Swan Lake is one of the world’s favorite ballets. Reimagined by superstar choreographer Graeme Murphy, this iconic work is enlivened with a contemporary storyline of passion and betrayal.
At its centre is a familiar love triangle: the innocent young maiden who discovers on the day of her wedding that her handsome prince has a prior claim on his heart. The Australian Ballet brings the spirit and scale of classical dance into the twenty-first century with extraordinary results. Opulent sets and costumes and Tchaikovsky’s immortal score make it a theatrical experience not to be missed.
Murphy’s brilliant interpretation has won numerous major awards (including the UK Critics' Circle award for Best Foreign Dance Company) and sold out theatres around the world. Find out what makes this Swan Lake so special when it makes its New York debut.
“My favourite she-dies-he-lives [production of Swan Lake] is that of The Australian Ballet ... This version, choreographed by Graeme Murphy, will be performed by the Australian company in New York, at the David H. Koch Theater, next June. I’ll be there.” Joan Acocella, The New Yorker
June 15–17, 2012
4 performances
with New York City Ballet Orchestra
VENUE
David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center,
Broadway and 63rd Street, New York
PRICE
$29–$149
There is a $2 facility fee per ticket and a $7 convenience fee per ticket for web and phone transactions
TICKETS
Online
By phone: 212-496-0600
In person: David H. Koch Theater Box Office
20 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023
SYNOPSIS
On the evening before her wedding, the apprehensive young maiden Odette wandered the palace and became doubtful of her betrothed Prince Siegfried’s love.
After the wedding Odette, so very much in love with her new husband, realised it was a certain Baroness who really owned his heart. Already fragile, Odette became so distressed that by royal command she was committed to a sanatorium.
With her spirit broken, Odette could only find escape in a frozen dream where swan-like maidens, much like herself, would calm her fevered mind and where, for a brief time, it seemed as if Siegfried loved her alone.
Some months later, Odette left the white loneliness of the sanatorium to seek and reclaim her husband, now fully under the sway of the Baroness. Having appeared uninvited at an evening party given by the Baroness, Odette’s calm beauty and confident purity of spirit caused Siegfried to fall deeply in love with her. The jealous Baroness attempted to have Odette returned to the sanatorium, but before she could be seized, Odette fled into the night.
Siegfried then discovered the terrified Odette near the lake and for a short time the couple were united in ecstatic embrace. But even as she lay in the arms of her husband, Odette knew there would be no peace for her ever-troubled mind and she was only to find ultimate release in the depths of the dark lake of swans.
For the rest of his life, Prince Siegfried never loved again, but mourned ever his lost Odette.
Swan Lake
Choreography Graeme Murphy
Creative associate Janet Vernon
Music Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Set and costume design Kristian Fredrikson
Concept Graeme Murphy, Janet Vernon and Kristian Fredrikson
Lighting design Damien Cooper
