Throwback Thursday @mpdsf
San Francisco Ballet’s 2016 season is officially underway, and opening tomorrow is Helgi Tomasson’s Swan Lake. Tomasson’s first version of Swan Lake, inspired by the Marius Petipa/Lev Ivanov choreography, premiered shortly after he assumed leadership of SFB in 1988. The current version, featuring new sets and costumes, premiered in 2009. Prior to that, the last SFB Artistic Director to choreograph a full-length Swan Lake was Willam Christensen in 1940. This was one of the earliest full-length ballets created for San Francisco Ballet (then still known as San Francisco Opera Ballet) and was also the first time a full-length version of the ballet was performed in North America. The original cast included Lew Christensen as Prince Siegfried with the role of Odette played by Jacqueline Martin and the role of Odile played by Janet Reed, as Christensen felt no one dancer in his company could do justice to both roles. Featured below are some images from the original production.
Copy of original flyer featuring Janet Reed for the premiere of Willam Christensen’s Swan Lake. From the San Francisco Ballet Archives at the Museum of Performance + Design.
Scene from Willam Christensen’s Swan Lake featuring Jacqueline Martin as Odette and Lew Christensen as Prince Siegfried (photograph by Morton). From the San Francisco Ballet Archives at the Museum of Performance + Design.
Lew Christensen as Prince Siegfried and Jacqueline Martin as Odette (photograph by Ludé). From the San Francisco Ballet Archives at the Museum of Performance + Design.
Lew Christensen as Prince Siegfried and Janet Reed as Odile (photograph by Ludé). From the San Francisco Ballet Archives at the Museum of Performance + Design.