Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake is one of the symbols of great Russian art, a masterpiece that has become the pearl of the treasury of world music and the hallmark of the Bolshoi Theater. Suffering is imbued with every note of the work. The intensity of tragedy and the beautiful melody characteristic of the works of Pyotr Ilyich became the property of all music lovers and lovers of choreography in the world. The circumstances of the creation of this magnificent ballet are no less dramatic than the “Scenes on the Lake” chords.
Ballet Order
The last quarter of the nineteenth century was a strange time for ballet. Today, when it became an integral part of the classics, it is hard to imagine that a few decades ago this type of art was treated as something of a secondary, unworthy of the attention of serious musicians. P.I. Tchaikovsky, being not only a distinguished composer, but also an expert on music, nevertheless, he loved and often attended performances, although he himself had no desire to write in this genre. But something unexpected happened, against the background of certain material difficulties, an order appeared from the directorate, for which they promised a considerable amount. The fee was promised a generous eight hundred rubles. Pyotr Ilyich served in the conservatory, and in those days, educators also did not live in luxury, although, of course, the concepts of affluence were different. The composer set to work. The ballet "Swan Lake" (at first the name "Island of Swans" was conceived) was planned on the basis of German legends.
Wagner and Tchaikovsky
Since the action took place in Germany, P.I. Tchaikovsky, to penetrate the mysterious atmosphere of the Teutonic sagas and castles, in which knights and beautiful ladies were quite ordinary characters, went to this country (this, by the way, is about the poverty of the contents of the then professors) . In the city of Bayreuth, during the performance (they gave The Ring of the Nibelungs), a glorious meeting of two geniuses took place - Peter Ilyich and Richard Wagner. Tchaikovsky was delighted with the “Lohengrin” and other operas of his famous colleague, which he did not fail to inform the German fellow in musical notation. The Russian genius decided to call his protagonist Siegfried, against which the great German did not mind.
Another mysterious German, Ludwig II
There was another mysterious character who seriously influenced the future ballet Swan Lake. Wagner was patronized by the Bavarian monarch, Ludwig II, a strange man, but very talented of his kind. Building mysterious, fantastic and unusual castles, he created the atmosphere of the Middle Ages, very consonant with the soul of the great Russian composer. Even the death of the king, which occurred under extremely mysterious circumstances, completely fit into the outline of the biography of this extraordinary and charming person. The death of the extraordinary monarch brought to the mind of P.I. Tchaikovsky’s depressing effect, he was oppressed by the question of whether he had caused, albeit inadvertently, trouble on his head with a gloomy story that he wanted to tell people.
Creative process
In ballet as action, choreography was always considered the most important side. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the ballet Swan Lake broke this tradition. The content, however, was also of no small importance, it emphasized the semantic load of beautiful music. It is tragic and fits into the definition of unhappy love. Since the theater directorate acted as the customer of the Swan Lake ballet, the libretto was entrusted to Vladimir Begichev, the head of the Bolshoi. He was assisted by V. Geltzer, a dancer, and later the author himself joined in the creative process. The score was ready by 1876, and with all the care shown during the creation of the ballet, P.I. Tchaikovsky most likely did not assume that this work would be included in a series of masterpieces that immortalized his name.
Actors, time and place
The place and time of action are designated as fabulous. The main characters are few, only thirteen. Among them is the imperious princess with her son Siegfried, the friend of the latter, von Sommerstern, his mentor Wolfgang, von Stein with his wife, von Schwarzfels, also with his wife, the walker, herald, the ceremonial master, the swan queen, she is enchanted and beautiful Odette, like a drop of water similar to a drop of water similar to her Odile and her father Rothbart, an evil sorcerer. And, of course, minor characters, including small swans. In general, on stage during the four acts there are not so few artists.
