The greatest opera playwright and symphonist of the second half of the 19th century, part of the world's musical culture. Tchaikovsky alone, created his own direction: the Moscow composer school. The range of his creativity is huge: 10 operas, 6 symphonies, one program Manfred, overtures, one-movement and programmed, Italian capriccio, was the founder of Russian classical ballet, three piano concertos, one violinist, variations on a rococo theme for cello and orchestra, 4 symphonic suites, over 100 romances, cantatas, choral music, three quartets, piano trio, "Memories of Florence" sextet, piano cycles, music for performances, piano miniatures. If the Kuchkists were more interested in: everyday life, the art of the people, the history of the nation, then Tchaikovsky paid attention mainly to the inner world of the individual. In the center of many of his works is the theme of a person's struggle with fate, and often this conflict with fate ends tragically. This is not a struggle of the masses (as in Beethoven), but an internal struggle of one person. He was influenced by opera-dramas by Mozart, Bizet. He himself loved French composers: Gounod, Delibe. He combined all this in his work. In his melodic language, he relied on the intonation of a Russian romance. Tchaikovsky also has joyful, enthusiastic pages - the romance "Does Day Reign", a violin concerto, pieces from "The Seasons".

Born in the city of Votkinsk, in the family of a mining engineer. Mother was a musician, played the piano and sang, father played the flute. Tchaikovsky early fell in love with the music of Mozart and Bellini. 1850-1859 Studied at the School of Law in St. Petersburg, which trained officials for the Department of Justice. At the school he was interested in the operas by Glinka and Rossini. He sang in the choir, played the piano. 1862 He entered the newly opened St. Petersburg Conservatory, left the service. He graduated in 65 with a silver medal. Studied with Zaremba and Rubinstein. He learned to play the flute, organ, played in the orchestra. Thesis - cantata "To Joy" (after Schiller). He wrote the Thunderstorm overture (after Ostrovsky). In it he revealed his dramatic talent. In 66 N. Rubinstein opened the Moscow Conservatory and invited Tchaikovsky there. Moscow period 1866-1877. During this period, Tchaikovsky attended meetings of the artistic circle, which was attended by the artists of the small theater. This played a big role in shaping the drama in his operas. Communicated with N. Rubinstein, Ostrovsky, Odoevsky. Artists: Sadovsky, Zhivokini. He met L. Tolstoy, who admired his first quartet. He established friendly relations with the "Mighty Handful", especially with Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov. On the advice of Balakirev, he wrote the fantasy overture "Romeo and Juliet", and on the advice of Stasov, the overture "The Tempest" (after Shakespeare). During the Moscow period he wrote operas: "Voevoda", "Ondine", "Oprichnik", "Blacksmith Vakula", ballet "Swan Lake", 3 first symphonies, fantasy overture "Francesca da Rimini", first piano concerto, variations on a rococo theme , music to Ostrovsky's fairy tale "The Snow Maiden", "The Seasons", romances, a collection of folk songs. He began writing Symphony 4 and Eugene Onegin. At the conservatory he taught harmony, instrumentation, theory, composition. (Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev was his favorite student.) He instilled in his students a love for the classics. Wrote "A Guide to the Practical Study of Harmony." He acted as a music critic, wrote about Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov. 1878-1893 The last period. It began with a nervous breakdown associated with an unsuccessful marriage and overwork. I went to Italy. Completed Symphony 4 and Eugene Onegin. In 1879 he wrote The Maid of Orleans (after Schiller). 1883 - opera-drama "Mazepa". 1887 - the drama The Enchantress (after Shpansinsky). 1890 - "The Queen of Spades" - the pinnacle of his work - a tragedy opera. In the 80s he wrote many chamber works, symphonic suites, the program symphony "Manfred". 1888 - 5th symphony, overture "Hamlet", overture "Hamlet", "Italian capriccio". After the death of N. Rubinstein he wrote the piano trio "In Memory of the Great Artist", romances. In the late 1980s, The Sleeping Beauty was written. 1890s - string sextet "Memories of Florence", "Iolanta" - operas based on the drama of Hertz. The Nutcracker ballet after Hoffmann, romances. In 1893 - 6th symphony. At this time he traveled - he was in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Kamenka, St. Petersburg. He was engaged in conducting. Its popularity is growing in the world. He conducted in America on the occasion of the opening of the Carnegie hall. He was elected director of the University of Cambridge. From 1885 he lived in Klin. A few weeks after the performance of the 6th symphony, he died of cholera in St. Petersburg in 1893.

