The oboe theme from Act II. One long held F♯, then the melody tumbles down through B minor. Played twice.
The story
The Bolshoi Theatre asked Tchaikovsky for his first ballet in 1875. It tells of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by a sorcerer’s curse, who can become human only at night.
The premiere in 1877 was a disappointment: the choreography was weak and the music was thought too complicated for ballet. Swan Lake only became a triumph in 1895, two years after Tchaikovsky’s death, in a new production by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov.
This theme, first played by an oboe over trembling strings, returns throughout the ballet as Odette’s music.
Three things to know
- Today Swan Lake is probably the most performed ballet in the world.
- The swan theme is in B minor, a key Tchaikovsky often used for fate and sorrow.
- In the same production, one dancer usually plays both the white swan Odette and her evil double, the black swan Odile.
How to play it
The long held notes need to keep singing. Play them a little louder than the short notes around them, as an oboist would.