History
Swan Lake's Prague connection
A Prague-born choreographer staged the first Swan Lake, and the National Theatre danced its lakeside act for Tchaikovsky in 1888.
Book Swan Lake in Prague ↗Quick answer
Swan Lake has deep Prague roots. Julius Reisinger, born in Prague in 1828, choreographed the first production in Moscow in 1877. In February 1888 the National Theatre in Prague became the first foreign stage to dance the lakeside act, and Tchaikovsky, who saw it, wrote of an enormous success. Prague's National Theatre ballet has staged the full four-act ballet since 1907.
A choreographer from Prague
Wikipedia says Julius Reisinger, also known as Václav, was born in Prague in February 1828 and began as a dancer in the corps de ballet. In 1860 he returned to Prague as the choreographer of the Nové Město Theatre, which Wikipedia calls the first time a Czech theatre was headed by a Czech choreographer. After engagements in Germany and Austria and the directorship of the ballet in Leipzig, he went to Russia and became director of the Moscow ballet.
The first Swan Lake
Wikipedia says Tchaikovsky composed the score in 1875 and 1876 and that the ballet premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on 4 March 1877, with Reisinger as ballet master. The first night was a benefit for the ballerina Pelageya Karpakova, and it was not well received: critics found the score too complicated and the choreography unmemorable. Wikipedia adds that the production nonetheless stayed in the repertoire until 1883, with 41 performances, more than several other ballets of the theatre.
Back to the Petipa and Ivanov revival
Tchaikovsky died on 6 November 1893. Wikipedia says that Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov revived Swan Lake at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg on 27 January 1895, with Riccardo Drigo revising the score, and that Ivanov's choreography for the lakeside act had been praised at a memorial concert in 1894. That 1895 revival is the version on which most companies now base their stagings, including in its broad outline the story told on the Prague booking page.
Prague dances the lake for Tchaikovsky
Czech Wikipedia says the National Theatre in Prague staged a shortened version of the second act on 6 February 1888, as the first foreign stage to do so. Augustin Berger prepared it and danced the prince, who was called Jaroslav, with Giulietta Paltrinieri as Odette-Odile. It was the only performance of Swan Lake that Tchaikovsky ever saw, and his diary calls it an enormous success and a minute of absolute happiness. English Wikipedia says the National Theatre Ballet was the first company to stage Swan Lake outside Russia.
The National Theatre ballet
Wikipedia says the National Theatre Ballet was founded in 1883, with Václav Reisinger as its first ballet master, and that it performs in the National Theatre, the State Opera, the Estates Theatre and the Kolowrat Theatre. Czech Wikipedia says the National Theatre first staged Swan Lake in four acts in 1907 and has presented new productions many times since, the latest listed premiere being in 2019.
Where the Broadway evening fits
The booking page places this evening in the Broadway Theatre, not in one of the National Theatre's own houses. It describes top dancers and soloists of leading Czech groups, and mentions soloists of the Prague National Theatre. The whole story is told in a selection of scenes. That puts it in the long line of shortened Swan Lakes that began, in Tchaikovsky's own day, with the lakeside act danced in Prague.
Read next: Best of Swan Lake in Prague: worth it?
Who this isn't for
A complete history of the ballet is beyond this guide, which covers only the Prague part of it. The ballet's story is told in the act-by-act guide, and the question of whether the evening is worth booking is answered in the first guide. If you want to see the National Theatre's own Swan Lake, check what its ballet company is performing during your visit, since this site covers only the Broadway evening.
Frequently asked questions
Who choreographed the first Swan Lake?
Julius Reisinger, born in Prague in 1828, choreographed the first production at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1877.
Did Tchaikovsky see Swan Lake?
Only once. Czech Wikipedia says he saw the lakeside act at the National Theatre in Prague in 1888.
Is the Broadway evening a National Theatre production?
The booking page names soloists of the Prague National Theatre among its dancers, but it places the evening in the Broadway Theatre and not in the National Theatre's own houses.
Sources