« Swan Lake".Bolshoi ballet in 4 acts. The libretto was presumably composed by Tchaikovsky himself, possibly with the participation of V.P. Begichev and V.F. Geltser. Plot: In four acts of the ballet, real and fantastic scenes alternate. Celebrating his coming of age in the palace park, Prince Siegfried has fun with friends, but a flock of swans flying over the park beckons him. In the forest, on the shore of the lake, among the swan girls, the prince finds Odette, a kind fairy with a crown on her head. Captivated by her beauty and overwhelmed by her account of the persecution of the Owl Stepmother, Siegfried vows eternal love to Odette. At a ball in the castle, at the behest of Siegfried's mother, he must choose a bride for himself. However, the prince is indifferent until Odile appears, in which Siegfried sees Odette, and he gives her preference. Realizing that he made a fatal mistake, Siegfried runs to the lake and begs Odette for forgiveness, but does not receive it. Taking off the crown from Odette's head, Siegfried challenges the Stepmother-Owl, who personifies the image of fate in the ballet (the crown saved Odette from her persecution). The prince hopes that the Swan girl will go with him to the human world. But the stormy waves of the elements raging on the lake absorb Odette and Siegfried. Presumably, the sources of the libretto could be romantic plots: the fairy tale of the German writer Museus "Swan Pond", and also "Ondine" by Lamotte-Fouquet - Zhukovsky. Some figurative plot motives of the libretto are related to the works of Russian literature. The premiere took place on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater on February 20, 1877. In the repertoire of the Swan Lake theater until 1883, 39 times were played.

« sleeping Beauty".Script by I.A. Vsevolozhsky and M. Petipa based on the tales of C. Perrot. Period of creation - from October 1888 to August 1889 Plot: Princess Aurora, daughter of King Florestan XIV, falls asleep in eternal sleep, pricking herself on a spindle on the day of the festivities on the occasion of her majority - such is the revenge of the evil fairy Carabosse, which the royal master of ceremonies Catalabut once forgot invite among other fairies to the princess's christening. One hundred years later, with the help of the good fairy Lilac, Prince Desiree enters the sleeping forest while hunting, where he sees Aurora and wakes her up with a kiss. Their happy love breaks the evil spell of the fairy Carabosse. The idea of \u200b\u200bthe production and the libretto belonged to the director of the Imperial Theaters I.A. Vsevolozhsky. The staging plan-script was developed by the famous ballet master of the 19th century M. Petipa. Having received the libretto, Tchaikovsky agrees to collaborate with Vsevolozhsky and Petipa. Immediately makes the first sketches on the cover of the newly received magazine "Russian Bulletin".

« Nutcracker".The ballet was staged for the first time on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on 03.01.1890 The press was very supportive of the performance. The Emperor and his family attended the dress rehearsal. The ballet was unconditional success. Critics and spectators were unanimous in this case.

