Swan Lake - Act I&II | Ulyana Lopatkina, Danila Korsuntsev, Valery Gergiev (Mariinsky 2006)

Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое озеро, tr. Lebedinoye ozero), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular ballets of all time.

The scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian and German folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger (Václav Reisinger). The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March [O.S. 20 February] 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Although it is presented in many different versions, most ballet companies base their stagings both choreographically and musically on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, first staged for the Imperial Ballet on 15 January 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. For this revival, Tchaikovsky's score was revised by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre's chief conductor and composer Riccardo Drigo.

Swan Lake is generally presented in either four acts, four scenes (primarily outside Russia and Eastern Europe) or three acts, four scenes (primarily in Russia and Eastern Europe). The biggest difference of productions all over the world is that the ending, originally tragic, is now sometimes altered to a happy ending. Some productions include a prologue that shows how Odette first meets Rothbart, who turns Odette into a swan.

This rendition of Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake features dancers Ulyana Lopatkina and Danila Korsuntsev; it was staged and filmed at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. The Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, under the baton of Valery Gergiev.

Cast & Characters:
Ulyana Lopatkina as Odette-Odile
Danila Korsuntsev as Prince Siegfried
Alexandra Gronskaya as The Queen
Pyotr Stasiunas as Tutor
Andrei Ivanov as Jester
Ilya Kuznetsov as Rothbart