ROH Broadcast: Swan Lake

The Royal Ballet – Live Broadcast

The Royal Ballet’s sumptuous production of Swan Lake returns to the Royal Opera House stage after its 2020 revival was interrupted by the pandemic’s closure of theatres. The reimagining of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov’s towering masterpiece by Liam Scarlett is testament to the late choreographer’s abiding love of classicism and innate musicality which shine through the production.

With its sublime score by Tchaikovsky and glittering designs by John Macfarlane, an irresistible mix of spectacle, mystery and passion infuses this audience favourite, one of the best-loved works in the 19th-century classical ballet canon.

Prince Siegfried chances upon a flock of swans while out hunting. When one of the swans turns into a beautiful woman, Odette, he is enraptured. But she is under a spell that holds her captive, allowing her to regain her human form only at night.

Von Rothbart, arbiter of Odette’s curse, tricks the Prince into declaring his love for the identical Odile and thus breaking his vow to Odette. Doomed to remain a swan forever, Odette has but one way to break the sorcerer’s spell.

Approximate running time: 3 hours (including two intervals)