Swan Lake of Immortality.
... Prince Siegfried, celebrating the day of majority, by chance finds himself on the shore of the lake, which was chosen by snow-white birds, led by a beautiful swan girl, Odette, bewitched by Rothbart, the ruler of a mysterious lake. The prince loses his head from the beauty of the girl. Promises of love, a fatal mistake in choosing a bride, lead to death ...
The beautiful legend of the love between a prince and a swan girl formed the basis for the ballet Swan Lake, which became an example of classical dance, a pearl of world ballet history.
***
In 1875, the "Imperial Theaters" sent an order to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky with a request to write music for a ballet performance. The author of the libretto under the original title "Lake of Swans" was Vladimir Begichev, co-author Vasily Geltser. Tchaikovsky gave his consent to the execution of the order, despite the opinion of "venerable" musicians-songwriters that "serious" composers should not write music for ballets. By that time, Pyotr Tchaikovsky was already famous, he had created: four operas ("Voevoda", "Undine", "Oprichnik", "Blacksmith Vakula"), 2 symphonies (Nos. 1, 2), the 3rd symphony had just begun ; quartets for string instruments and other works.
A creative person is inspired by what he sees around him, and what he admires every minute. Feelings and thoughts, moments of daily life - everything resonates in musical creations. The prototype of the swan lake may have become a reservoir near the estate of Tchaikovsky's sister, Alexandra Davydova, in the Cherkasy region of Ukraine, where the composer often came to visit, rested and spent a lot of time. Even before receiving the order, four years later, Tchaikovsky wrote the children's ballet "Lake of Swans". This suggests that nature and talent led to the birth of the greatest masterpiece of dance art.
Careful study of dances, scores, extensive work on the composition, led to the completion of the future ballet by the winter of 1875. The orchestration was performed by the composer in the spring of 1876. In the autumn the score was handed over to the client. Preparations for staging the performance at the Bolshoi Theater have begun in Moscow.
The first production of the ballet (1877, March 4) by Václav Reisinger, a Czech choreographer who had been working in Russia for 5 years, was received without enthusiasm by the public, and the premiere was unsuccessful. The performance of Polina Karpakova, an aspiring ballerina, in the part of Odette-Odile became her debut. Alexander Gellert took the stage as Prince Siegfried, Sergei Sokolov danced Rothbart.
The prima of the Bolshoi Theater, the audience's favorite, Anna Sobeshchanskaya refused to perform the main part at the premiere due to the lack of a solo dance. She persuaded Marius Petipa to create and stage a solo in Act 3 especially for her. And I chose the music of Ludwig Minkus!
A quarrel arose between Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sobeshchanskaya. The author did not introduce other people's music into his creation, but soon, nevertheless, he composed a solo and individual variations. It turned out pas de deux 3 acts. Sobeschanskaya in the role of Odette-Odile performed in the fourth show, but the audience did not accept the ballet even then. He went on for another eight years, and then they stopped playing him on stage.
The rebirth of the performance took place almost twenty years later, when the famous Marius Petipa and his colleague, choreographer, Lev Ivanov, approached the embodiment of the ballet performance in a new way. The year 1893 was marked by the beginning of Tchaikovsky's collaboration with Petipa. But the unexpected death of the composer canceled all plans.
The new vision of the ballet took place in February 1894, at an evening dedicated to the life and work of the greatest composer of our time, Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Choreographer Lev Ivanov, combined classics and romanticism, reality and fiction, music and movement, conveying the state of mind of the heroes, their mood in the new edition of the second act of the ballet. Ivanov's innovation in ballet art of the 19th century has survived to our times. The second act is performed by theater companies in the form of a whole performance.
The resumed premiere of the ballet, which later became the canon of the performance of the masterpiece of dance and musical classics, took place at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on January 15, 1895. The production was staged by Marius Petipa, who updated the script and corrected the choreography. With the participation of the composer's brother, Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the finale was changed. In the original version, the heroes went to the underwater world, where Rothbart reigns. Then the libretto was built on the principle of contrasts, real life and fictional, running in parallel in the plot. Real life is the prince and Odile, Rothbart, the engagement, and the fabulous side is the prince, Odette, the lake, the evil genius. But Petipa set the ending to a happy ending, which did not work out very well according to the librettists' intentions - the heroes from dreams came to reality. The score was also subject to minor paraphrases during the joint work of the choreographer and the composer, conductor, Ricardo Drigo, who came to Russia from Italy in 1879. Choreography of acts 1 and 3, apotheosis by Petipa. Folk dances (Hungarian, Neapolitan) in act 3, act 2, act 4 were performed in the production of Lev Ivanov.
More than a hundred years have passed, and the Swan Lake ballet lives on in the version created by Petipa and Ivanov. There were various approaches and options: classical and modern. The directors did a rearrangement of scenes, dances, variations, which did not affect the general spirit of the ballet - a romantic and fairy tale story of two lovers. But true fame and love was won by the classic production of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov.
***
The Russian composer's "army" in the 70s of the 19th century considered the music for ballet as "simple and unpretentious", of a low class. And I did not undertake their composition. In addition to Adolph Adam and Ludwig Minkus, who worked at different times in Russia, authors of famous ballets, the same pearls of world classical dance. But, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky made great changes in the musical art of the second half of the 19th century, creating music with an authentic Russian spirit. Until that time, ballets were only part of a large opera performance or small dance numbers. Tchaikovsky showed with his creations that the character and psychological state of the heroes can be revealed with the help of music, creating with it the plot and the whole story of the heroes. “Ballet is the same symphony,” the composer said. With the ballets Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty, Tchaikovsky proved that a fairy tale can be made from beautiful music and beautiful body movements. Ballet is a fairy tale where good prevails over evil.

In four acts. Libretto by V. Begichev and V. Geltser.

Characters:

• Odette, the swan queen (fairy godmother)
• Odile, daughter of an evil genius, similar to Odette
• Sovereign Princess
• Prince Siegfried, her son
• Benno von Sommerstern, friend of the prince
• Wolfgang, mentor to the prince
• Knight Rothbart, an evil genius disguised as a guest
• Baron von Stein
• Baroness, his wife
• Baron von Schwarzfels
• Baroness, his wife
• Master of Ceremonies
• Herald
• Skorokhod
• Friends of the prince, courtiers, ladies and pages in the retinue of the princess, lackeys, villagers, villagers, servants, swans and swans

The action takes place in a fairyland in fairytale times.

History of creation

In 1875, the management of the imperial theaters approached Tchaikovsky with an unusual order. He was asked to write the ballet "Lake of Swans". This order was unusual because previously "serious" composers of ballet music did not write. The only exceptions were works in this genre by Adana and Delibes. Against the expectations of many, Tchaikovsky accepted the order. The scenario proposed to him by V. Begichev (1838-1891) and V. Geltser (1840-1908) was based on the motives of fairy tales about enchanted girls turned into swans found among different peoples. It is curious that four years earlier, in 1871, the composer had written a one-act ballet for children called The Lake of Swans, so perhaps he had the idea of \u200b\u200busing this particular plot in a large ballet. The theme of all-conquering love, triumphant even over death, was close to him: by that time, the symphonic fantasy overture “Romeo and Juliet” appeared in his creative portfolio, and the next year, after turning to “Swan Lake” (this was the name of the ballet in final version), but even before its completion, was created "Francesca da Rimini".

