OVERVIEW

Libretto and choreography by Youri Vàmos

The most famous classical ballet Swan Lake has almost become a symbol of ballet art. The story—based on a collection of German folk tales about princess Odette, magician Von Rothbart, and the ill-fated prince—has gained popularity thanks to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
While most choreographers follow more or less strictly the original libretto by Vladimir Petrovich Begichev and Vasily Fyodorovich Gelzer, Youri Vàmos takes inspiration from the character of the prince. He does not interpret the drama with dark fairy-tale elements outside the prince's mind but discovers the tragic disposition deep in the prince's psyche. Vàmos interprets the tragedy focusing on the prince’s Oedipal complex, having the prince depicted in three life stages—as a child, young man, and an adolescent.
As in all of Youri Vàmos’ ballets, classical dance in Swan Lake is not just a technical basis. The choreography takes over parts from Petipa and Ivanov's traditional choreography. They are just sensitively altered where the new interpretation requires it. Youri Vàmos’ version is "contemporary" in the sense of the production’s psychology that is hidden in the fairy tale symbolism and deciphered, and the frame plot allows today's audience to access the dramatic depth of Swan Lake.