Swan Lake Story

Design and Make: Design Challenge Primary
Swan Lake Synopsis with Musical Clips
Read the story of Swan Lake to your class, and play the musical links at the moment highlighted in
red below. The musical links can be found in the lesson plan for Week 3.
Act 1
Outside the palace, Prince Siegfried, his best friend Benno and their friends are celebrating his
birthday. (Music Clip 1: Act I: Scene)
Siegfried’s mother knows that he loves the carefree life, but tells him he must choose a bride from
the girls who will be at the ball tomorrow evening. Prince Siegfried re-joins his friends who are
enjoying the party. Entertainers arrive and perform dances to the guests. (Music Clip 2: Act I: Dance
of the goblets)
Benno sees a flock of swans and the group of men decide to go hunting. They take their weapons
and follow the swans. (Music Clip 3: Act I: Finale: Flight of the Swans)
Act 2
Benno and friends have run ahead of Siegfried, and stop by the lake. Next to the ruins of a chapel
lurks an evil spirit disguised as an owl.
As the friends run further into the distance, Siegfried arrives as a flock of swans appear. (Music Clip
4: Act II: Dances of the swans: IV Allegro moderato)
One of the swans turns into a beautiful queen called Odette, who is very frightened when she sees
Siegfried.
Odette tells Siegfried that the swan have been cursed by the evil spirit which has turned them
into swans, and only by the lake at night can they return to their human form. Only if somebody,
who has never been in love, falls in love with Odette, can the spell be broken. (Music Clip 5: Act II:
Dances of the swans V. Andante-Allegro 1.18 onwards)
Siegfried tries to shoot the owl to kill the evil spirit but Odette stops him. If he dies, the spell can
never be broken.
Siegfried and Odette fall in love, but as dawn breaks, the evil spirits spell turns her into
a swan again and pulls her away from Siegfried. (Music Clip 6: Act II: Moderato)
Act 3

At the ball, the guests are starting to arrive in costumes and masks. (Music Clip 7: Act III: Allegro
Giusto)
Siegfried’s mother asks him to dance with six princesses, but he refuses as he says he has already
fallen in love.
A fanfare sounds, and the evil spirit enters in human form, named Von Rothbart. He is with his
daughter Odile, who is under a spell to look exactly like Odette. Prince Siegfried believes that
Odette has come to the party! (Music Clip 8: Act IV: Scene 0.47 onwards)
Before Siegfried can speak to Odile, the performers start to dance and entertain the guests.
Siegfried and Odile dance together and he is in awe of her beauty. Siegfried expresses his love to
Odile and asks him to be her bride.
Von Rothbart then reveals that he and Odile have tricked Siegfried. Distraught, Siegfried returns to
the lake. (Music Clip 9: Act III: Scene: Allegro 1.40 onwards)
Act 4
Odette appears at the lake and tells the swans of Siegfried’s betrayal.
Odette say that to escape the evil spirit, she will resign herself to the lake and never return.
Siegfried appears and explains to Odette that he was tricked and he still loves her. (Music Clip 10:
Act IV: Finale 0.00- 0.50)
Von Rothbart appears and says that if Siegfried doesn’t marry Odile, he will turn Odette into a swan
forever and he will never see her again.
Siegfried decides to go with Odette to the lake and never return, which breaks the spell on the
other swans and destroys Von Rothbart. (Music Clip 10: Act IV Finale 1.20 onwards)