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    Opera and Ballet Stories in Music    

Lesson 24: Swan Lake - Act 1

by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Performer: European Archive


DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

THE REIGNING PRINCESS.

PRINCE SIEGFRIED, her son.

BENNO, friend of SIEGFRIED.

WOLFGANG, tutor of the prince.

ODETTE.

VON ROTHBART.

ODILE.

MASTER OF CEREMONIES.

HERALD.

Ladies and gentlemen of the court, guests, peasants, servants, swans, owls, etc. etc.



SWAN LAKE - A BALLET IN 4 ACTS.

ACT I.

A splendid garden. A majestic castle adorns the background.

The libretto original sources include: Johann Karl August Musäus, "Der geraubte Schleier" (The Stolen Veil) and the Russian folktale "The White Duck."

SCENE I.

Benno and Prince Siegfried's friends are waiting for Prince Siegfried to celebrate, by a merry feast, the time of his majority (age at which he is legally considered an adult). The prince arrives following his tutor, Wolfgang, and the feast begins. Peasants arrive to congratulate Prince Siegfried. The prince orders men to drink and offers ribbons to the girls as gifts. Wolfgang is already a little intoxicated, but has his student's orders executed. The peasants dance.



SCENE II.

Pages come up and announce the approach of the princess mother. This news interrupts the general joy. The dances cease and the servants rush to remove the tables and remove the traces of the banquet. The youth and Wolfgang make efforts to hide their intoxication. The princess enters preceded by her suite. Siegfried goes to meet his mother and respectfully wishes her well. The princess gently reproaches her son for wanting to try to deceive her, because she sees well that he is in the party, even though it is hidden from her. The princess tells Siegfried that she has come not to prevent him from enjoying himself with his friends. She has come to remind him that this is the last day of his life as a boy, and he must choose a fiancée. Siegfried asks his mother: Who will be this fiancée? The princess tells him that it will be resolved at the ball the next day. The princess has invited all suitable young ladies for him to choose from to become his wife. The princess leaves, leaving Siegfried and his friends free to continue their festivities and feasting.



SCENE III.

The prince is thoughtful, he is sad to become an adult and a married man, leaving behind his happy and carefree life as a boy. Benno admonishes the prince that he is wrong to spoil the present joy of the party with the worries of tomorrow. Siegfried gives the signal to continue the party. The feast and the dancing begin again. Wolfgang becomes so inebriated his drunken dancing turns him into a laughing stock.



SCENE IV.

Evening approaches, and the revelers hold one last dance of farewell before leaving. A tinkling sound like that of glasses surprises the revelers.



SCENE V.

A band of swans crosses the sky. The young revelers are too energized to go to sleep yet. The sight of the swans inspires the idea of ​​finishing the day with a hunt. Benno knows where the swans spend the night. Leaving Wolfgang drunk-dead on the scene, Siegfried and his friends set off in search of the swans.

    Opera and Ballet Stories in Music    

Lesson 24: Swan Lake - Act 1

by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Performer: European Archive

Directions

Read the lesson text and listen to the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

  • Read the synopsis.
  • Review any vocabulary terms.
  • Read about the composer.
  • Complete the enrichment activities.

Synopsis

In Act 1 of Swan Lake, young prince Siegfried has reached a marriageable age, but has yet to fall in love. His mother wishes him to choose a fiancée and invites all suitable young ladies to a great feast for this purpose. On the evening preceding the feast, Siegfried spots a flock of swans, and dashes off with his friends to hunt them [1].

Vocabulary

Ballet: A theatrical presentation of such dancing, usually with music, sometimes in the form of a story.
Act: A division of a theatrical performance.
Scene: A part of a dramatic work that is set in the same place or time. In the theater, generally a number of scenes constitute an act.
Dramatis Personae: A list of characters in a play or story, usually arranged in order of first appearance.

Composer

  1. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia. Examine his picture.
  2. Zoom in and find Tchaikovsky's country of birth on the map of Europe below.
  3. Tchaikovsky took piano lessons starting at age five and wrote his first composition, a waltz in honor of his deceased mother, at the age of fourteen.
  4. Although as an adult Tchaikovsky first worked as a civil servant, he found his way back to music, enrolling in the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.
  5. Tchaikovsky worked as a music professor and a composer and was eventually voted into the French Académie des Beaux-Arts.
  6. Tchaikovsky died in 1893 at the age of 53, possibly from cholera due to drinking bad water.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite the Ballet Information

  • Recite the name of the composer, the name of the ballet, and the act and scenes of the ballet.

Activity 2: Recite the Dramatis Personae

Read aloud the Dramatis Personae.

  • THE REIGNING PRINCESS.
  • PRINCE SIEGFRIED, her son.
  • BENNO, friend of SIEGFRIED.
  • WOLFGANG, tutor of the prince.
  • ODETTE.
  • VON ROTHBART.
  • ODILE.
  • MASTER OF CEREMONIES.
  • HERALD.
  • Ladies and gentlemen of the court, guests, peasants, servants, swans, owls, etc. etc.

Activity 3: Listen to the Ballet While Reading the Text

  • Play the ballet music softly in the background.
  • Take turns reading aloud the scenes.

Activity 4: Narrate the Lesson

  • Narrate the lesson events aloud in your own words.

Activity 5: Examine the Musical Score

A musical score is the written form of a musical composition showing all instrumental and/or vocal parts.

Examine the page from the musical score of 'Swan Lake' and answer the following:

  • The title page of this musical score is written in French. What do you think 'LE LAC DES CYGNES' translates to in English?
  • Who composed this musical score?
  • How many acts does Swan Lake have?
  • In which city was this musical score published?

References

  1. Evans, Edwin. Tchaikovsky. New York, New York. E.P. Dutton and Co. 1906.

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