The Swan Lake Show
The forthcoming production is expected to take place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the performing arts. Located in Washington D.C. the facility is one of the state’s most popular entertainment venues known for hosting ballet shows, theater performances, dance presentations, chamber and orchestral events, as well as modern, present day concerts. Holding over 2000 showcases on an annual basis, the John F. Kennedy Center comprises of a concert hall with seating capacity for 2400 audiences, an opera house that can cater to 2300 people and the Eisenhower Theater that provides intimate seating for 1163 spectators. The forthcoming series of Swan Lake ballets are expected to take place at the opera house. With the premier show being held back in 1877 in Moscow, the popular tale has been reinvented and performed since over a century now. Composed by Tchaikovsky in 1876, the Swan Lake presents a magical story of princess Odette and a curse that is put upon her by an evil sorcerer, Rothbart. The ballet became excessively popular in 1895 when it was reinvented by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa, who held their productions at the Mariinsky Theater located in St. Petersburg. Even since then, ballet companies from all over the world have been presenting stagings of the classic Russian fantasy.
The Mariinsky Ballet
The Mariinsky Ballet is the company that will be presenting a string of performances of the Swan Lake. Founded back in 1740, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world’s most acclaimed and oldest ballet institutions. Holding regular showcases at the Mariinsky Theater, the company was initially known as the Imperial Russian Ballet. With over two hundred permanent dancers, the organization presents a diverse range of opera shows and ballet productions. Their repertory of opera shows consists of a life for the Tsar, Un ballo in maschera, La boheme, the Brothers Karamzov, Christmas Eve, Don Quichotte, Elektra, The Gambler, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Prince Igor and War and Peace, amongst countless others. Amongst their most popular ballets consist of Apollo, Ballet Imperial, Cinderella, Giselle, The Magic Nut, the Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, the Sleeping Beauty, Spartacus, the Swan and Swan Lake, to name a few. With Valery Gergiev as the company’s current artistic director, shows by the Mariinsky Ballet are some of the most awaited ones.
The Story of the Swan Lake
The upcoming Swan Lake show will bring forth some of ballet’s favorite characters such as Odette, Prince Siegfried and Rothbart. The tale starts off at the birthday celebration of Prince Siegfried when the Prince is asked by his mother to choose his bride by the end of the royal ball. The Prince decides to escape from his mother and goes hunting, deep into the forest. Losing his way, the Prince comes across a beautiful lake where a flock of swans are swimming in the water. Taking aim to take down one of the swans, the Prince is flabbergasted when one of them turns into a beautiful maiden. The maiden, whose name is Odette explains to the Prince how she and her friends have been turned into swans with an evil spell conjured by the sorcerer, Rothbart. Siegfried who instantly falls in love with Odette promises to free her of the spell. Odette explains to him how he has to confess and prove his love in front of the whole kingdom. The Prine asks Odette to come to the royal ball and promises to do so. However, Rothbart has other plans. He sends an imposter that looks like Odette to the ball. Will the Prince confess his love to the wrong person and forever lose his one true love? Or will true love conquer all? The upcoming Swan Lake show will show just that.