Precomposed Pro Motion Menu Kits 04 (swan Lake)

Agnès Letestu, a feminine and warm Odette, and José Martinez, a convincing, pale, vulnerable prince Siegfried, are the stars of this deeply passionate, 'dream’ version of Swan Lake. Rudolf Nureyev’s interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s lyrical ballet, far from being a clichéd stereotype, is an exposé of astonishingly powerful and recognisable human emotions. Under the inspired and clear-cut musical direction of Vello Pähn, this production is one of the jewels of the Paris Opera Ballet’s repertoire.

At the palace, the royal family and their guests are gathered for Prince Siegfried s birthday celebrations. In a majestic ceremony, Siegfried is made a knight and young girls try to attract his attention, as he must choose a wife during the ball. Overcome by the sudden awareness of his future responsibilities, he escapes into the night and meets a strange flock of swans by a magical lake. White swan by day, human by night, the beautiful Odette awaits an oath of true love to break the curse on her. The great legend of the enigmatic swan/woman is one of the most romantic classical ballets, appropriately set in the era of courtly romance and characterised by elegance, style and harmony.

This 'Swan Lake' is a 'Swan Lake' for our times, capable of transporting the audience to another world. The magic in the story suddenly takes hold of the viewer. Ballet is not simply a way of telling the story. Rather than gestures asking to be deciphered, the choreographer created large-scale, visionary movements closer to an artistic language of symbols and plays on the whole spectrum of human emotions. It always maintains a relationship of creative tension with its surroundings, especially the music, the poetry of the set, the use of light and colour, the texture of the costumes. A key element of this artistic responsibility is to tell the story precisely but openly, without pinning it down, especially the ending an ending which is in a many-faceted sense a 'deliverance'. Does this mean that the lovers are saved? Is the spell's power broken? Are there other kinds of salvation and deliverance? Perhaps even by death and transfiguration? Ballerina Polina Semionova performs the mythic parts of Odette and Odile (white swan and black swan) with her great partner Stanislav Jermakov. The Zurich Opera House Orchestra is conducted by Russian musical director Vladimir Fedoseyev acclaimed in this repertoire.