IT STARTED AS AN UGLY DUCKLING...

Swan Lake is the most famous ballet in the world, with a magnificent romantic story of a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer’s curse, and a lead role that puts the finest of ballerinas to the test. But it had a very shaky start.

The 35-year-old Tchaikovsky was thrilled to receive a letter in 1875 inviting him to compose the music. But the premiere at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre in 1877 turned out to be a disaster, with a dull set and costumes, uninspired choreography and a leading dancer (Pelageya Karpakova, pictured right) more keen to impress her fans with parts of her own routines.