By Ankita Gupta
When you think of ballet, you think of Swan Lake. You think about music and dance, laced with emotion and grace, entwined in magic. On the 13th of March, in the dimly lit hall of Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, the audience watched this magic come to life in front of their own eyes. They were transported from the congested streets of Mumbai to the lanes of Tchaikovskys grand vision. The opening night of the ballet, produced by Navrasa Duende and Royal Russian Ballet was a massive success. Here is taking a dive into Swan Lake, a classic that has ruled our hearts for a century and a half.
Swan Lake: A word sketch
Swan Lake has an enduring and eloquent storyline that can only be explored through Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He was a genius Russian composer who is responsible for some of the greatest ballets in existence: The Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker and Swan Lake.
Swan Lake was Tchaikovskys first professional ballet score, which had been commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow in 1875. The story of Swan Lake is based on The Stolen Veil penned by German author Johann Karl August Musäus. However, it is said that Tchaikovsky based his work on the tragic life of King Ludwig II (sometimes referred to as the Swan King), who passed away in a shroud of mystery by drowning himself in a lake. It is likely that doomed King was the muse for the character of Prince Siegfried, the doomed lead.
Swan Lake is layered in complexity, manifesting traces of pathos, atavism, malice and tragedy. The ballet tells the story of infidelity, which was a recurring theme in 19th-century works. In the Academy Award-winning movie Black Swan, Nina, a repressed ballerina portrayed by Natalie Portman, sums up the story of Swan Lake: It’s about a girl who gets turned into a swan and she needs love to break the spell, but her prince falls for the wrong girl so she kills herself.
A Four-Act Tragedy
The ballet of Swan Lake plays out in Four Acts. In Act I, Prince Siegfried comes of age and feels the heavy burden of rank stanchioned on his shoulders. His widowed mother, the Queen who had been ruling the kingdom since the Kings death asks Prince Siegfried to choose a bride. The melancholy Prince seeks diversion in merriment and dancing. As dusk approaches, he steals away to find solitude on the banks of the mysterious lake that calls out to him.
In the nocturnal Act II, Prince Siegfried sees a flock of swans on the lakeside. His eyes get drawn to a beautiful swan and before his eyes, she turns into a maiden, Odette. She explains that the swans on the lake are captives who have been bewitched by the sorcerer Von Rothbart. The maidens have been cursed to remain swans, but for a few hours, each night and only true love and fidelity can free them. Entranced by the story and enchanted by Odettes beauty, the Prince promises to love and loyalty to her.
In Act III, a grand ball is thrown for the Prince to select a consort. No one is aware of his love for Odette. Baron von Rothbart arrives at the ball with his daughter Odile, who bears a strange resemblance to Odette. Prince Siegfried is lured by Odiles seduction and falls under the spell, thus shattering his vow of fidelity. As the evil sorcerer and his daughter triumph, the Prince escapes from the palace to seek forgiveness from the true Odette.
In Act IV, Prince Siegfried again declares love to a heartbroken Odette. But nothing can change the fact of his infidelity thus enslaving the swan maidens forever. Odette forgives the Prince knowing that they will part soon. A storm is evoked by Rothbart which makes it impossible for the lovers to unite. Odette vanishes into this storm, and Prince Siegfried is left alone staring into the empty banks of the lake.
In another version of the ballet, the final act has a happy ending, with Rothbart being overthrown by the power of Odette and Siegfrieds love and the swans are released from their spell.
An Ugly Duckling Transformation
It is remarkable that Swan Lake which is an absolute gem in contemporary ballet was regarded as a dreg in its first year of performance. The conductors, performers, audiences and critics thought that Tchaikovskys music score was complicated and chaotic. The original choreography by German maestro, Julius Reisinger was panned for being anaemic and bromidic. Swan Lake was revived only after Tchaikovskys death.
In honour of his memory, choreographer-conductors Petipa and Ricardo reworked the forgotten story of Swan Lake. The revised version, released in St. Petersburg in 1895, was an instant smasher and is one of the most popular retellings to this day. Yet Tchaikovskys story content remained the same. The legends of swan maidens had been popular since the time of Ancient Greece, where swans circled above the head of Apollo. The swan is an abstraction for womanhood in its purest form and the swan theme found universal meaning with audiences throughout the world.
India: Flight of the silver swan
This year, Swan Lake will play in theatres across India as part of a tour conducted by Navrasa Duende and the Royal Russian Ballet. 25 shows are scheduled as part of the tour for Mumbai, followed by performances in Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. The month-long tour is to conclude on April 14, 2018.The troupe, comprising of a team of 45 dancers will be performing under the choreography of Vladimir Troschenko. The director of the show is Anatoliy Kazatskiy.
The love story between Odette and Prince Siegfried has been touching for Indian audiences who enjoy romance. The ballet has been modified to have a more positive end to show the triumph of good over evil. The famous Black Swans Pas de deux, is to include 32 fouetté turns, arguably, one of most daring moves in ballet. Im quite certain that both lovers of this dance form, as well as, new audiences curious about ballet will enjoy this production, said Dinesh Singh, CEO and Founder of Navrasa Duende. With these made to order performances and stunning sets, one can only expect to be bewitched when the curtain rises on Swan Lake.