**

First performed in Moscow in 1877, Swan Lake, like The Nutcracker, was not an instant success. Tschaikovsky's death in 1892 brought about a thorough re-evaluation of the ballet, and in 1895 Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov restaged the entire ballet for St. Petersburg's Maryinsky Theater. This production was a huge success and provided the basis for most productions that followed.

Peter Martins' full-length staging was created for the Royal Danish Ballet in 1996, and first performed by NYCB in 1999. The production features sets and costumes by the acclaimed Danish painter Per Kirkeby and has been called "an art lover's dream."

In true New York City Ballet fashion, where the dancing comes first, this is also a streamlined version of the classic full-length work that retains the complete Tschaikovsky score, while eliminating much of the mime sequences, as well as two of the ballet's three intermissions, for a fast-paced and seamless evening of theater.

For more information, or to purchase tickets visit nycballet.com