Johan Inger: A Swan Lake

«The Stealing of the Veil» from Johann Karl August Musäusʼ col- lection «Volksmärchen der Deutsche» (German Folk Tales, 1784) is considered one of the sources of the popular action ballet. This fairy tale is partly set in the Ore Mountains near the Saxon «Swan City» of Zwickau and provides an exciting alternative to the traditional interpretation of «Swan Lake». Based on this story and accompanied by a new arrangement of Pyotr I. Tchai- kovsky‘s music, Johan Inger transforms Musäusʼ fantastic tale around the motif of the swan maiden into a new choreography.

Prologue
A deity bestows the gift of transforming into swans upon selected souls.

Act I
Queen Zoe, who with the help of a magic veil can turn into a swan, is unhappy in her marriage with King Zeno. One day Benno, a guest, arrives at their castle. He and the Queen take a liking to each other. However, the King catches them and has Benno arrested. Theo, Zoe‘s confidant, helps him escape and tells him that he can find his beloved at a faraway lake. Only once a year can the Queen fly there in order to take a rejuvenating bath. In the hope of seeing her again, Benno embarks on a journey through different countries. At the said Swan Lake they express their love to each other and promise to meet again. When Zoe returns home and arrives at a ball too late, Zeno punishes her by destroying her veil. At the lake, Benno waits in vain for his beloved.

Act II
Twenty years later, the now widowed Queen Zoe has to send her son Kallisto off to war. On the shores of the Swan Lake, of all places, he is wounded and cared for by Benno. The hermit, who has taken in the Prince like a son, initiates him into the secret of the lake and they witness the ritual of the swan people, who take their annual bath. When Benno once again does not find Zoe among the group, he dies in despair. At the same moment, Kallisto discovers the swan maiden Odette and falls in love with her. To prevent her from flying away, he steals her veil and hides it. Seeking protection, she takes the Prince for her saviour and begins a life together with him at the lake. Having searched for Kallisto, Theo eventually finds him and asks him to come back home. However, he refuses and remains with Odette and their child in the seclusion he has chosen. Increasingly suffering from Kallisto‘s violence, the life of his family changes for the worse. Just at this time, his wife rediscovers her veil and realizes that she had been deceived. This moment is also witnessed by Zoe, who has come to personally convince her son to return to court. She recognizes herself in Odette and encourages her to reclaim her freedom