SLEEPING BEAUTY

The idea to create a ballet based on the famous fairy tale by Charles Perrault about eternal sleep and the kiss of a handsome prince came to the head of the director of the Imperial Theatres, Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky. He wrote the libretto himself and invented the first costumes, but, of course, the main authors of the masterpiece were Pyotr Tchaikovsky, who wrote an amazing music, and Marius Petipa, who embodied choreographic perfection in this stunning ballet.

“Sleeping Beauty”, in which the opulent atmosphere of french king Louis XIV was recreated, has become the most beautiful and most expensive ballet of Mariinsky Theatre. Tchaikovsky had to write music according to a clear plan of the choreographer, but this did not limit his sensual expression. The music was created between the Fifth Symphony and The Queen of Spades and became a pearl of lightness and light among compositions full of drama.

“Sleeping Beauty” is often called the ballet symbol of St. Petersburg: the light of white nights with the smell of lilacs conquers any evil. And the ballerina becomes the symbol of victory and the main character of the performance, in the first act she is naive and entering into life, in the second act she is a happy princess who has found love.

This ballet will never lose the interest of the audience and producers. Even before Petipa, it was staged in France, when the main role was danced by the legendary Maria Taglioni. Sergey Diaghilev took the ballet to London, the scenery and costumes for the luxurious production were made by the famous Lev Bakst. And Bolshoi Theater knows seven versions of the ballet, even after restoration in 2011 The Sleeping Beauty edited by Yuri Grigorovich opened the new season.