The Palace Hall hosts on Sunday from 7.30pm a performance of “Swan Lake” by the Kiev State Opera and Ballet Theatre’s celebrated classical ballet ensemble. The production stars Natalia Matsak, prima ballerina of the Ukraine National Opera, alongside Denys Nedak, soloist dancer of the Kiev “T. Chevtchenko” National Opera.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” ballet premiered at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre on March 4, 1877, under Semen Riabov’s musical direction and choreographed by Julius Reisinger. Sadly, the public of the age was not accustomed to the “symphonic” style in a ballet work, so they failed to grasp the richness of the score. This was compounded by Julius Reisinger’s poor choreography, which made the first presentations less than successful. After the composer’s death, at the request of the Saint Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre’s management, Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov adapted the choreography and the Mariinsky Theatre conductor, Riccardo Drigo, made some alterations to the score. The balled opened, in its revised form, on January 15, 1895 and was an instant hit. Although several other versions have been launched, this remains the most popular one.
