Which Russian composer wrote the ballet Swan Lake, first performed in Moscow in 1877?

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote the ballet Swan Lake, first performed in Moscow in 1877.

The ballet was commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre and received its first performance at the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre on 4 March 1877. Julius Wenzel choreographed the original production, and the premiere was conducted by Stepan Ryabov.

Swan Lake tells a tragic fairy-tale story involving Prince Siegfried, Odette, and the sorcerer Rothbart. Its score includes recurring themes, dances, dramatic scenes, and the celebrated music associated with the swan maidens. The original production was not immediately regarded as a great success.

The ballet’s lasting international reputation grew after later revisions, especially the influential 1895 production in St Petersburg. That version used choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov and helped establish the form most audiences know today. The ballet is sometimes mistakenly treated as unchanged since 1877.