PROLOGUE

The evil wizard Rothbart turns the beautiful princess Odette into a swan. Only a man truly in love with her will be able to break the spell and to turn the princess into a human being again.

ACT 1

Prince Sigfried is in the royal park with his retinue. The Prince’s favourite fool is amusing the company, while the knights are courting the village girls. The arrival of the severe Mother Queen breaks the merry atmosphere. She reproaches her son for his light-hearted behaviour and reminds him that he has to choose a wife among the noble girls that are introduced to him. The Prince is upset and, as the Queen leaves, the guests try to cheer him up by continuing the party. The ladies of the court start to dance and the Prince’s friends suggest a hunting.

ACT 2

During the hunting by the lakeshore, Prince Sigfried is fascinated by a flock of swans headed by a wonderful crowned swan. The boy tries to get near to it; mysteriously the swan turns into an amazing creature, half swan and half woman: it’s Princess Odette who, from midnight to dawn, can escape to Rothbart’s spell.

At first Odette is scared, but little by little the two youngsters get always more attracted by each other. Then, suddenly, the flock gathers on the lake and the Prince loses sight of the swan girl. Upset, he tries to find her again, but in vain. Hopelessly in love by now, he promises to himself that he’ll marry her and forget all the other women. The swans dance until dawn and then they prepare to leave. The two lovers meet again for a while to say a gloomy goodbye. Odette flies away and Sigfried picks up one of her feathers.

ACT 3

The Mother Queen continues her plan to make the Prince marry a noble girl. Four princesses are introduced to him but he rejects to choose one of them. He wants only Odette and can hardly look away from the feather.

Suddenly the hall gets dark and Rothbart, dressed as a knight, enters with his daughter Odile. Sigfried mistakes Odile for Odette and comes forward to greet her. By Rothbart’s will, the dances start: first the Spanish one, then Neapolitan, Hungarian and Polish. Odile herself dances for the infatuated Prince. The Queen is happy that her son has found at last a possible wife. Sigfried asks for Odile’s hand – believing her Odette – and swears endless devotion. Rothbart can now exult: he leaves the room with Odile and his retinue, letting the Prince looking at a sad and throbbing Odette beyond the porch. Sigfried realizes his mistake and, desperate, runs away. He decides to find Odette and to ask her forgiveness.

ACT 4

The swans are sharing their Queen’s pain. The Prince arrives and begs Odette to forgive him, but it’s all useless, since he’s broken his oath and Odette’s life is definitely marked. The two lovers have to leave each other: Odette sadly says a last goodbye to an astonished Sigfried. But Rothbart is not satisfied yet: he wants the Prince’s death, too, so he rouses a storm on the lake. Sigfried fights against the waves, but his energy is waning. Ready to sacrifice her life to save him, Odette throws herself in the furious water.

Rothbart’s power is destroyed by the power of the true love that unites Sigfried and Odette, so it’s the wizard himself that dies in the dreadful tempest. And because of his death, the spell is broken, the Princess turns into a human being and the two lovers reunite again as dawn rises on the lake.