One of the pillars of the classical ballet repertoire today, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (or to give its Russian title, Lebedinoye Ozero) was not a success at its premiere at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater in 1877. Worn-out scenery and costumes, a mediocre prima ballerina, a complex plot and a score more symphonic in scope than any heard before contributed to the public's indifference. The ballet was not performed again until after Tchaikovsky's death, when Marius Petipa and his collaborator Lev Ivanov restaged it as a memorial to the composer. That time, only the second act was produced, but in 1895, Petipa and Ivanov staged the complete work at St. Petersburg, where it finally entered the world's ballet repertoire. Taken from the album 'Classical Music - The 50 Greatest Tracks' available on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/classical-music-50-greatest/id683259977
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