Swan Lake.
Choreography Marius Petipa, Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot
Music Adolphe Adam
Spoiler alert: they die.
On his 21st birthday, Prince Siegfried’s mother gives him a crossbow as a present and tells him to get prepared as he’s going to be married off soon. Naturally, he panics. With his hunting buddies and his new crossbow in tow, Siegfried flees to the woods to avoid his impending responsibilities.
Finding himself alone by an enchanted lake, Siegfried sees the most beautiful crowned swan he’s ever seen. As dusk falls, the swan turns into a beautiful young woman, the Swan Queen, Odette.
As it turns out, Odette and her friends were turned into swans by Siegfried’s mentor, Von Rothbart, who also happens to be a sorcerer. And the enchanted lake: made from the swans’ parents’ tears. Predictably, only a man, pure in heart, who pledges his love to Odette can break the spell.
Siegfried, without hesitation, starts to pledge his love when Rothbart jumps in and separates the two. Rothbart forces the swan maidens to dance on the lake to prevent Siegfried from pledging his love, leaving him alone on the shore.
Back at the palace the next day, a bunch of prospective princesses are presented to the prince. He dances with a few to appease his mother, but all he can think about is Odette.
Then Von Rothbart shows up with his daughter, disguised to look like Odette. The prince is convinced, so he proposes. Unbeknownst to Siegfried, the real Odette is watching from a window who flees in horror at what she sees.
Siegfried, seeing Odette running away, realizes he’s been duped. Von Rothbart reveals his daughter, ruining the party for everyone. Siegfried chases after Odette.
Siegfried finds all the swan maidens with Odette consoling each other back at the lake. He explains how Rothbart tricked him, and Odette forgives him. But then Rothbart and his daughter have now turned up at the lake, demanding Siegfried keep his word to marry his daughter.
Siegfried, saying he’d rather die than marry Rothbart’s daughter, grabs Odette, jumps into the lake and die. Murder-suicide. The spell is broken, and the swan maidens turn back into humans and drive Rothbart and his daughter into the lake, killing them both. More murder.
The spirits of Siegfried and Odette then ascend to the heavens as everyone else watches and lives happily ever after.
(Note: This is the original - unhappy - ending of the ballet. Some productions of Swan Lake have a happy ending, in which Von Rothbart is vanquished and either killed or driven away by the swan maidens, who are freed from his evil spell and return to their human forms. Odette and Siegfried are then united.)
The Nutcracker.
It is Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum house—a large and grand house with the most beautiful tree imaginable. The Stahlbaums are hosting their annual Christmas party, welcoming the arrival of their family and friends. The children, Clara and Fritz, are dancing and playing as they welcome their friends too.
The party grows festive with music and dance as godfather Drosselmeyer arrives. He is a skilled clock and toy maker and always full of surprises. Drosselmeyer draws everyone's attention as he presents two life-size dolls. They are the delight of the party, each taking a turn to dance.
The children begin to open gifts when Drosselmeyer presents his to Clara and Fritz. Although his gift to Fritz is quite nice, he gives Clara a beautiful Nutcracker that becomes the hit of the party. Fritz becomes jealous and, having a bit more spunk than a boy should have, grabs the nutcracker from Clara and promptly breaks it. Clara is heartbroken looking on as Drosselmeyer quickly repairs the Nutcracker with a handkerchief he magically draws from the air.
As the evening grows late, the guests depart and the Stahlbaum family retires for the evening. Clara, worried about her beloved Nutcracker, sneaks back to the tree to check on him, falling asleep with him in her arms.
As the clock strikes midnight strange things begin to happen. Clara begins shrinking as her beautiful Christmas tree grows high above her. The toys around the tree come to life while the room fills with an army of mice, led by the fierce Mouse King. As the Nutcracker awakens, he leads his army of toy soldiers into battle with the mice. The Mouse King corners the Nutcracker and battles him one-on-one. The Nutcracker seems to be no match for the Mouse King.
The Nutcracker and his army can go on no longer and are captured by the mice and their King. Clara makes a final daring charge throwing her slipper at the Mouse King, hitting him square on the head. The Mouse King drops to the floor and the mice run away, carrying off their leader's lifeless body.
The Nutcracker turns into a Prince and takes Clara on a journey to the Land of Snow, an enchanted forest wonderland where they are welcomed by dancing snowflakes. The Prince escorts Clara to the Land of Sweets where they are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy. The Prince tells her about their daring battle with the army of mice and she rewards them with a celebration of dances.
As a finale, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier dance a beautiful Pas De Deux. Clara awakens from her dream and finds herself by her Christmas tree with her bel oved Nutcracker.