Story line
Young, cheerful and wealthy Siegfried has a good time with friends. He has a triumph, the day of coming of age. But a swan flock appears, and something draws the young prince behind her into the forest. Odette, having assumed a human form, captivates him with her beauty and talks about the insidiousness of Rothbart, who bewitched her. The prince makes a vow of eternal love, but the queen mother has her own plan for the matrimonial arrangement of the sons of fate. At the ball, he is introduced to Odile, a girl very similar to the swan queen. But the similarity is limited by appearance, and soon Siegfried realizes his mistake. He enters into a duel with the villain Rothbart, but the forces are unequal. In the finale, lovers die, the villain (in the reincarnation of an owl), too. This is the plot. Swan Lake became an outstanding ballet not because of its unusualness, but thanks to the magical music of Tchaikovsky.
Failed premiere
In 1877, the premiere took place at the Bolshoi. On February 20, Pyotr Ilyich expected with anxiety and impatience. For the excitement of the foundation were, Wenzel Reisinger took up the production, successfully failing all previous premiere performances of the theater. There was little hope that he would succeed this time. And so it happened. Not all contemporaries appreciated great music, psychologically perceiving the action as a whole. The efforts of the ballerina Polina Karpakova in creating the image of Odette were not crowned with success. The corps de ballet has earned quite a few caustic comments from critics for inappropriate hand-waving. Costumes and sets were unfinished. Only on the fifth attempt, after changing the soloist (she was danced by Anna Sobeshchanska, a prima ballerina from the Bolshoi Theater troupe), was it possible to somehow captivate the audience. P.I. Tchaikovsky was depressed by failure.
Mariinsky production
It so happened that the ballet Swan Lake was appreciated only after the death of the author, who was not destined to enjoy his triumph. For eight years, the production without much success went on the stage of the Bolshoi, until it was finally removed from the repertoire. The choreographer Marius Petipa began work on a new stage version with the author, helped by Lev Ivanov, who possessed truly extraordinary abilities and excellent musical memory.
The script was rewritten again, all the choreographic numbers rethought. The death of the great composer shocked Petipa, he fell ill (other personal circumstances also contributed to this ), but, having recovered, set himself the goal of creating such a ballet as Swan Lake, which would become a miraculous monument to P. I. Tchaikovsky. He succeeded.
Already on February 17, 1894, shortly after the death of the composer, at the evening of his memory, the student of Petipa L. Ivanov offered the public attention a new version of the interpretation of the second act, described by critics as a brilliant breakthrough. Then, in January 1895, the ballet was staged at the Mariinsky Theater of St. Petersburg. This time the triumph was extraordinary. The new ending, a happy one, was somewhat dissonant with the general spirit of the work. She was offered by the brother of the late composer, Modest Tchaikovsky. Subsequently, the troupe returned to its original version, which is staged to this day with constant success by theaters around the world.
The fate of ballet
The failure with Swan Lake, apparently, was the reason why the composer did not take up ballets for thirteen years. Tchaikovsky was probably embarrassed by the fact that this genre was still considered lightweight, in contrast to operas, symphonies, suites, cantatas and concerts, which he preferred to create. In total, the composer wrote three ballets, the other two are Sleeping Beauty, which premiered in 1890, and a couple of years later the Nutcracker presented to the public.
As for Swan Lake, his life became long, and most likely eternal. Throughout the twentieth century, ballet has not left the stage of the world's leading theaters. The outstanding choreographers of our time A. Gorsky, A. Vaganova, K. Sergeev and many others realized their ideas when it was staged. The revolutionary approach to the musical part of the work prompted the search for new creative ways in dance, confirming the world leadership of Russian ballet. Connoisseurs of art from different countries, visiting Moscow, consider the Bolshoi Theater an indispensable point of visit. "Swan Lake" - a performance that does not leave anyone indifferent, to watch it is the dream of all ballet lovers. Hundreds of prominent ballerinas consider the Odette part to be the peak of their creative careers.
If Peter Ilyich knew ...