It is safe to say that Swan Lake is easily one of the most beloved ballets in the world. Due to the immense popularity of The Nutcracker around the holidays, Swan Lake probably is the second-most performed ballet. Both ballets feature glorious music by Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. So it makes sense that the Russian Ballet Theatre is doing a US tour of Swan Lake. There are multiple performances beginning in California on Thursday, September 19th at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido.
In the ballet, Odette is a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer. Prince Siegfried falls in love with Odette. At night she turns back into her human form and it was upon seeing this transformation that the romance begins. Other spells and deception awaits the leads in Swan Lake. While love triumphs, it isn’t necessarily the happiest of endings, but it is certainly romantic.
Olga Kifyak dances Odette and also the secondary character of Odie, who is presented to Siegfried in hopes of his falling in love with her. To do both parts is the ultimate for any ballerina dancing the role of Odette. Evgeny Svetlitsa dances the role of Prince Siegfried.
This production is choreographed by Nadezhda Kalinina and features hand-painted sets and over 150 hand-sewn costumes.
The only curious thing about the website for Swan Lake is I could not find any mention of Tchaikovsky. Rather odd since it is his music that propels not just the ballet, but the trailer for this tour.
All photos courtesy of Russian Ballet Theatre