LIME Tree Theatre is host to fated swans Odette and Odile, the evil magician Von Rothbart and Prince Siegfried for the weekend’s staging of ‘Swan Lake’.
Ballet Ireland takes in the Limerick venue on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 at 8pm as part of a 19-strong tour of the country. Incredibly, there is a cast of 22 on the road bringing us Tchaikovsky’s work of art.
‘Swan Lake’ is where the great classic fairy stories are tapestried into one, with the most stirring of music simulating the flight of swans and vulnerable beauty.
It is hard to credit that ‘Swan Lake’ first staged more than 340 years ago and today is more loved as ever. The storyline is gorgeous. Cursed by Von Rothbart, lovely, serene Odette is doomed to swim in a lake of tears with a flotilla of swans – who are women afflicted likewise. By moonlight, she transforms back into the human beauty she is.
One night, the hunstman Siegfried finds her in womanly form, falls in love and vows to break the wicked spell by marriage.
But Von Rothbart has ambitious plans for his own daughter Odile, who usurps Odette’s place at the ball that Prince Siegfried throws to showcase their love affair publicly.
Crazy good stuff? All the more so when costumed in the classical style of feathered tutu and Russian military dress.
Book www.limetreetheatre.ie for this Ballet Ireland masterpiece that has won plaudits everywhere for its artistry and execution.
Choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov; costumes by Werner Dittrich and Norbert Klos and lighting by Eamon Fox.