The composer approached the order very responsibly. According to the recollections of his contemporaries, “before writing the ballet, he spent a long time trying to whom he could turn to in order to obtain accurate data on the music necessary for dancing. He even asked ... what to do with the dances, what should be their length, count, etc. " Tchaikovsky carefully studied various ballet scores in order to understand "this kind of composition in detail." Only after that did he start writing. At the end of the summer of 1875, the first two acts were written, at the beginning of winter - the last two. In the spring of the following year, the composer orchestrated what he had written and finished work on the score. In the fall, the theater was already working on a ballet production. It was started by V. Reisinger (1827-1892), who was invited to Moscow in 1873 as choreographer of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. Unfortunately, he turned out to be an unimportant director. His ballets in 1873-1875 invariably failed, and when in 1877 another of his performances appeared on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater - the premiere of Swan Lake took place on February 20 (March 4 in a new style) - this event went unnoticed. Actually, from the point of view of ballet lovers, this was not an event: the performance was unsuccessful and after eight years left the stage.

The real birth of Tchaikovsky's first ballet took place more than twenty years later, after the death of the composer. The management of the imperial theaters intended to stage Swan Lake in the 1893-1894 season. At the disposal of the Directorate were two excellent choreographers - the venerable Marius Petipa (1818-1910), who worked in St. Petersburg since 1847 (he made his debut simultaneously as a dancer and choreographer and created an entire era in Russian ballet), and Lev Ivanov (1834-1901), assistant Petipa, who staged mainly small ballets and divertissements on the stages of the Mariinsky, Kamennoostrovsky and Krasnoselsky theaters. Ivanov was noted for his amazing musicality and brilliant memory. He was a real nugget, some researchers call him “the soul of Russian ballet”. A student of Petipa, Ivanov gave the creativity of his teacher even greater depth and purely Russian character. However, he could only create his choreographic compositions based on beautiful music. His best achievements include, in addition to scenes from Swan Lake, Polovtsian Dances in Prince Igor and Hungarian Rhapsody to the music of Liszt.

The script for the new production of the ballet was developed by Petipa himself. In the spring of 1893, his joint work with Tchaikovsky began, which was interrupted by the untimely death of the composer. Shaken by both Tchaikovsky's death and his personal losses, Petipa fell ill. At the evening dedicated to the memory of Tchaikovsky and held on February 17, 1894, among other numbers, the second picture of "Swan Lake" staged by Ivanov was performed.

With this production, Ivanov opened a new page in the history of Russian choreography and gained fame as a great artist. Until now, some troupes stage it as a separate independent work. "... Lev Ivanov's discoveries in Swan Lake are a brilliant breakthrough into the 20th century," writes V. Krasovskaya. Having highly appreciated Ivanov's choreographic findings, Petipa entrusted him with the swan scenes. In addition, Ivanov staged the Czardash and the Venetian Dance to the music of the Neapolitan (later released). After his recovery, Petipa finished the production with his usual skill. Unfortunately, a new plot twist - a happy ending instead of the originally conceived tragic one - proposed by Modest Tchaikovsky, the brother and librettist of some of the composer's operas, led to the relative failure of the finale.

On January 15, 1895, at the Mariinsky Theater, in St. Petersburg, the premiere took place, which gave a long life to Swan Lake. During the 20th century, ballet was performed on many stages in various versions. His choreography absorbed the ideas of A. Gorsky (1871-1924), A. Vaganova (1879-1951), K. Sergeev (1910-1992), F. Lopukhov (1886-1973).

Plot

(original version)

In the park of the Princess Sovereign's castle, friends are waiting for Prince Siegfried. The holiday of his majority begins. To the sound of fanfare, the princess appears and reminds Siegfried that he will have to choose a bride at the ball tomorrow. Siegfried is saddened: he does not want to be tied up while his heart is free. At dusk, a flock of swans can be seen flying by. The prince and his friends decide to end the day with a hunt.

Swans are floating on the lake. Hunters with Siegfried and Benno come to the shore to the ruins of the chapel. They see swans, one of which has a golden crown on its head. The hunters shoot, but the swans swim away unharmed and, in a magical light, turn into beautiful girls. Siegfried, captivated by the beauty of the swan queen Odette, listens to her sad story of how an evil genius has bewitched them. Only at night do they take on their real appearance, and with the rising of the sun they become birds again. Witchcraft will lose its power if a young man who has not yet sworn an oath of love loves it, and remains faithful to it. At the first rays of dawn, the girls disappear into the ruins, and now swans are floating on the lake, and a huge owl flies behind them - their evil genius.

