Lost_In_Louisiana
11-10-2005, 12:58 AM
So, do our collective brains want to tackle the symbolism and meaning behind Shannon's "swan song" connecting with the famous ballet "Swan Lake"???
She was a ballet instructor - which seemed a VERY odd choice for Shannon - so I believe there is a symbolic connection there. The Swan Lake ballet is a romantic tragedy described as such:
The curtain rises on an elaborate celebration of the 21st birthday of Prince Siegfried. His Mother, the Queen, insists that, having come of age, Prince Siegfried must marry, and must announce his chosen one at the formal birthday ball the following evening.
In the woods, the Prince encounters the Swan Queen, Odette, and is immediately smitten. She confides that she has been placed under the spell by the evil sorcerer, Von Rotbart; she remains a swan except between midnight and dawn-unless a man marries her and remains forever faithful to her. Siegfried vows to be that man and implores her to attend the ball the next evening, when he will announce their betrothal.
At the ball the next evening, Von Rotbart brings with him his daughter, Odile, the very image of Odette. Siegfried is entranced and the two of them dance what is known as the Black Swan duet.
Unaware that he has been deceived, and believing her to be Odette, Siegfried asks for Odile's hand in marriage; Von Rotbart intervenes, demanding an oath of eternal loyalty to Odile, which Siegfried gives after some hesitation. There is a clap of thunder, the courtiers disappear, and Siegfried, seeing Odette in a vision and understanding that he has betrayed her, falls desolate to the floor.
Siegfried, searching for Odette in the forest, comes upon her and swears undying love. But it is too late; she must die, for her life has been forfeited by his betrayal. She plunges into the lake; Siegfried unhesitatingly follows her. Von Rotbart returns to the scene, his powers lost, and he, too, dies.
At the end, in many productions, the figures of Siegfried and Odette reappear, transfigured. In the Martins production Odette remains a swan forever, and Siegfried is left alone to ponder his failings, "I thought this a much stronger ending," Martins has said.
"Sigfried falls in love with the White Swan and then falls in love with the Black Swan. The moral lesson here is that you've got to choose. And when the curtain falls he's got to start all over. Does he learn? This we don't know. Do we ever learn?"
She was a ballet instructor - which seemed a VERY odd choice for Shannon - so I believe there is a symbolic connection there. The Swan Lake ballet is a romantic tragedy described as such:
The curtain rises on an elaborate celebration of the 21st birthday of Prince Siegfried. His Mother, the Queen, insists that, having come of age, Prince Siegfried must marry, and must announce his chosen one at the formal birthday ball the following evening.
In the woods, the Prince encounters the Swan Queen, Odette, and is immediately smitten. She confides that she has been placed under the spell by the evil sorcerer, Von Rotbart; she remains a swan except between midnight and dawn-unless a man marries her and remains forever faithful to her. Siegfried vows to be that man and implores her to attend the ball the next evening, when he will announce their betrothal.
At the ball the next evening, Von Rotbart brings with him his daughter, Odile, the very image of Odette. Siegfried is entranced and the two of them dance what is known as the Black Swan duet.
Unaware that he has been deceived, and believing her to be Odette, Siegfried asks for Odile's hand in marriage; Von Rotbart intervenes, demanding an oath of eternal loyalty to Odile, which Siegfried gives after some hesitation. There is a clap of thunder, the courtiers disappear, and Siegfried, seeing Odette in a vision and understanding that he has betrayed her, falls desolate to the floor.
Siegfried, searching for Odette in the forest, comes upon her and swears undying love. But it is too late; she must die, for her life has been forfeited by his betrayal. She plunges into the lake; Siegfried unhesitatingly follows her. Von Rotbart returns to the scene, his powers lost, and he, too, dies.
At the end, in many productions, the figures of Siegfried and Odette reappear, transfigured. In the Martins production Odette remains a swan forever, and Siegfried is left alone to ponder his failings, "I thought this a much stronger ending," Martins has said.
"Sigfried falls in love with the White Swan and then falls in love with the Black Swan. The moral lesson here is that you've got to choose. And when the curtain falls he's got to start all over. Does he learn? This we don't know. Do we ever learn?"