Swan Lake

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Summary: Retelling the story of the Swan Queen with a happy ending
Review: "The Nutcracker" might be the most popular ballet in the world, and certainly the ones that most people who have only seen one ballet have seen, but "Swan Lake" is the definitive ballet and when a young dancer dreams of being a prima ballerina this is the one she sees herself dancing. However, as Lisbeth Zwerger explains in her author's note in the back of this book, when it was first premiered not only was Tchiakovsky's ballet not a success, it had a happy ending in which love conquers evil. Of course, now "Swam Lake" has a tragic ending full of pathos and Zwerger takes no small degree of pleasure in retelling the story with a happier ending.

The story is set in the fantasy world of once upon a time, when the right mix of enough evil and a good spell to transform a beautiful woman into a swan. The only way of breaking such a spell is the love of a man and when a young prince meets the Swan Queen, the woman who was the swan he almost killed while hunting, he professes to feel such a love. However, the evil sorcerer who cast the spell has more tricks up his sleeve. This telling of "Swam Lake" is simple and elegant, capturing the feel of an old world fairy tale with illustrations that suggest another time and place. For those who are musically inclined there are brief lines of music, which I assume are keyed to parallel passages in Tchiakovsky's ballet.

The chief attraction here will be for those familiar with the ballet, but even if you have only a passing interest in such things you will still find this a charming retelling of the tale. Besides, this is your only chance to read "Swan Lake" and have a happy ending.

Rating:
Summary: The natural appeal of this book is great
Review: "With a flash, the lake was bathed in a shimmering light, and before him stood the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. 'I am the Swan Queen,' she said. `I am the swan that you tried to kill.'" The somber but beautiful drama of Tchaikovsky's brilliant ballet. "Swan Lake," has been transformed into an elegant picture book for children retold and illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger, and translated by Marianne Martens. Zwerger - a Hans Chrisitan Andersen Medal-winner for lifetime achievement - is in glorious form here. Her mysterious paintings are filled with emotion, urgency, light and shadow, while her formal, dramatic text is as radiantly ethereal as the Swan Queen herself. Few contemporary princess tales can come close to providing the grace and majesty contained in the breathless passages here. It's a thing of beauty to be cherished. Next to "The Nutcracker," "Swan Lake" is the most popular ballet for young children, so the natural appeal of this book is great, particularly for budding ballerina's in training prone to their own flights of fancy.

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Summary: A Magical Retelling.....
Review: "Once upon a time, all you needed was the right mix of enough evil and a good spell to transform a person into a tree, a rock, or even an animal. In those days, there lived a prince..." So begins award winning author and illustrator, Lisbeth Zwerger's, captivating retelling of Tchaikovsky's, Swan Lake. Her eloquent prose is filled with imagery and magic, and enhanced by evocative illustrations in soft, dreamy hues. Together word and art dazzle, and bring the beautiful story of love found and lost, to life on the page. Unlike the beloved and familiar ballet, Ms Zwerger gives her adaptation an upbeat, happily-ever-after ending. As she explains in her Author's Note, Tchaikovsky wrote the original fairy tale dance in 1871 as a gift to his sister's children. It retained the "love conquers all" happy ending when he premiered his full length ballet six years later. It wasn't until after his death, sixteen years later, that the story was reworked by his brother and given the now famous tragic ending. Perfect for youngsters 7 and older, Swan Lake is both an engaging, read aloud fairy tale, and a marvelous introduction to the wonders of ballet, that should whet the appetite and send you looking for a recording and performance.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully illustrated
Review: My husband and I tend to buy books that also show an artistic talent with an older story. This book definitely qualifies. It's beautifully illustrated and wonderfully-written. Swan Lake has always been my favorite story and the illustrations here are just artistic and beautifully-drawn. Our boys love the pictures.

Swan Lake is the classic tale about a prince who isn't responsible till his mother, the queen, decides it's time for him to get married. The prince falls in love with a beautiful woman in white and finds out that she's a princess under an enchanted spell. They fall in love and meet adveristy along the way. And ... ends well.

It's a wonderful story for both boys and girls ~~ especially if you like reading fairy-tales to them!

1-8-04

Rating:
Summary: Swan Lake
Review: There were two reasons why I picked up this book: the first being that it was illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger, whose art I greatly admire, and the second because "Swan Lake" is one of my favorite ballets. Unfortunately, this book turned out to be a real disappointment for me. Those familiar with the ballet know of its unhappy conclusion. However, originally the ballet was written with a happy ending which was preserved in this edition. I am not against happy endings, but the way it was presented was too bare bones---no meat at all. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, girl quickly forgives boy and they live happily ever after, the end. Both the narration and characters were flat and left me indifferent. Even Zwerger's illustrations lacked a certain something. I would recommend treating a child to Tchaikovsky's music than this work. For those wishing to enjoy Zwerger's superb art, as well as a captivating story should check out "Dwarf Nose", "The Wizard of Oz", "Alice in Wonderland", and if you are able to obtain them in an out-of-print shop, "The Deliverers of Their Country" and "The Nutcracker".