Swan Lake

A princess cursed. A prince deceived. A love immortal. Classical ballet's most powerful story returns in Liam Scarlett’s spectacular production for The Royal Ballet, bringing together Tchaikovsky’s towering score and John Macfarlane’s picturesque designs. Swan Lake was Tchaikovsky’s first score for ballet. Given its status today as arguably the best loved and most admired of all classical ballets, it is perhaps surprising that at its premiere in 1877, it was poorly received. It is thanks to the 1895 production by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov that Swan Lake has become part of not only ballet consciousness but also wider popular culture. That success is secured not only by the sublime, symphonic sweep of Tchaikovsky’s score, but also by the striking choreographic contrasts between Petipa’s royal palace scenes and the lyric lakeside scenes created by Ivanov. In popular culture, the premise of Swan Lake and the imagery associated with the ballet has inspired films such as Funny Girl (1968) and Black Swan (2010) and pop artists such as Taylor Swift. Swan Lake has had a special role in the repertory of The Royal Ballet since 1934. Since then, there has been a succession of productions, the most recent of which was a new production created in 2018 with additional choreography by Liam Scarlett. Scarlett, while remaining faithful to the Petipa-Ivanov text, brought fresh eyes to the staging of this classic ballet, collaborating with designer John Macfarlane, who has also designed some of Scarlett’s other works. Macfarlane’s painterly sets and impressive costuming set the scene, providing the majestic backdrop for all the passion and deception of Swan Lake.