The Swan Lake in Vladikavkaz

On 11 May, the Vladikavkaz Opera and Ballet Theatre, a branch of Mariinsky Theatre in North Ossetia-Alania, hosted The Swan Lake show, which opened the local tour of the Leonid Yacobson Ballet Theatre.

Elena Chernova appeared on stage as Odette and Odile, supported by Andrey Sorokin as Prince Siegfried and Stepan Dyomin as the evil wizard Rothbart.

The first night of the Vladikavkaz tour proved to be truly special, as the audience got to see Prince Siegfried’s Lyrical Variations, a part of the ballet that is not included in modern shows all that often. Andrey Batalov, ballet tutor and Honoured Artist of Russia, restored this dance fragment specially for the Yacobson troupe.

‘The Lyrical Variations, performed by Prince Siegfried in the first act of the ballet’s canonical version, are a rare sight these days,’ Andrey Batalov explains. ‘This scene has hardly ever been included in the show for the past few decades. But Tchaikovsky’s score for the Variations has survived to this day, and I decided to re-insert this segment into our interpretation of the ballet, as it makes the mood all the more romantic and allows the audience to clearly see Siegfried’s dramatic progression as a character. The Variations are, in a way, Siegfried’s inner monologue, revealing his emotional turmoil and self-discovery. You see him trying to find meaning in life, daydreaming, and yearning for happiness and love: all the things that he will obtain after meeting the white swan. The Variations are equally gorgeous in terms of both the choreography and the accompanying music. Everything about The Swan Lake is filled with harmony and symbolism, which is exactly why the ballet has been enjoying such global success and has been acknowledged as a world-class masterpiece.’

The North Ossetia tour will last until 18 May. The next item on the playbill is Don Quixote, scheduled for 16, 17, and 18 May.’