At Home with Ballet TV is back, and the Australian Ballet is kicking off its 2021 offerings with a classic production, Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake, now available to stream for free, thanks to the Australian Ballet’s Principal Partner Telstra.
Graeme Murphy’s modern-day classic is a Swan Lake for the 21st century, charged with sensuality and heartbreak. It has been the Australian Ballet’s most performed and most successful work has swept the world before it, receiving standing ovations and storms of tears in London, Paris, Tokyo and New York.
The romance of Princess Odette and Prince Siegfried is updated (and complicated) to a contemporary love triangle with the addition of the Baroness von Rothbart, a slinky mistress who has no intention of releasing her freshly married lover.
Murphy’s breathtaking pas de deux and massed swans are framed by legendary designer Kristian Fredrikson’s darkly sparkling lake, contrasted with the glittering magnificence of regal weddings and ballrooms.
The production starred Madeleine Eastoe as Odette, Robert Curran as Siegfried and Danielle Rowe as the Baroness von Rothbar. It was filmed at the Sydney Opera House in 2008 with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra.
Click to access the original production program and the cast sheet, which will tell you who dances which role and what happens in the ballet.
Choreography Graeme Murphy
Creative Associate Janet Vernon
Music Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Concept Graeme Murphy, Janet Vernon and Kristian Fredrikson
Costume and set design Kristian Fredrikson
Lighting design Damien Cooper
To access the production go to the Australian Ballet’s official website http://www.australianballet.com.au Click on the dropdown menu on the top right . Scroll down and you will be able to find and then click on Ballet TV.
Graeme Murphy’s Swan Lake can be viewed at any time, any number of times, until 5pm (AEST) October 6, 2021. Enjoy!