Imperial Classical Ballet brings its UK tour of Swan Lake, the romantic ballet by Tchaikovsky, to the New Theatre Royal.
Imperial Classical Ballet bring Swan Lake to the New Theatre Royal on Wednesday 11 November, as part of their UK tour. It's a full-scale production with a live orchestra, so the music is played right there in the room rather than recorded.
Most of us know the story by now: Prince Siegfried is pressed by his mother to choose a bride, and while out hunting he comes across a flock of white swans. He doesn't realise he's being stalked by the sorcerer Rothbart, and the whole thing spirals from there into a tale of love, betrayal and redemption. It's described as one of the greatest romantic ballets, and it's the one that usually comes to mind when people think of the form.
The music is by Tchaikovsky, and there's a bit of history to it that's worth knowing. It was originally called Lake of Swans, and Tchaikovsky was commissioned to write the score in the spring of 1875 by Vladimir Begichev, a trustee of the Imperial Theatre in Moscow. At the time, Tchaikovsky was attending a production of the opera Guardsmen. This was his second attempt at ballet; his first had come to nothing. Back then, writing for ballet wasn't held in high regard, especially among young composers, and the Moscow theatre paid him 800 roubles for it—a considerable sum at the time.
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It's a touring production, so this is one of the dates it's stopping at on its way around the UK. The performance is at the New Theatre Royal, 20-24 Guildhall Walk, Portsmouth, on Wednesday 11 November, starting at 19:30.