There is a ball in the castle. The prince and princess greet the guests. Siegfried is full of thoughts of the swan queen, none of the girls present touches his heart. Trumpets are sounded twice announcing the arrival of new guests. But then the trumpets sounded for the third time; it was the knight Rothbart with his daughter Odile, surprisingly similar to Odette. The prince, sure that Odile is the mysterious queen of swans, joyfully rushes to her. The princess, seeing the prince's fascination with a beautiful guest, declares her to be Siegfried's bride and joins their hands. The swan-Odette appears in one of the windows of the ballroom. Seeing her, the prince understands a terrible deception, but the irreparable has happened. Terrified, the prince runs to the lake.

Lake Shore. The swan girls are waiting for the queen. Odette runs in despair from the prince's betrayal. She tries to throw herself into the waters of the lake, her friends try to console her. The prince appears. He swears that he saw Odette in Odile and that only because of this he uttered the fatal words. He is ready to die with her. An evil genius in the shape of an owl hears this. The death of a young man in the name of love for Odette will bring him death! Odette runs to the lake. An evil genius tries to turn her into a swan to prevent drowning, but Siegfried fights with him, and then rushes after his beloved into the water. The owl falls dead.

Music

In Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky still remains within the framework of the genres and forms of ballet music that had developed by that time according to certain laws, although he fills them with new content. His music transforms ballet “from the inside”: traditional waltzes become poetic poems of great artistic value; adagios are the moment of the greatest concentration of feelings, they are saturated with beautiful melodies; the whole musical fabric of Swan Lake lives and develops symphonically, and does not become, as in most contemporary ballets, simply an accompaniment to one or another dance. In the center is the image of Odette, characterized by a quivering, agitated theme. The soulful lyrics associated with it extend to the entire work, permeating it with beautiful melodies. Characteristic dances, as well as pictorial episodes, occupy a relatively small place in ballet.

L. Mikheeva

In the photo: "Swan Lake" at the Mariinsky Theater

"Swan Lake" was composed by the young Tchaikovsky in one of his most active creative periods. Three symphonies have already been created and the now famous concert for piano and orchestra (1875), a little later - the fourth symphony (1878) and the opera "Eugene Onegin" (1881). The use of a composer of this level to compose ballet music was not usual for that time. In the imperial theaters for this type of creativity, there were regular composers - Caesar Puni, Ludwig Minkus, and later Riccardo Drigo. Tchaikovsky did not set himself the task of a "revolution" in ballet. With his characteristic modesty, he scrupulously studied ballet scores, striving, without breaking with the established forms and traditions of ballet performances, to saturate their musical basis with high content from within.

It is now generally accepted that it was Swan Lake that opened unprecedented musical horizons to Russian ballet, which were subsequently developed by Tchaikovsky himself and his followers in this area. However, Boris Asafiev is also right: “In comparison with the luxurious baroque of The Sleeping Beauty and the masterful symphonic action of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake is an album of soulful“ songs without words ”. It is more humorous and simpler than other ballets. " It is hardly possible to demand from the "firstborn" perfection of musical drama. In the productions of Swan Lake, to this day, no ideal correspondence has been found between the composer's musical intentions and stage action.

The music was composed from May 1875 to April 1876 by order of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. The ballet is based on a fairy tale "from the times of knights." There are many opinions about his literary sources: they call Heine, the German storyteller Museus, Russian fairy tales about the swan girl and even Pushkin, but the story itself is quite independent. The idea probably belongs to the composer, but the authors of the libretto are Moscow theater inspector Vladimir Begichev and ballet dancer Vasily Geltser. The premiere of the performance took place on February 20, 1877. Its, alas, extremely unsuccessful choreographer was Vaclav Reisinger. Unfortunately, the failure of this production cast a shadow over the ballet itself for a long time. When, almost immediately after the death of Tchaikovsky, in 1893 the question arose of staging Swan Lake at the Mariinsky Theater, the most responsible adjustment to full stage realization had to be done without the author.

The composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky (librettist of The Queen of Spades and Iolanta), director of the Imperial Theaters Ivan Vsevolozhsky and Marius Petipa took part in the modification of the plot basis. On the instructions of the latter, the conductor Drigo, who was in awe of Tchaikovsky's music, made significant adjustments to the ballet's score. So the first two acts became two pictures of the opening act. The duet of the Prince and the Villager from the first picture became the now famous pas de deux of Odile and the Prince, replacing the sextet with the participation of the main characters at the ball. Removed from the final act the scene of the storm, which, according to the composer's intention, would complete the ballet. Moreover, Drigo orchestrated and inserted three piano pieces by Tchaikovsky into the ballet: "Minx" became a variation of Odile in pas de deux, "Sparkle" and "A Little Chopin" entered the third act.

