A century-old classic, dazzling and brilliant, the Russian State Ballet Theatre returns with a bang in the New Year of 2025 with the new edition of Swan Lake on its world tour – Beijing stop on December 23rd, perfectly presented. Through the trials of time, Swan Lake has become synonymous with ‘ballet’. It is the most performed and widely spread ballet in the world today, undoubtedly the most shining pearl on the crown of ballet. The melodious and poignant music of the masterpiece by the great composer Tchaikovsky has become the soul of this ballet… The latest choreography and concepts have broken through traditional ballet, presenting a new edition of Swan Lake with a strong cast, top-notch standards, and meticulously arranged choreography. The beautiful dance movements are newly interpreted to present a romantic and poetic love story beautifully on stage. In this version of Swan Lake, the romantic and enduring fairy tale and the beautiful, elegant classic dance sections have won the hearts of countless audiences worldwide. The scene of the Black and White Swans dancing together and the energetic performance of the 24 little swans are rare sights in domestic performances, creating the ‘most touching swan’ that leaves the audience spellbound. More than 20 outstanding dancers who have won the Russian National Dance Award and more than 50 young dance elites have toured in the UK, Germany, and France for seven consecutive years, performing hundreds of shows and receiving high praise from local audiences. British media reported: ‘As a loyal ballet audience, this is a masterpiece I have never seen before. The careful design and arrangement made me unbelievable that this is the traditional ballet Swan Lake’ – Alexei Ignatow. ‘The audience expects their return to the UK with a packed house and full applause, and I can’t wait’ – Amanda. Plot: Act I – The courtyard of the castle. The old king has passed away, and Prince Siegfried will soon inherit the throne and must hold a grand wedding. The prince is afraid of losing his freedom and is unwilling to marry someone he does not love. On the occasion of the prince’s 21st birthday, he and his friends gather in the castle courtyard, where the prince receives a crossbow from his mother. The prince’s servant Benno arranges a banquet to try to make the prince happy. Unexpectedly, the queen arrives suddenly, shocked by the loud banquet, reminding the prince that the palace is still in mourning and soon to welcome a bride. The queen leaves, leaving a dejected Siegfried. Benno lets two courtesans dance to please the prince, and when the music starts, Benno also dances enthusiastically to toast the future king. The sorcerer Rothbart is a friend of the king. After the dance ends and people disperse, he invites the prince to his magical lake theater to watch a swan performance.
Act II: Lakeside under the Moonlight Siegfried and the demon king Rothbart come to the lakeside. The demon king Rothbart makes their swans perform for the prince. Suddenly, a swan approaches. Siegfried is surprised to see a dignified and noble swan slowly turn into a charming and graceful young lady. The beautiful young lady tells the handsome prince about her tragic life story. It turns out that she is a princess named Odette. The hateful demon king has turned her and her companions into swans and established the Swan Lake Theatre for people to enjoy. They can only regain human form late at night. Only steadfast love can break the evil magic. The prince firmly believes that the princess is the one he has been longing for. The demon king peeps on one side. Siegfried wants to shoot him. Odette pleads with the prince not to kill the demon king, otherwise the spell will never be broken. Odette warns the prince that if he breaks his vow of love, she will always be a swan. At dawn, the prince vows to rescue her from suffering and vows to always be sincere to this eternal love. Odette and her companions turn back into swans and return to the lake.
Act III: Ballroom in the Castle The long-awaited coming-of-age celebration of the prince. Invited nobles and high officials gather in the hall of the castle. The prince and his mother appear and take their places. Then the beautiful princesses invited from six countries also appear. However, the prince only has Odette in his heart. Unexpectedly, the demon Rothbart leads the black swan Odile to appear and turns Odile into the appearance of Odette to deceive the prince. The prince is deceived and takes her as Odette. The ball begins. Countries dance in various colorful dances. The prince dances with the fake Odette and announces their engagement. The white swan Odette suddenly appears at the ball. She gives a mournful cry. Then thunder and lightning strike. Evil winds blow. The demon Rothbart and the black swan laugh wildly. The prince realizes that he has been tricked because he has broken his vow to Odette. This means that Odette will always belong to the demon king and his theatre. Act IV: Lakeside Heartbroken by the prince’s betrayal, the princess returns to the Swan Lake. When the prince realizes his mistake and is willing to give up the throne to be with Odette, the demon king creates a snowstorm to prevent the prince from looking for Odette. But the prince’s anger causes the palace walls to disintegrate and the lake appears. The prince finally finds Odette. The悲愤 prince and princess bravely fight against the demon king. The demon king’s magic disappears because he knows that the power of love cannot be blocked. Justice defeats evil. Steadfast love defeats all evil demons. The demon king finally dies. The Swan Lake Theatre created by him also disappears. The prince and princess are bathed in the glow of the rising sun and grow old together hand in hand! Russian State Ballet Theatre – Astrakhan Ballet Troupe: The Russian State Ballet Theatre – Astrakhan Ballet Troupe was established on July 15, 2011. Russian President Putin personally attended the premiere of the theatre and highly praised the theatre’s management team and artistic quality. Under the personal concern of President Putin, the theatre has become an important cultural and artistic exhibition center in Russia today.The theatre is annually invited to perform in various countries such as the UK, Germany, and France, with nearly a hundred performances over the years. Their top-notch artistic standards and flawless performances have garnered acclaim and high praise from experts and audiences worldwide. In February 2018, they made their debut in China, meeting Chinese audiences for the first time. The theatre’s management placed great emphasis on this event, striving to present the most beautiful and powerful lineup for Chinese audiences. In December of the same year, they returned to China, performing a new edition of the ballet ‘Swan Lake’, which received unanimous praise and acclaim from both the industry and audiences! This marks their fourth consecutive year performing in China.
