Swan Lake is a dramatic ballet in four acts by Russian composer Piotr Ilitch Tchaikovski and with the libretto by Vladimir Begitchev and Vasily Geltzer. Its premiere took place at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow on February 20, 1877, and was a failure not because of the music, but because of the poor performance of the orchestra and dancers, as well as the choreography and set design. The ballet was commissioned by the Bolshoi Theater in 1876 and the composer soon began writing.