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Swan Lake

A promise of love, a fatal deception and a world poised between the human and the enchanted.

Odette is caught under a spell that turns her into a swan. Prince Siegfried promises to save her, but Rothbart threatens that promise. Tchaikovsky’s score and the ballet’s shifting worlds make Swan Lake a compelling starting point for exploring different companies and interpretations. The ballet premiered in 1877; the Petipa–Ivanov staging of 1895 shaped its later life. Choreography, narrative details and endings vary between productions.