It was on this modified score that the famous production of 1895 was created, which gave immortality to the ballet. Petipa, in addition to directing the production, composed the choreography of the first picture and a number of dances at the ball. Lev Ivanov has the honor of composing swan paintings and some dances at the ball. The main role of Odette-Odile was danced by the Italian ballerina Pierina Legnani, and the role of Siegfried was played by Pavel Gerdt. The famous artist was 51 years old, and the choreographers had to compromise: in the lyrical white adagio, Odette danced not with the Prince, but with his friend Benno, and Siegfried was only mimicking nearby. In the pas de deux, the male variation was cropped.

The balletomanes of the time did not immediately appreciate the merits of the premiere. However, the audience, who had previously fallen in love with The Sleeping Beauty, The Queen of Spades and The Nutcracker, warmly accepted Tchaikovsky's new ballet, in which the sincere lyricism of the music was successfully combined with the heartfelt choreography of Lev Ivanov's swan scenes, and the festive films included such masterpieces by Marius Petipa as pas de trois and pas de deux. It was this production that gradually (and with inevitable changes) conquered the whole world.

In Russia, the first changes began after 6 years. The first "editor" was Alexander Gorsky - one of the performers of the role of Benno in St. Petersburg. The Jester appeared in the first picture, but Benno disappeared in the second. The Spanish dance composed by Gorsky is now performed everywhere at the ball. At the Mariinsky Theater, Ivanov-Petipa's Swan Lake continued with minor adjustments until 1933.

Matilda Kshesinskaya, Tamara Karsavina, Olga Spesivtseva shone in ballet in different years. In 1927, young Marina Semenova amazed everyone with her proud Odette and demonically imperious Odile.

The idea of \u200b\u200ba decisive rethinking of classical ballet belonged to Agrippina Vaganova and her co-authors: musicologist Boris Asafiev, director Sergei Radlov and artist Vladimir Dmitriev. Instead of "fantastic ballet", a romantic novella appeared before the audience. The action was moved to the beginning of the 19th century, the Prince became the Earl, carried away by old legends, Rothbardt - his neighbor-duke, who wants to marry his daughter. The swan only in the Count's dreams appeared in the form of a girl. The bird shot by the duke died in the arms of the Count, who was stabbed in anguish with a dagger. In the renewed Swan Lake, the two heroines were danced not by one, as before, but by two ballerinas: Lebed by Galina Ulanova, Odile by Olga Jordan. This curious reworking of the ballet lasted less than ten years, but what remained of it was the quivering choreographic scene "The Bird and the Hunter", which replaced Odette's obscure story about her fate at the beginning of the second picture.

In 1937, at the Moscow Bolshoi Theater, Asaf Messeper also renewed Swan Lake. It was then that the tragic death of the heroes, so important for Tchaikovsky's plan, was replaced by a straightforward “happy ending”. It seems that the date of this correction, which became mandatory for productions of the Soviet period, is not accidental either. Since 1945, in Leningrad, the Prince began to defeat the villain Rothbardt in hand-to-hand combat. It is fair to say that not only this innovation belongs to choreographer Fyodor Lopukhov. The whole picture of the ball was interpreted by him as unfolded witchcraft - the dancers and guests appeared at the orders of Rothbardt.

For more than half a century, the “stage and choreographic version” of “Swan Lake” by Konstantin Sergeev (1950) has been preserved on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. And although little remains of the choreography of 1895 (the second picture, supplemented by the dance of big swans, mazurka, Hungarian, and also partly pas de deux in the ball scene), for more than half a century she herself became "classical", thanks to the tour theater audience admired her from all continents. It accumulated the dancing and artistic skills of dozens of excellent performers of the main parts: from Natalia Dudinskaya to Ulyana Lopatkina, from Konstantin Sergeev to Farukh Ruzimatov.

Two productions that enriched the stage history of Swan Lake were staged in Moscow in the second half of the 20th century. The performances, which were almost diametric in style and design, had one thing in common - a declarative return to Tchaikovsky's original score (albeit not in full) and a corresponding rejection of the 1895 production: only Ivanov's second picture was preserved, and even then with Gorsky's amendments.

Vladimir Burmeister performed his version at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater (1953). For the introduction to the ballet, a scene was composed explaining to the audience how and why Rothbardt turned Odette and her friends into swans. In the second act, developing Lopukhov's idea, the choreographer interpreted the suite of characteristic dances as a series of Prince's temptations, in each of which one more face of the insidious Odile and her world was demonstrated. In the last act, the dance-solved scene of the raging elements was impressive, consonant with the apogee of the heroes' feelings. In the finale, love triumphed, and the swans, almost in front of the viewer's eyes, transformed into girls.

Tchaikovsky's "White Swan"

The famous musician I. Stravinsky honored P.I. Tchaikovsky, primarily as a ballet composer.
All three ballets by Tchaikovsky (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker) were based on fairy tales.

