SWAN LAKE IN SWEDEN
Date: 10 Dec to 30 Dec 2021
NUREYEV’S SWAN LAKE – the final version shown in Sweden for the first time
The mother of all ballets!
Prince Siegfried struggles in his new role as regent. His mother and teacher want him to marry a woman he does not love. Siegfried escapes into a fantasy world and falls head over heels in love with a beautiful swan; a symbol of the freedom and love he craves. The prince does not know that the swan is in fact an enchanted princess by the name of Odette.
When Swan Lake – the ballet of all ballets – was first performed in 1877 it was more or less a fiasco. It was not until after Tchaikovsky’s death, and with a new choreography, that what we now know as the classic version was born in 1895. Since then, it has suffered countless revisions and strain, additions, abridgements, local performances and even adaptations for the screen.
Following Rudolf Nureyev’s earlier versions of Swan Lake, his production at L’Opéra de Paris in 1984 is considered the definitive, final version. Until now, it has never been performed in Sweden. Swan Lake is one of the most frequently performed ballets in the world, it has been staged 830 times at the Royal Swedish Opera.
Improve your understanding of the performance – meet the team and cast in our popular premiere talks!
The Opera’s dramaturge Katarina Aronsson meets Ballet Director Nicolas Le Riche and Charles Jude, stager and representative of The Rudolf Nureyev Foundation. Jude also danced the Prince in the original production at the Paris Opera at its 1984 premiere.
DECEMBER 10 2021 in the Golden Foyer at 6 p.m., free entrance