Swan Lake

The Festival de Wiltz opened up with a ballet week-end by Moscow City Ballet and spoiled the audience yesterday evening with the magnificent Swan Lake.

A lot has changed since Swan Lake’s first show in February 1877. At that time the ballet was considered a failure. It’s only after the death of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and a revival of the Swan Lake by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, that the classic ballet starts to get the most deserved attention. Today it’s without any doubt the world’s best-known ballet.

Swan Lake tells the immortal love story of Prince Siegfried who falls in love with Swan Queen, Odette. Odette was cursed by Von Rothbart who transformed her into a swan. Odette and her friends live by a lake that was formed from the tears of her mother after Odette was kidnapped. At night the swans regain their human form. The only way to break the spell is for Odette to find eternal love who will always be true to her. Von Rothbarts’ daughter Odile tricks Prince Siegfried into believing she’s Odette and made him break his promise of eternal love.

The Moscow Ballet magnificently gives life to the Swan Lake in a beautiful setting that is the Castle of Wiltz. Despite the cold, spectators were able to escape and live by the lake for the time of the show. A must see.