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A Précis of the Original Libretto to Swan Lake by Vladimir P. Begichev and Vassily F. Geltser, as modified for the 1895 Production

Act I - Medieval Germany. A magnificent park before a princely castle.

    Townspeople and nobles alike celebrate the coming-of-age of Prince Siegfried. The dances and revels are interrupted by the Princess-Mother, who tells her son that he must soon select a bride. Evening falls and the Prince and his friends decide to go hunting in order to leave the castle grounds and their reminders of impending responsibilities.

Act II - The lakeside

    Swans swim across the surface of the lake; in their midst, one wears a queenly crown. The hunters enter the glade followed by the Prince, who orders them to proceed with the hunt and leave him alone. Unexpectedly, a beautiful woman dressed in white appears. She is Odette, Queen of the Swans. Siegfried confronts her and calms her fears, then asks who she is and why she is at the lakeside. She tells him that the lake was formed from tears wept by her parents after she was kidnapped by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart. She and other captive maidens live under a spell condemning them to live during the day as swans, but must return to the magician's castle by the lake at night to resume their human forms; at dawn they become birds again. Their enchantment may only be broken if a good man faithfully pledges his love to Odette.
    Siegfried is about to make such a pledge, when he is interrupted by Von Rothbart, who enters dressed to suggest the owl that he becomes in order to guard his captives. The Prince prepares to kill him with a crossbow, but Odette intercedes for her captor, as he will only be destroyed by the sacrifice of human life, given for the love of the Swan Queen.
    Meanwhile, the hunters have discovered the Swan Maidens, in the darkness mistake them for birds, and prepare to shoot them. Siegfried and Odette stop the hunt. The swan maidens dance on the moonlit shore. The Prince and Odette discover their growing love for one another. As dawn breaks, the swan maidens and their Queen revert to bird form at Von Rothbart's bidding, and swim away, over the surface of the lake.

Act III - The Great Hall of the Castle

    The feast of the Prince's coming-of-age is prepared, and the guests arrive. Siegfried is distracted, thinking of Odette, and pays only scant attention to the prospective brides who have been invited to the celebration or to the national dances performed by their retainers. Unexpectedly, new guests arrive. The man is attired as a nobleman, and introduces his daughter, Odile, whose resemblance to Odette is uncanny. In actuality, they are von Rothbart and his daughter, who have transformed themselves to deceive Siegfried into betraying Odette. As Odile and the Prince dance together, she receives instructions in how to beguile him from her father. Odette appears outside the window, and attempts to warn her beloved of the trick, but he is dazzled by Odile's beauty and the wiles of the sorcerer. At the conclusion of their dance together, Siegfried, believing her to be Odette, pledges eternal love to Odile in front of the entire assembly. The spell over Odette is confirmed, and she is seen flying from the window. Siegfried runs from the hall, filled with anguish over his error.

Act IV - the lakeside

    The swan maidens await the return of Odette. She enters, and informs them of the deception of her Prince by Von Rothbart. Despairing, she attempts to drown herself in the lake, but is restrained by her friends, who vainly seek to console her. Odette is determined to die because if she does not die while still in human form, she will be transformed into a swan forever.
    Siegfried runs in, searching for Odette, and begs her forgiveness; the lovers are reconciled. Von Rothbart enters, and presses his claim for the Prince to marry his daughter, Odile, but when Siegfried defies him, and vows to die with Odette, the sorcerer's might begins to wane, and he flees in terror from the superior power of selfless love. Odette and Siegfried throw themselves into the lake and drown, Von Rothbart dies in agony, his castle crumbles, and the dawn comes. The Swan Maidens, now released from bondage, bow before the souls of the lovers, floating heavenward over the surface of the lake.

Go to How to Tell a Story for a discussion of the mine and dance-mine passages

or go back to Swan Lake