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| Written by | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
| Date | 1877 (first performance) |
Swan Lake is a ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his Opus 20. It tells the story of a prince who falls in love with a princess, Odette. She has been placed under an enchantment by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart, and consequently is a swan by day and a human at night. To lift the spell, a human prince must pledge his love for her; to break the sorcerer's power completely, someone must die for her. The prince attends a ball, where the sorcerer disguises his daughter, Odile, to look like Odette. The confused prince declares his intention to marry Odile, and then is made to realize that she is not Odette. The ending of the ballet varies from production to production; several recent versions end with Odette condemned to live as a swan and the Prince grieving. The dual roles of Odette and Odile are danced by the same ballerina.
References[]
- The ballet was spoofed as "Swine Lake" on episode 213 of The Muppet Show. Rudolf Nureyev danced the prince, and, in response to a request he made to dance with Miss Piggy on the show, he is partnered with a Ballerina Pig dancing as Odette and Odile. The hefty pig naturally turns the number into something of a slapstick routine.
- Piggy gets upset over getting dressed up for Kermit taking her to a literal swan lake in the August 19, 1985 The Muppets comic strip.
- In A Celebration of Me, Grover, Zoe dances to a portion of Swan Lake, and Big Bird announces that it's his favorite ballet.
- Salty and Pierre find a lake containing two swans in a Sesame Street segment. Salty gets the reference to Swan Lake, donning a tutu and dancing to a song from the ballet. (First: Episode 4188)
- The 4th movement, "Scène," from the Swan Lake Suite (itself taken from the full ballet's Act II, No. 13, part V) was used for a brief performance piece by prisoners of Gulag 38B during a recital in Muppets Most Wanted. The film uses a performance by the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra and credits the piece as a "Pas de Deux" (dance for two). (YouTube)
- In 2005, the Hamilton Collection released a figurine of Miss Piggy performing in "Swine Lake".
Connections[]
- John Cleese played Jean-Bob in the 1994 animated version of the ballet, The Swan Princess.
- Sandy Duncan played Prince Derek's mother, Queen Uberta in the 1994 animated version of the ballet, The Swan Princess.
- Kelsey Grammer voiced Rothbart in 2003's Barbie of Swan Lake, an adaptation of the ballet from the Barbie brand's series of direct-to-video movies.