Different productions over the years have reinvented the story and the choreography. Matthew Bourne’s 1995 production made the swans a company of male dancers, while in 2002, Australia’s Graeme Murphy drew upon the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana (with poor Camilla Parker-Bowles inspiring the villainous “Black Swan”, Odile).
The Preljocaj version has Siegfried as the son of property developers and the villain, Rothbart, as an industrialist who wants to drill for oil in the swans’ habitat.
Angelin Preljocaj, founder and director of the Ballet Preljocaj, based in Aix-en-Provence, France, is a provocateur in the world of dance.Credit: Julien Bengel
“It was very interesting to imagine that Odette, the young girl who is transformed by the magician, is maybe a kind of Greta Thunberg,” Preljocaj said.
As is tradition, one lead dancer will play both Odette and Odile, Rothbart’s deceitful daughter.
Dancer Mirea Delogu said performing in Swan Lake had been her dream since childhood, and that Brisbane will be her debut in those roles.
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“It’s nice to use dance to speak to people about something important … but also to imagine something like a fairy tale,” she said.
Further bringing the story into the 21st century, Tchaikovsky’s score, to be performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, is augmented with electronic dance music by French duo 79D.
Preljocaj has previously worked with French electronica stars Daft Punk and Air.
