The first performance of 'Swan Lake' in 1877 was not a success due to unsatisfactory choreography, unimaginative designers, undistinguished dancing, and an out-of-his-depth conductor.
Notable Performances
A staging of 'Swan Lake' in St. Petersburg in 1895, with choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, gave the work a more satisfactory choreographic form.
Composition History
The 1895 revisions to 'Swan Lake' by Tchaikovsky's brother Modest changed the original tragic ending to a happy one.
Composition History
Some music from a ballet Tchaikovsky composed earlier to entertain his nieces was incorporated into the commissioned 'Swan Lake' score.
Composition History
Tchaikovsky's ballet 'Swan Lake' was commissioned by the Imperial Theatre Directorate in Moscow in 1875.
Performer Biography
Ondrej Lenard, the conductor on this recording, began his work with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra in Bratislava in 1970 and was appointed Principal Conductor in 1977.
Composition History
The libretto for 'Swan Lake' by Vladimir Begichev and Vasily Geltzer was based on a German fairy-tale called 'Der geraubte Schleier' (The Stolen Veil).
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