Artistic Director: Voronin Valery Vladimirovich, graduated in 2006 from the Saint Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, majoring in Choral Conducting (class of Professor T.I. Nemtchina) and Opera and Symphony Conducting (class of People’s Artist of Russia Professor Martynov). In 2005, he was invited to work at the Rostov State Musical Theatre, where he served as the principal conductor from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, he was appointed as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Astrakhan Musical and Choreographic Theatre. He has conducted and directed over 48 performances, with four winning the National Theatre Award ‘Gold Mask’: ‘Madame Butterfly’, ‘The Queen of Spades’, ‘Eugene Onegin’, ‘The Damnation of Faust’. He has also conducted more than 50 symphonic concerts, including the large-scale project ‘All Beethoven’, covering all symphonies by L.V. Beethoven. Under his initiative, since 2012, the theatre has been involved in the international project ‘Russian Opera at the Astrakhan Kremlin’. Six performances have been staged in the historical ‘props’ building of the Astrakhan Kremlin, with three winning the All-Russian professional award ‘Aspects of Theatre’, being named ‘Best Open-Air Theatre’ and receiving the ‘Best Event in Tourism’ award.
Main Performers:
Dudoradov Rudolf, the Prince performer, graduated from the Novosibirsk State Institute of Choreography in 2010. From 2010 to 2012, he worked at the Novosibirsk State Musical and Ballet Theatre. From 2012 to 2016, he was hired as the principal stage master of the ballet troupe at the Astrakhan State Musical and Ballet Theatre. In 2020, he joined the Astrakhan State Opera and Ballet Theatre. Touring footprints include Thailand, South Korea, England, Spain, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Italy, Australia, and Dubai.
Artur Almukhametov, a principal performer at the Astrakhan State Musical and Ballet Theatre, winner of the 2018 Italy Citta di Spoleto International Competition for solo performances and recipient of the Critics’ Prize.
Swan Lake features Prince Siegfried. Anastasia Gracheva, the Black Swan performer, was born in Moscow. She graduated with honors from the Moscow State Lavrovsky Dance School (class of E.V. Golikova) in 2021 and joined the ballet company of the Astrakhan State Song and Dance Theatre the same year as a soloist. Performances include: Juliet (S. Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet); Masha, Two Snowflakes, French Dancer (Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker); Odette – Odile, Spanish Bride (Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake); Peasant Pas de Deux (F. Bourgmillier), Two Willis (A. Adam’s Giselle); Kitri, Girlfriend, Amur (L. Minkusa’s Don Quixote); Clement, Raymonda’s Girlfriend, Variation (A. Glazunov’s Raymonda); Pas de Deux (A. Adam’s Corsar); Hilda (G. Levenskold’s Hilda), Ganzaty, Three Shadows (L. Minkus’ La Bayadere).
Aseneva Marina, the White Swan performer, was born in St. Petersburg. She graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy (class of the Honored Artist of Russia I.N. Zelonskaya) in 2019 and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in 2022. She worked at the Mariinsky Theatre from 2019 to 2021 and served as a soloist at the Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theatre (Ural Opera and Ballet Theatre) from 2021 to 2022. In 2022, she was a soloist at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. Since 2023, she has been the principal dancer at the Astrakhan State Song and Dance Theatre. Performances include: Nikiya, Ganzaty, Three Shadows (L. Minkus’ La Bayadere); Odette – Odile, Pas de Trois (Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake); Pas de Trois, Terpsichore Variation, Grand Pas (L. Minkus’ Paquita); Giselle, Peasant Pas de Deux (F. Bourgmillier) (A. Adam’s Giselle); Masha (Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker); Magnolia (K. Khachaturian’s Sibyl); Princess Florine (P. Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty); Mazurka, Seventh Waltz (F. Chopin’s Les Sylphides); Dawn (L. Delibes’ Coppélia).
Aseneff Andrey, the Prince performer, was born in the village of Novyy Alekseyevsky, Krasnodar Krai.
Graduated from the Vaganova Ballet Academy in Russia in 2013 (Class of A.V. Irina). Bachelor’s degree. Recipient of the Mariinsky Theatre’s Scholarship for Talented Graduates. Employed by the Mariinsky Theatre the same year. Served as a soloist at the Yekaterinburg Opera and Ballet Theatre (‘Ural Opera and Ballet Theatre’) from 2021 to 2022. Performed as a soloist at the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre in 2022. Held the position of principal soloist at the Astrakhan State Opera and Ballet Theatre in 2023.
