Drummond, Kent G. "The Queering Of Swan Lake: A New Male Gaze For The Performance Of Sexual Desire." <i>Journal Of Homosexuality</i> 45.2-4 (2003): 235-255. <i>Academic Search Complete</i>. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.</span></span></p>
<p lang="en">This source showed a comparison of the 1895 performance with the 1995 Matthew Bourne performance.</p>
<p lang="en"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span>Cohen, Selma J. <i>Next Week, Swan Lake: Reflections on Dance and Dances</i>. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2011. Print.</span></span></p>
<p lang="en">This source gave historical background on the production and what makes it unique.</p>
<p lang="en"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span>Carter, Alexandra. <i>Rethinking Dance History: A Reader</i>. London: Routledge, 2004. Print.</span></span></p>
<p lang="en">This source had an interview with Matthew Bourne that created a context for the modern reception of the work</p>
<p lang="en"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"><span>Plumley, Gavin. “Swan Lake: A beginner's guide – The Music (Royal Ballet).” Online video clip. <i>YouTube</i>. YouTube, 27 Feb 2013. 3 Nov 2013.</span></span></p>
<p lang="en">This source helped with understanding musical themes present in the work.</p>
<p lang="en">"La Sylphide HD (Pas d'Ombre)." Online video clip. <em>YouTube.</em> Youtube, 20 Dec 2011. 4 Nov 2013.</p>
<p lang="en">This source helped when comparing Swan Lake to a similar work.</p>