Presumably, the literary basis for the libretto for the ballet Swan Lake could have been the romantic tale of the German writer Museus "Swan Pond", as well as "Ondine" by Lamotte-Fouquet - Zhukovsky. Both of these works reflect the themes and images of romantic art - the desire for the ideal and the impossibility of finding it. The author of the libretto of Swan Lake is not known (but it is assumed that the composer himself could have turned out to be one).
Tchaikovsky worked intermittently on this ballet for one year - he began in May 1975 and finished in April 1876.The premiere took place on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater on February 20, 1877.
For a new production in 1894, after the death of the composer,
M.I. Tchaikovsky wrote a new libretto, which became the main one for the productions of Swan Lake in the 20th century. theaters around the world.
Tchaikovsky's “White Swan” still remains a symbol of Russian ballet, a symbol of its purity, grandeur, and its noble beauty.

The plot of the ballet "Swan Lake" is based on a simple and
unassuming German fairy tale about the swan girl. This tale was
turned by the composer into an exciting poem about true love. Written by
the ballet was commissioned by the management of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. Creature
ballet fell on those years when the composer already enjoyed a wide
popularity in musical circles. Rich writing experience
left an imprint on the composer's understanding of the role of music in ballet
the play. The premiere of the ballet took place in 1877 on the stage of the Moscow
The Bolshoi Theater. Talking about the style of Tchaikovsky's ballet music follows
emphasize her melody, lyricism, fantastic images appeared
reflection of images of the real world, they are endowed with living human
feelings.

First action. Scene 1. Young Prince Siegfried has reached
coming of age. Friends gathered to him. The melodious, soulful music of "Waltz" is especially remembered in the light music of this picture.

Scene 2. White swans are beautiful girls, bewitched
the evil Genius - Rothbart. Only at night do they turn into people.
The swans lead Siegfried into a deep forest thicket, to the shore of a dark lake,
near which the ruins of a gloomy castle rise.
A flock of white swans floats on the lake. Ahead is a swan crowned
crown. Coming ashore, the swans circle in a slow round dance. Siegfried
sees the swan queen suddenly transform into a girl. Her beauty
enchants the prince, and he swears eternal love to the swan girl Odette.
Only a sincere feeling can save Odette and her friends from evil
Rothbart's charm. A large dance scene appears, consisting of both
individual and group dances.

The lyrical character of the waltz is heard, followed by the light, graceful Dance of the Little Swans.

The music of the dance of the little swans is very simple and at the same time
attractive. Tchaikovsky used sounds superbly here
woodwind instruments. The abrupt, light sounds of two oboes and
accompanying bassoons reproduce the "trampling" graceful and
well-coordinated movements of dancing little swans.
"Dance of Odette" (the so-called "Adagio") is a sincere
poetic declaration of love. Violin solo sounds and transparent
harp chords convey the lyrical feeling of Odette and Siegfried.

Second action. Festive ball

Solemn ball in the castle of the sovereign princess. The invited guests gather for the holiday. They enter to the music written by the composer in the character of a fast march.
Six girls appear, of which Siegfried must choose his bride.
In this action, the dances of various
nationalities. "Polish Mazurka" - three-part, with characteristic
tapping in the extreme parts has an acute rhythmic dotted
drawing, in the middle - a melodious character graceful, soft,
feminine theme.

"Hungarian Dance" is written in the character of the Hungarian national
cardasha. It begins with a calm, restrained melody that
perform violins. As with any czardas, the next part of the Hungarian
dance - fast, swift, whirlwind dance.

"Spanish dance" is sustained in a characteristic national rhythm
bolero. The composer introduces Spanish folk into the music of this dance
percussion instrument - castanets.

In "Neapolitan Dance" (in the first part) Tchaikovsky
used an authentic folk melody. It is performed by a brass
the tool is a pipe. The second part is more danceable, festive, in the spirit
Italian tarantella - fast, impetuous dance, is
filled with one or more pairs.

"Russian Dance" It begins with a calm, restrained melody, which
perform violins.

But where is Siegfried himself? The guests are confused. Then the jester starts hilarious
dancing. All guests are dancing.


Finally Siegfried appears. He coldly turns away from girls
waiting to be recognized among them the chosen one, Siegfried is full
memories of the beautiful Odette.
Suddenly an unfamiliar guest appears. This is the Evil Genius.
He brought to the ball his daughter Odile, strikingly similar to
Odette. The Evil Genius orders her to charm Siegfried and snatch from him
declaration of love.

The Prince, not recognizing the Evil Genius, takes Odile for
his beloved - Odette. He announces his decision to his mother.
to marry her.

The sorcerer is triumphant. The oath is broken, now Odette and her
girlfriends will die. At this time, Odette appears in the window. Siegfried in
despair. But it's too late. With a vicious laugh, the sorcerer disappears with
Odile.

