Pyotr Tchaikovsky

The Sleeping Beauty

ballet-extravaganza in two acts with prologue and epilogue

Recommended age 12+

Dates

Libretto: Marius Petipa, Valentin Elizariev based on Charles Perrault's tales and Ivan Vsevolozhsky’s  scenario
Choreography: Marius Petipa, People’s Artist of the USSR and Belarus, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Belarus Valentin Elizariev
Staging: People’s Artist of the USSR and Belarus, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Belarus Valentin Elizariev
Musical director: Vladimir Ovodok
Designer: People's Artist of Russia, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Belarus Vyacheslav Okunev
Lighting designer: Nina Ivankina
Conductor: honoured Art Worker of the Republic of Belarus Nikolai Koliadko

Premiere: 26, 27 March 2022

12

Prologue

 

The palace of the fairy-tale King Florestan.  The King celebrates the birth of his daughter Aurora. 

 

Courtiers surround the cradle of the newborn baby. Good fairies give her their gifts and blessings. The Master of Ceremonies Cattalabutte rushes in: the wicked fairy Carabosse is approaching the palace. She has come in spite of not having been invited. The King and Queen try to appease the spiteful old woman, but she is indignant and pronounces that at the age of sixteen Aurora will prick her finger and die. The King and Queen are in despair. The Lilac Fairy puts them at ease: she takes Aurora under her protection and drives Carabosse and her companions away. The King issues a strict order which prohibits usage of needles, pins and knitting needles in the whole kingdom.

 

Act I

 

A splendid ball is given at the Royal Palace: Aurora has turned sixteen. Suitors have come from the whole kingdom to compete for the hand of the beautiful princess. When the celebration is in full swing an old woman appears. She gives Aurora a luxurious bouquet of flowers. Admiring the flowers, Aurora whirls across the dance floor joyously. Suddenly she stops, having pricked her finger: a spindle has been hidden in the bouquet. Aurora falls unconscious. The old woman throws off her cloak: everybody recognizes the wicked fairy Carabosse. The Lilac Fairy appears. She waves her magic wand, and the entire kingdom falls asleep. Thick bushes of lilac grow all around.

 

Act II

 

Scene 1

 

A hundred years have passed. Prince Désiré goes hunting in the woods. The Lilac Fairy evokes a vision of the beautiful Aurora. The Prince recognizes in her the one he has often seen in his dreams.

 

Scene 2

 

The Palace of King Florestan is fast asleep. Only the fairy Carabosse and her faithful servants stay awake. Unexpectedly the Lilac Fairy appears. Désiré penetrates into the palace. Bending over the sleeping beauty, he kisses her tenderly. Aurora is awakened by the kiss. Everything around awakes, too. The King and Queen are enraptured to embrace their beloved daughter. Désiré proposes to the beautiful Aurora and receives consent.

 

Epilogue 

 

The palace is full of guests again: the King is celebrating the wedding of his daughter. The good fairies and fairy-tale characters have come to congratulate Aurora and Désiré.

 

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