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What You Need To Know About Swan Lake in Bahrain

by BTM

Tue, 03 January 2023

What You Need To Know About Swan Lake in Bahrain

The Imperial Russian Ballet is presenting Swan Lake in Bahrain. It is one of the world's most famous ballet's and a must-watch. Here's what you need to know.

When: March 2, 2023

Time: 8pm

Where: Grand Hall Exhibition World Bahrain

Music: Pyotr Tchaikovsky

Background: It was 1977 at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre where a true masterpiece of ballet was born. The Swan Lake, music of the one of the greatest composers Pyotr Tchaikovsky. It’s believed that he was inspired to write the music after a visit to Bavaria. He apparently saw the famous Neuschwanstein – the ‘swan castle’ of King Ludwig II. Much of the classical ballet performances still depict a Gothic castle in the mountains. The score was written by Tchaikovsky at the request of the Moscow Directorate of the Imperial Theatres, where the ballet was staged in 1877.

The plot: It is a magical medieval fairy tale about an enchanted girl, a prince in love and an evil wizard.  As Prince Siegfried is coming of age, his friend calls him to hunt after seeing flying swans. One night, the enchanted swans shed their wings and transform into beautiful girls, led by Odette. Odette explains that she is a princess and was turned into a swan by the evil Von Rothbart. The prince falls in love and when he goes back to the palace he refuses to choose a bride for himself as he remembers Odette. That’s when an evil genius, Von Rothbart arrives with his daughter Odile. The daughter pretends to be Odette and seduces the prince. He takes an oath of allegiance and betrays Odette. That’s when Von Rothbart reveals himself as a demon and Odile shows who she really is. A white swan appears and the prince realises what has happened. He and Odette realise they can never be together and decide to die together by throwing themselves into the lake.