The Sedona International Film Festival presents Ballet in Cinema on Sunday, March 8 when it hosts the big screen premiere of a new production of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” from the famed Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. There will be one show at 4:00 p.m. at the festival’s Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
In 1969, Yuri Grigorovich created his own version of the Bolshoi’s famous ballet. To go along with Tchaikovsky’s will, he chose to give the ballet a tragic ending. The soviet regime banned the ending, replacing it with the classic happy reunion of the lovers. Only in 2001 was Grigorovich allowed to stage his own ending at the Bolshoi.
In this brand new production, the exceptional cast features the great Svetlana Zakharova and the young Denis Rodkin, two current prominent figures of the famous Russian company.
At the palace, the royal family and their guests are gathered for Prince Siegfried's birthday celebration. In a majestic ceremony, Siegfried is made a knight; young girls try to attract his attention, as he must choose a wife during the ball. Overcome by the sudden awareness of his future responsibilities, he escapes into the night and meets a strange flock of swans by a magical lake. White swan by day, human by night, the beautiful Odette awaits an oath of true love to break the curse. The great legend of the enigmatic swan/woman is one of the most romantic classical ballets, appropriately set in the era of courtly romance and characterized by elegance, style and harmony.
With Tchaikovsky's famous, lyrical score, “Swan Lake” depicts the tragic love between Princess Odette and Prince Siegfried, and will no doubt be performed to perfection by the unparalleled virtuosity of Russia’s great Bolshoi Ballet. This universal and enchanting masterpiece of love, deception and drama is a must.