In their childhood, Prince Siegfried and his friend Benno hear the story of Swan Lake and of the beautiful princess turned into a swan by the curse of an evil wizard. The princess will be saved when a prince shoots the wizard. Later, when it is time for Siegfried to find a bride, he and Benno are out hunting. Benno fears that he will lose the Prince if the Prince gets married. At a forest lake, the Prince sees a beautiful swan that transforms into the young Princess Odette for one hour every midnight.
Siegfried falls in love with the Princess, but she is controlled by the sinister von Rothbart. Odette is changed back into a swan by von Rothbart. Benno realises that he has lost Siegfried to a swan, and von Rothbart strikes up an alliance with him. The wizard transforms Benno into a black swan.
The Prince, at his engagement party, thinks of the maiden he met in the woods and asks von Rothbart to bring him the swan. Von Rothbart brings in the black swan, and the Prince proposes to it. Immediately von Rothbart reveals the Prince’s infidelity to the white swan. Back at the lake, the Prince finds his swan and begs for her forgiveness. As von Rothbart attempts to prevent the Prince and the swan from reconciling, Benno – realising he has been exploited in the intrigue – decides to help his friend and sacrifices himself, jumping into the lake. The Prince eventually finds the swan and frees her from the wizard’s curse.
Cast and Creative team for Swan Lake at Finnish National Opera and Ballet, Main auditorium
Creative team Choreography (after ivanov-petipa) Kenneth Greve Conductor Robert Reimer Sets and costumes Karin Betz Lighting design Mikki Kunttu Video projections Jouka Valkama