Swan Lake

About

Will prince Siegfried choose love and stay true to his innocent white swan girl? Or will he forget Odette and follow the requirements of his noble position? After all, foreign princesses can be so charming! It is difficult for him to resist the bewitching black swan Odile supported by the fiendish wizard Rothbart. Rather than a lovestory, this famed fairy tale is a fateful journey of the soul. 

Cranko stayed true to the traditional version yet incorporated his typical dramatic talent and original perspective. Moreover, the National Theatre plays an important role in the history of this renowned piece. The first to choreograph the music in Russia was a Czech native, Václav Reisinger (the very first artistic director of the Czech National Ballet), and the second (Czech) choreographer, Augustin Berger, was extremely honoured when, after seeing his staging of Act 2 of Swan Lake in Prague Tchaikovsky said that he had experienced “one minute of absolute happiness”.

This John Cranko choreography is the 13th adaptation of the immortal ballet staged in the National Theatre. 

Soloists and corps de ballet of The Czech National Ballet
Students of the Prague Dance Conservatory
Pupils of the National Theatre Ballet Preparatory School State

Opera Orchestra

Our partner PRECIOSA adorns this production with jewellery.

We would like to thank Mr. Dieter Graefe, the holder of the rights to John Cranko’s ballets, for his generosity.

Photo of the visual image: The Queens (Alexandre Katsapov, Mario Bakuš)
Photographers for production: Martin Divíšek, Serghei Gherciu, Pavel Hejný