Sound Scripts
Abstract
In 2003 composer Elena Kats-Chernin collaborated with choreographer Meryl Tankard to produce Wild Swans, a ballet based upon the theme of Hans Christian Anderson’s enduring tale evoking the sufferings of Eliza’s fate to save her brothers from the evil curse of their stepmother. It resulted in a score rich with a wide range of musical sources underscoring a tableaux of dance and images beautifully evocative of the tale. The work was premiered by the Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House on 29 April 2003. This paper looks at the unexpected journey that one of the musical movements from the work entitled “Eliza Aria” undertook as a consequence of the information communication technology revolution in the early twenty-first century and web 2.0 potential for user generated content. Following the use of the aria for a commercial TV advertisement for Lloyds Trustee Savings Bank (TSB) the aria went viral on You Tube, was transformed into a telephone ringtone, underwent amateur and professional remix and became a hit on the classical, dance and pop charts.
Recommended Citation
Rusak, H.
(2019).
Wild Swans by Elena Kats-Chernin: The Journey From the Australian Ballet to the UK Dance Charts.
Sound Scripts, 6(1).
Retrieved from
https://ro.ecu.edu.au/soundscripts/vol6/iss1/17
