Nureyev: Swan Lake

Perhaps the most popular ballet in the world, Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" has been given a compelling new interpretation by Rudolf Nureyev. 

The Russian dancer, a towering figure in 20th-century ballet, placed greater emphasis on the character of Prince Siegfried. First produced in Vienna in 1964, Nureyev's choreography has been hailed as one of the most fascinating ever. Nureyev and his partner Dame Margot Fonteyn perfectly embodied the noble and more volatile style of classical ballet performance featured here.

Act I

The birthday of Prince Siegfried is celebrated with festive splendor in the castle. The queen gives her son a crossbow and asks him to choose a bride from among the guests the next day. When the guests have left, a flock of white swans passes by. Magically attracted by the beauty of the proud birds, the prince decides to go hunting.

Act II

The forest lake with its shores is the realm of the magician Red Beard, who in the shape of a bird of prey rules over Princess Odette and her entourage. Red Beard has transformed Odette and her girls into swans, but at night, they are allowed to take on their human form. Only from a man who loves no one else but her can the princess be redeemed. Siegfried, inflamed with love for the Swan Queen, swears to be this man and to break the spell. 

Act III 

At the court of the queen, the festival is in full swing. None of the girls is able to tie up the prince until a nobleman appears with his daughter. The prince believes to recognize in Odile, as the stranger calls herself, the lover from Swan Lake. In reality, behind the nobleman and the black swan are the magician Redbeard and the sorceress Odile. The dance with the Black Swan is the fate of the prince and his beloved Odette. Enchanted by Odile's magic, he announces to the guests that he has chosen the beautiful stranger as his bride. With this he has broken the oath he had made to Odette, and the redemption of the Swan Queen has been thwarted by Red Beard and Odile. 

Act IV 

In vain, the white swans try to comfort their mistress at the lakeside. Odette, shaken by the prince's betrayal, has surrendered to her fate. Then the prince appears to tell his beloved how Red Beard and Odile have deceived him. Odette forgives the prince and both confess their love to each other again. Red Beard, who is powerless against this love, makes the lake overflow its banks to take revenge. Odette and the girls, again transformed into swans, leave, and the desperate prince is drowned in the waters of the raging lake.