Ballet: Ulyana Lopatkina and Yevgeny Ivanchenko in Swan Lake: Scene 3. A Ball at the Castle

#danceday #internationaldanceday Scene 3: A Ball at the Castle. Siegfried must choose a bride from among the well-bred maidens who have been invited, but he remains indifferent to them all because he has given his heart to Odette. Only at his mother’s insistence does he dance with any of the prospective brides. He must, however, choose one of them, and as a token of his love he must give his chosen bride a bouquet. As he faces this dilemma, however, a fanfare of trumpets heralds the arrival of new guests – the magician von Rothbart and Odile, his daughter. The Prince is struck by her resemblance to Odette. Von Rothbart wants the Prince to fall in love with Odile so that he will break his vow of eternal love and fidelity; Odette will then remain in the sorcerer’s power forever. It is for this reason that he has given his own daughter Odette’s form and features. Odile seduces Siegfried, who is fascinated by her charm. He announces to his mother that the beautiful Odile is his choice. The wicked magician is jubilant. Suddenly Siegfried sees a vision of the true swan-maiden outside the castle window and realises that he has been deceived into breaking his vow. In despair, he rushes to the lake to find his beloved Odette. Swan Lake fantastic ballet in three acts, four scenes Music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky Libretto by Vladimir Begichev and Vasily Geltzer Choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov (1895) revised choreography and stage direction: Konstantin Sergeyev (1950) Set design by Igor Ivanov Costume design by Galina Solovyova Odette-Odile: Ulyana Lopatkina Siegfried: Yevgeny Ivanchenko von Rothbart: Andrei Yermakov The Prince’s Friends: Nadezhda Batoeva, Sofia Ivanova-Skoblikova, Philipp Stepin The Jester: Vladislav Shumakov Conductor: Boris Gruzin Recorded at the performance on May 7, 2015