Swan Lake by St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre

Act 3

We now find ourselves in the Great Hall of the castle. There is a great feast to celebrate the Prince's coming-of-age. The guests arrive and the prospective brides are presented to the prince, but he is distracted by thoughts of Odette. Suddenly, new guests arrive. It is a nobleman who presents his daughter to the prince. She looks remarkably like Odette. It is actually Von Rothbart and his daughter, trying to deceive the prince into betraying Odette. Odile, his daughter, receives instructions from her father on how to beguile the prince. She and the prince dance together. Odette appears at the window and tries to warn the prince, but he is overwhelmed by Von Rothbart's magic and Odile's beauty. At the end of their dance, the Prince pledges his love to Odile, believing her to be Odette. Her curse now permanent, Odette flees from the window. Siegfried sees her and runs from the hall, realizing his error.

The copyright of the article The Story of Swan Lake in Ballet is owned by Indrani Rauth. Permission to republish The Story of Swan Lake in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.