An appeal of PI Tchaikovsky to the ballet genre is not accidental. His talent is a peculiar feeling of the plasticity of music. Often in his operas, symphonies, romances dance rhythms are used. ; Tchaikovsky’s ballets open the history of Russian classical ballet. Before the Tchaikovsky, ballet music played a supporting role. In his ballets, music in unity with dance became the expression of the content. These are truly dramatic works. The music of each is dance, orchestral episodes between them are not connected mechanically but are determined by the content. Tchaikovsky in ballet does not violate the tradition but changes the meaning of music. All classic forms are subject to the disclosure of the main theme.

The composer approaches ballet as a symphonic program. Principles of ballet symphony — this is the reform of Tchaikovsky. “After all, ballet is the same symphony,” wrote the composer. The dramatic principles of opera and symphony are transferred to ballet — through musical development, vivid individual characteristics, leitmotiv development, the unity of the whole.

Tchaikovsky believed that if the content of the opera should be reality and truthfulness, then the content of the ballet should be a fairy tale, a magic fiction.

Tchaikovsky wrote three ballets: “Swan Lake”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “The Nutcracker”. The plots of all ballets are fabulous. The first ballet “Swan Lake” was composed in 1876 by theatrical figure Begichev and choreographer Glaser.

The second ballet “Sleeping Beauty” / 1889 / is a monumental, choreographic symphony, written after the tale of Perrot.

The third bullet of Tchaikovsky “The Nutcracker” / 1892 / — written on the plot of the tale of Hoffmann. All pallets are united by the main idea — the triumph of good over evil.

Among the best works of Tchaikovsky in the 70s, along with the opera “Eugene Onegin” and “The Fourth Symphony,” is the ballet “Swan Lake”, a romantic story about love and loyalty.

Written in 1876, the first performance took place in 1877.

Music critic G.Larosh about the ballet “Swan Lake;” wrote: “Melodies, one more plastic, flow like a horn of plenty.” The poetic content and inspirational ballet music determined its popularity, which is growing every year.

Tchaikovsky, without destroying the traditions of the ballet genre, managed to create innovative work. Despite the traditional isolation of individual episodes, the dance created music imbued with a single lyrical content. Consecutive conduct of the main tragic theme, the theme of Odette, creates continuous development and symphonic integrity. This theme appears at various moments of the ballet, changing from tender lyrically light to tragic.