Schwanensee

More about the book

Throughout the decades since 1877, when Marius Petipa first devised "Swan Lake" for his students in the Imperial Russian Ballet, and later when Tschaikovsky gave it magical music, the story has cast its spell. Each era has seen variations in the roles of he Prince, the Odette-Odile Swan Queen, the Queen Mother, as performed by distinguished dancers, and as portrayed by notable graphic artists. Petipa borrowed from a German legend; the present retelling goes back to a different traditional version to let the reader know that the sorcerer's wickedness was defeated by Prince Siegfried, and the lovers were united.