Swan Lake. Performance of the "Kremlin Ballet"

Act One
The garden before the Princess Mother’s castle. Young people are making merry on the lawns. The Fool’s amusing capers give way to the dances of young maidens and their admirers. The Princess Mother tells her son, Prince Siegfried, that tomorrow at the ball he must choose his bride-to-be from among the young girls who will be present. Siegfried remains indifferent to his mother’s words.
Left on his own as dusk begins to gather, the Prince dreams of a girl he can truly love. His friends invite him to take part in a night-time hunt. The prince notices a flock of swans flying overhead and he follows the noble birds deep into the forest.
The Evil Genius, Rothbart, inhabits the ruins of a gloomy castle, on the shores of a mysterious lake. Beautiful swan-maidens float serenely on the waters of the lake then, emerging on to the shore, they circle in a graceful round dance. Siegfried is very taken by one of the maidens – Odette. Her tale of how Rothbart’s sorcery had turned them into swans touches him. Only disinterested love can lift the spell. At daybreak, the maidens become swans again and float away.

Act Two
The ball at the Princess Mother’s castle. The time has come for the Prince to choose his bride from the young girls who have been invited specially for this purpose. But he is nowhere to be seen. The brides-to-be are disconcerted. The Fool starts his comical capers. Siegfried appears. Remembering his oath, he turns his back on the young girls. The Evil Genius Rothbart and his daughter Odile, who bears a striking resemblance to Odette, appear among the guests. Mistaking Odile for his loved one, the Prince announces that she is his bride-to-be. Siegfried has broken his vow. Pointing to Odette who is now visible in the distance, the triumphant sorcerer vanishes together with his daughter.
In the course of the gloomy and uneasy night, the grief-stricken Odette tells her friends about Siegfried’s treachery. The swan-maidens now lose all hope of being liberated. Siegfried comes running in. He has kept his promise – it was just he mistook Odile for Odette. A furious Rothbart summons the forces of nature. A storm gets up, lightening flashes, huge waves toss the lovers to and fro, concealing them in their depths.
But nothing can destroy Odette and Siegfried’s pure, youthful love or force them to part. The Evil Genius has been overcome, his evil powers are shattered.