Siegfried realizes that he is deceived, and hurries to the swan lake.
Third action. The shore of the swan lake. Gloomy, disturbing night.

The girlfriends are waiting for Odette, she's still gone. The swan girls are worried. Appears
grief-stricken Odette. She tells her friends about the prince's betrayal.
The last hope for freeing the swans from the evil spell is lost.
The Evil Genius appears. Swans ask to be freed from evil spells at least
one Odette, but all in vain. Seeing the prince approaching, the Evil Genius in
scatters the swans in a frenzy.


Prince Siegfried runs in. He is looking for his Odette. But the re-emerging
swans close Odette from the prince, do not let him in to her. Finally to the prince
manages to find Odette and assure her that he has not broken his oath and that
castle, his confession was addressed only to her, because he accepted Odile
for Odette.

The Evil Genius, seeing that his plan is crumbling, enrages
forces of nature. The storm begins, the lightning flashes, but nothing can
break young pure love and separate Odette and Siegfried.
Having entered into single combat with the prince, the Evil Genius dies. His charm
crumbling.
The third act begins with a musical introduction, in which
Tchaikovsky painted a picture of violently raging nature. She
at the same time symbolizes the strength of the feelings of Odette and Siegfried. Then this
excited picture of nature is replaced by the theme of a swan, turning into
bright, solemn, victorious finale.

P.I. Tchaikovsky
Julius Wenzel-Reisinger
Lev Ivanov
Marius Petipa

The idea of \u200b\u200bstaging the ballet Swan Lake belonged to the management of the Moscow Imperial troupe.

The plot is based on an old German legend about a beautiful princess turned into a swan by an evil wizard

There were three versions of the ballet in total. The first two are considered unsuccessful. Only the third, overturning all the canons of academic choreography, brought the ballet not only success, but also immortality and is the basis of all subsequent classical ballet editions.

Odette and Odile were originally different characters in the screenplay. But in the process of creating music, the composer decided that they should be related and very similar, which led the prince to a tragic mistake.

And then Pyotr Ilyich entered into the score that Odette and Odile should be performed in the ballet by the same ballerina. On March 23, 1876, rehearsals began at the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. The performance was staged by the ballet master Julius Wenzel Reisinger, a Czech ballet master.

The performance was not successful. Only the artist Karl Waltz, who came up with a special technology for using steam to create the illusion of fog, received critical praise. The second version of the ballet also failed.

LI Ivanov in the third version of the production understood the structure of Swan Lake and the reason for the failures of the first two productions. He took a certain revolutionary step in violating the academic structure of ballet positions, removing artificial swan wings in ballerinas' costumes, but with ballet movements of his hands made them look like wing flaps.

So, quite by accident, the revival of ballet began, or rather, the birth of a new great stage work.

I Action

I Painting

Prince Siegfried celebrates his coming of age with friends.

The mischievous jester entertains those present.

The servants report the appearance of the queen - Siegfried's mother. She gives her son a crossbow and reminds him that it's time to think about getting married. Tomorrow at the ball, the prince must choose his bride.

It gets dark. The guests disperse. Siegfried is left alone. He is tormented by vague forebodings ... Seeing a flock of white swans in the sky, the prince rushes to the lake.

II scene

Lake in the forest. Seeing the swan girls, Siegfried lowers the crossbow. He is amazed at the amazing beauty of the swan queen. Odette tells him that the swan girls are at the mercy of the evil wizard Rothbart, and only the power of selfless love can break the witchcraft. Siegfried swears eternal love to her. Odette warns the young man: if he does not keep his oath, then no one can help them. Dawn is approaching. Swans are swimming on the lake again. Odette says goodbye to Siegfried.

II Action

I Painting

Ball in the castle.

One after another, beauties from different countries appear before the prince, but none attracts his attention. Siegfried's heart is given to Odette. Only by obeying the insistence of his mother, the prince is kind to the brides invited to the ball.

Fanfare sounds to announce the arrival of new guests. The wizard Rothbart appears in the guise of a noble knight, with his daughter Odile.

Siegfried is confused: this beauty is extremely similar to Odette! Odile does not let the prince come to his senses, she beckons, charms, seduces ... and the prince is so carried away by her that he confesses his love to her. From now on, she is his bride!

Rothbart is triumphant: Siegfried broke the oath given to Odette, which means there is no love, no devotion, and nothing is able to resist his power. For a moment, a picture of a swan lake appears in front of Siegfried and, realizing all the horror of the deception, of which he became a victim, the young man rushes to the lake, to Odette.

II Scene

Night. Lake Shore.

Odette tells her friends about Rothbart's treachery and Siegfried's betrayal. The prince appears, he begs to forgive him. Rothbart tries to separate the lovers, but Siegfried defeats the wizard. The power of evil comes to an end, and the rays of the rising sun give life, love, happiness ...