Swan Lake (1877)

Although composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's magnum opus was not critically lauded when it premiered in Moscow, Russia, Swan Lake remains a foundational piece of classical ballet today as well as one of the most famous ballets of all time. Despite its initial failure, it has since become one of the world's most popular ballets. Swan Lake, a mash-up of Russian and German fairy tales, portrays the story of Odette, a princess cursed and turned into a swan. The original choreographer was Julius Reisinger, but many contemporary ballet companies base their stagings on Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov's 1895 revival in St. Petersburg.

The narrative of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's spell, is told in two acts and was inspired by Russian and German folk legends. Julius Reisinger (Václav Reisinger) choreographed the original show. The Bolshoi Ballet presented the ballet on March 4, 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Despite the fact that Swan Lake is given in numerous variations, most ballet companies base their stagings, both choreographically and musically, on the 1895 revival of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, which was first staged for the Imperial Ballet on 15 January 1895, at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Riccardo Drigo, principal conductor and composer of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre, rewrote Tchaikovsky's composition for this revival.