Cape Ballet will bring Swan Lake to Australia in April 2027, with the company performing limited seasons in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne.
A defining work of the classical ballet repertoire, Swan Lake combines Tchaikovsky’s iconic score with the demanding dual role of Odette and Odile – the White Swan and the Black Swaalon – alongside the precision of the corps de ballet.
Cape Ballet’s company of 60 will perform the production, with staging following the classical lineage of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov under the direction of Elena Glurjidze. Trained at the Vaganova Academy in St Petersburg and a former Lead Principal of English National Ballet, Glurjidze has also performed the roles of Odette and Odile.
Glurjidze is joined by Diane van Schoor, former Ballet Principal of The Royal Ballet School at White Lodge in London, and Cape Ballet’s Lindy Raizenberg. Sets are designed by Michael Mitchell, whose work has been seen at London’s Royal Festival Hall, Dubai Opera House and the Hong Kong Festival, with costumes by award-winning designer Marcel Meyer and lighting by Oliver Hauser.
Presenter of the Australian tour and CEO of Theatre Tours International, Simon Bryce said, “The result of Cape Ballet’s achievement is Swan Lake as it was meant to be seen: a company of 60, the great tradition intact, and a production staged on the scale Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece demands.”
Founded in Cape Town by Debbie Turner, Cape Ballet is the home company of the Artscape Theatre Centre. The company has expanded its repertoire from its opening production, Salt and Breathwords, to include works from the classical canon such as Giselle, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Its production of The Nutcracker was nominated for two Naledi Awards and broke box office records at Teatro, Montecasino in Johannesburg.
Turner has worked with leading choreographers including Maina Gielgud, Veronica Paeper, Mthuthuzeli November, Jiří Kylián, George Balanchine, Sir Frederick Ashton and Kenneth Tindall. Cape Ballet brings together dancers from South Africa and internationally, with a repertoire spanning classical works and new commissions.
Cape Ballet’s Swan Lake comes to Perth’s Crown Theatre from 9–11 April 2027, Adelaide’s Her Majesty’s Theatre from 15–18 April, and Melbourne’s Princess Theatre from 21–25 April.
Tickets are now on sale at Swanlake.com.au.
