Ballet Ireland is ten years old and later this year we plan to celebrate the anniversary of our inaugural performances by returning to The Gaiety Theatre with our ‘landmark’ production of Swan Lake. This most famous of ballets combines Romantic themes and classical technique, and its ethereal imagery, together with Tchaikovsky¹s majestic score, conspire to ensure this masterpiece¹s immortality.

In 1875, Tchaikovsky was approached by the directorate of the Moscow Ballet with a commission for a score. This was for Swan Lake, a work which he accepted as he wrote, “partly because I want the money and partly because I have long wanted to try my hand at this type of music”.

The first production in 1877 was not a success neither were subsequent ones in 1880 and 1882. It was the death of the composer in October 1893 which was to precipitate a first St Petersburg ballet production, when for a memorial concert in February 1894, the second act of the ballet was staged in choreography by Lev Ivanov.

Later the score was edited and the scenario revised and the full scale staging subsequently mounted by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov in January 1895 is the basis of the most popular and best loved ballet we know today.

Ballet Ireland first mounted Swan Lake in Spring 2001 and are delighted to be re-mounting it to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary. Described by Carolyn Swift in the Irish Times as “a landmark for Ballet Ireland and for Irish ballet” and in The Sunday Business Post, “Don¹t miss it – it will knock the socks off everyone” this production is stunning and timeless.

Swan Lake Touring Dates