In Detroit, an Eco-Conscious Swan Lake
A four-act ballet based on a German story, performed with music and art infusing Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s classic score with electronica, animation, and a modern eco-conscious ethos.
A ripple of wings; Wizards and curses; Everlasting love.
Detroit techno?
“Swan Lake”—Op. 20, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky—as staged by Ballet Prelocaj, is here in the Detroit Opera House in a retooled format, focusing the storytelling of the classic ballet on contemporary matters: pollution and climate crisis.
“We don’t know if our children will know what a swan is in the future,” questioned Angelin Prelocaj, founder of Ballet Prelocaj, in a charming French accent.
The new “Swan Lake,” while still anchored in its classical roots, has been reworked with new symbolisms: new choreography by Mr. Prelocaj that includes group dances, animated projections, and new, graceful costumes.
Most certainly, Tchaikovsky’s classic score is one of the core pillars of “Swan Lake,” but this production incorporates electronica into the mix. “If I needed something else, I would first go to other pieces by Tchaikovsky, like a concerto or symphony,” said Mr. Prelocaj. “Beyond that, I also needed more atmospheric music, and for that I used electronic music.” The additional music was crafted by 79D.
It’s always interesting to see an ancient, archetypal folk story be reformatted for a new audience, and what changes are made. A recent example of this is “Chi-Raq,” a 2015 Spike Lee joint. Lee adapted Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata,” a 2,400-year-old comedy from ancient Attica, in which the titular character attempts to end a war by rallying the women of the land to withhold sex from their partners and sets it in Chicago’s Southside. Another example is “Hamlet 2000”—directed by Michael Almereyda and starring Ethan Hawke as the Dane—which is set in (you guessed it) the year 2000. Hawke, wearing a ski hat and delivering the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy as he scans the aisles at Blockbuster and watches “The Crow: City of Angels,” is the most Y2K that ever Y2K’ed.
These reinvented works that strive to be a mouthpiece—either thematically or aesthetically—for their current time are sometimes looked back upon fondly as a time capsule. Other times, they eclipse the original.
Classical ballets and operas are able to be adapted quite easily in the same way. And perhaps this retooled version will one day become the new standard.
QRD: Main Roles
Princess Odette (the White Swan), a beautiful princess, who has been transformed into a swan
Prince Siegfried, a handsome Prince who falls in love with Odette
Baron Von Rothbart, an evil wizard who has enchanted Odette
Odile (the Black Swan), Rothbart's daughter