Little Swan Lake

Part One

At the ball

The court is celebrating Prince Siegfried’s birthday. Today marks the day when the boy becomes a man. His mother, the Queen, who loves him dearly, prepares a special gift for the occasion: a real crossbow! He is ready to take on the challenge of a real hunt with its very real dangers.. The Prince is overjoyed with the gift and can’t wait to try it out.

However, the Queen is preoccupied with an entirely different matter: she has organised the ball with the not-so-secret wish for her son to find the love of his life, take her as wife and sooner or later take his rightful place as king. To this end, she invited the fairest maidens from all over the kingdom. The most varied dances amaze every guest, yet the Prince barely notices the girls. He spends the entire evening gazing at his new crossbow; his mind preoccupied with the upcoming hunt.. As the ball comes to an end, the Queen withdraws to her chambers in disappointment — she longs for grandchildren and a new king upon the throne.

Swan Lake

Under cover of night, the Prince sneaks out of the castle, however he gets no further than the lake nearby, as something rather peculiar cathes his eye and makes him stop short, perplexed. A group of little swans swims across the lake, floating, almost dancing on the surface… Their dance is so much more intriguing than that of the dolled up girls. So much purer, it’s breathtaking… The Prince nearly forgets about hunting altogether.

When he finally remembers, he raises his crossbow, notches a bolt and aims it at the swans. The graceful, snow-white group flutters in fright at the sound. Suddenly, one of them separates from the others, unafraid. She approaches the young man curiously. In that moment he realises it is no bird at all but a girl in flesh and blood standing before him. It is Odette. Never had the Prince encountered such a beautiful sight. Love blossoms between them in an instant, time seems to lose its meaning. As they dance, they seem like children playing, as well as adults, deep in love and a content elderly couple who have spent their whole lives together all at once.

The Sorcerer

While they dance, the Prince feels something strange and dark rustle behind him. But as he turns around there’s no one to find. But his senses didn’t deceive him, it was the Sorcerer, sneaking behind his back. The one some mock as Rothbart or Redbeard, the one who once upon a time had turned the maidens into swans.  Even though he has a daughter of his own, Odile, who long ago was cruelly deceived, beguiled and abandoned by a heartless man. A stain fell upon the girl’s honour, and she knew she would never find a husband. And so, Rothbart became envious of every pure, innocent girl he came across. Year after year he abducted more girls to carry out his evil plan. The poor little swans, being unable to speak, couldn’t tell anyone of their sorrowful fate. Every month, when the moon was full and the clock turned midnight, they were changed back into girls for a single hour. It was by change that the Prince met Odette at such a rare time. Rothbart is furious to see the growing feelings between Odette and the Prince but for now he cannot act, only plot his revenge in silence.

Part Two

Another ball

Weeks have passed, and the Prince cannot rest. Day and night, all he can think of is the swan maiden. Every single night he goes to the lake, but his efforts are in vain, Odette does not show. A month passes since their first encounter, another full moon will soon rise in the sky, and the Prince starts to lose hope. He feels like he’ll never know happiness again.

But his mother, the Queen, won’t accept her son’s unwillingness to marry. And so, she decides to have another ball and find a bride for the sorrowful knight. The young man shows no interest in the beautiful girls, but he does not wish to oppose his mother. The Prince watches the dance of the brides-to-be with a bored expression, their movements blur together before his eyes. How could these girls ever compare to Odette.

Still the Queen refuses to give up. She invited the fairest maidens from all four corners of the world who try to win the Prince’s heart by presenting a dance from their homelands. Yet no matter how charming, proud, and attractive these brides-to-be may be, no matter how lively their dances, none of them move the Prince, because none of them are Odette.

The Unknown Guests

Suddenly, two new guests enter the hall. No one seems to recognise them, as they came uninvited, nevertheless all eyes turn to the newcomers. One of them, a beautiful and slender girl, clad in a black dress, attracts the entire royal court’s attention. Her company: an older gentlemen of obvious good standing – her father perhaps. Both move about the hall with such confidence, as if the ball had been arranged in their honour.

The Prince cannot take his eyes off the girl. She seems familiar to him somehow. His eyes ache from staring: why, she is the love of his life, the swan maiden! As the Prince addresses her, she introduces herself as Odile, much to the young man’s confusion. Is she Odette, merely in disguise? He doesn’t know what to do. He might never see the swan maiden, to whom he’s wordlessly sworn his love, again. But Odile is right here within reach.

It doesn’t escape the Queen’s attention how the strange girl seems to have bewitched her son. At first, she is somewhat displeased by the sight, she would’ve preferred if his choice fell on one of the original brides-to-be. But the Prince seems determined. The red-bearded gentleman, however, won’t hear of it, his daughter will only belong to someone who will marry her. The Prince hesitates for only a second. He thinks of the beautiful swan maiden he believed to be the love of his life. He quickly casts the thought aside: no longer will he yearn in vain and wait endlessly only to be disappointed. And so he swears his love to Odile and vows to take her as his wife.

The Realisation

As soon as the words leave his lips a shrieking laugh pierces the air. The young man is horrified to see that it comes from the red bearded stranger, who is none other than the Sorcerer himself! He laughs triumphantly, cackling for he has won, his evil plan has succeeded. He enchanted his daughter, Odile into the very likeness of Odette to ensnare the Prince’s heart. The young man yielded to the temptation, unable to remain faithful to Odette. Odile is laughing too, happy to finally marry and not just anyone! After all, the Prince cannot take back an oath made before so many witnesses. The Prince suddenly realises what he’s done. He rushes to the lake to find his true love.

A full moon hovers above the lake, it’s past midnight. The swans have just turned into maidens. As soon as he sees her, the Prince moves to embrace Odette but she doesn’t let him near her. The Prince’s words are futile. Perhaps the trust that was lost may yet be reclaimed by true love.