I went to Ballet Idaho's performance of Swan Lake tonight. It was incredible. The music by Tchaikovsky, the dancing, and the story were enough to put my emotions through turmoil. At the end of Act 1, I wanted to cry for the injustice and heartache Prince Siegfried displayed about being forced to pick a wife. Then, the joy of meeting and falling in love with Odette, Queen of the Swans was exquisite. But the twist almost did me in when Odile, daughter to the evil wizard Von Rothbart, disguised herself as Odette and beguiled Prince Siegfried into declaring his love for her, dooming Odette to an eternity as a swan. I kept wanting to stand up and warn Prince Siegfried that the girl in the black tutu was clearly NOT Odette. To watch Prince Siegfried crumble in misery when he realized he'd been tricked was heart-rending. The prince ran after Odette, following her into the forest, to the edge of the lake and, well, basically groveled. Odette and Siegfried danced a re-uniting dance, the evil wizard showed up to tear them apart, and they followed their only course of tragic action - to drown themselves in the lake. Somehow, this broke the spell for the other young women turned swans and killed the evil wizard. What is it about romantic tragedies? They are so absorbing, frustrating, and beautiful...
No comments:
Post a Comment