Here at Dancewear Central we love going to watch a ballet performance, and we’re often blown away by the fluid and beautiful movements of the dancers and the stunning musical score that goes with it. Ballet has long been celebrated for its mesmerising musical style, which blends perfectly with the ballerinas to present the perfect performance.
For an introduction to ballet, Tchaikovsky is one of the most celebrated, and most loved, composers of ballets in history. Below, we look at how his three ballets have enchanted crowds across the world for over a century.
If you’re new to ballet, or you’re considering which performance to watch next, read through our favourite ballet scores. The great thing is they can all be found on YouTube, making it easier than ever to listen to some of the most beautiful and enchanting music in the world.
Swan Lake
First and foremost, it has to be the beautiful and irreplaceable Swan Lake. Swan Lake has been performed by thousands of ballet companies, ameteur and professional, over the years and still maintains its popularity in recent times.
Swan Lake was composed in 1876 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and was initially a failure as the premiere was not well received. Tchaikovsky’s stunning score was at first overlooked by the fuss of the failed premiere, but it eventually became one of the most celebrated and recognised ballet scores of all time.
The Nutcracker
Another one by Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker’s enthralling score is one of the most beautiful scores in ballet. Much like Swan Lake, the first ever performance of The Nutcracker was deemed as a failure, and prima ballerina Antonietta Dell’Era was called ‘pudgy and unattractive’, even though she received five curtain calls for her role as the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Nowadays, The Nutcracker is one of the most popular ballets in the world, and is performed across the globe to delighted audiences.
The Sleeping Beauty
The Sleeping Beauty was Tchaikovsky’s second ballet after Swan Lake, and due to the latter’s less than enthusiastic premier, he was eager to prove himself by writing another ballet score. The ballet focuses mostly on the warring forces of good and evil, represented by two fairies with their own leitmotif. The score for The Sleeping Beauty was written quickly, with Tchaikovsky starting it in the winter of 1888 and starting orchestration in 1889.
Facts about Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky is hailed as being one of the greatest composers of the 19th century, but did you know these fun facts about him?
- Unlike many other famous composers, he wasn’t a child prodigy. He started taking piano lessons when he was young, but nobody noticed his talent for music until much later on in his life.
- He was rumoured to feel as if his head was going to fall off whilst he was conducting, so much so that he even held his head up with one hand whilst in front of the orchestra.
- His biggest fan was a woman called Nadezhda von Meck, a wealthy widow. Although they exchanged many letters, they never actually met in person.
- He died nine days after conducting his last symphony, “Sixth Symphony”.
Coppelia
Composed by Leo Delibes, the music from Coppelia is among the most beautiful in the world. Coppelia tells the story of a young man who becomes infatuated with a mechanical doll, created by the inventor Dr. Coppelius. The man’s actual wife-to-be saves him from his death at the hands of the inventor by dressing up as the doll and pretending it has come to life.
Coppelia premiered on the 25th May 1970 in Paris. The lead role of Swanhilda was performed by Italian ballerina Giuseppina Bozzacchi, who was just 16 years old. The novel ‘No Telling’ narrates Coppelia and the tragic fate of its original leading ballerina.
La Fille Mal Gardee
This ballet was the creation of Jean Dauberval, who is often hailed as one of the greatest choreographers of all time. The score for this ballet was actually an arrangement of fifty-five popular french songs, and the actual composer of the music remains unknown. It’s a possibility that Dauberval himself composed the score, but it’s also been argued that it was another musician that was employed by the theatre to compose it.
Carmen Suite
Carmen Suite is a one-act ballet that was based around the music from the popular opera ‘Carmen’ by romantic composer Georges Bizet. The music was changed slightly for the ballet, using more percussion and set to new rhythms. Did you know that this ballet was originally banned by the Soviet Union as it was branded as ‘disrespectful’ to Opera? It’s now a popular ballet, but still receives mixed criticism to this day.
