Anecdotes Plus: Ballet, Swan Lake

April 2013

One of the sculptures in the theatre, St. Petersburg, 2013

Which country has the best ballet? I do not know. I was told that it was Russia, but I still do not believe it.

While I was in Russia, the local guide sold me a ticket for one of the great classical ballets, Swan Lake. The price included transport to and from a historic theatre. The story was about a prince who fall in love with a beautiful white swan at first sight. Unfortunately, the devil want to marry his daughter, the black swan, to the prince. Therefore, he imprisons the white swan and takes the black one to the prince's ball and pretends it was the white one. For some reason, the prince cannot tell the difference between the black one and the white one. In the end, the prince rescued the white swan and they lived happily ever after.

The hall at the theatre, St. Petersburg, 2013

The entrance to the theatre was well worn and narrow - more like a back door. But the hall, the stage and the stalls were in good condition. I was eager to see the show. Maybe it was because it was the first time I had watched the balled, or maybe because Russia is famous for ballet, or maybe it was just because the ticket was very expensive.

However, I was very disappointed. I felt only the prima ballerina was any good; some of the ballet dancers made mistakes, or could not follow the music, or get stage fright.

When I got back to HK, I found out from the web that the theatre was a part of an educational institution. So the dancers must have been students. Also, the price of the ticket shown on the website was a third of the price I paid!

Our Russian guide had seemed very trustworthy, so I believed her when she said the ballet was worth watching, but she tricked us in to paying a lot of money to see drama students. She must have swanned off home happily at the end of the evening.