The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)

Sleeping Beauty (Russian Спящая Красавица ) is a ballet with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Op. 66 ) to the fairy tale La belle au bois dormant by Charles Perrault. It was on 3 Januarjul. / January 15 1890greg. premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg with choreography by Marius Petipa. To date, The Sleeping Beauty is one of the most popular ballets and belongs to the international standard repertoire of classical ballet. Tchaikovsky himself considered it his best ballet.

People

Central figures:

• Princess Aurora
• Prince Desiré
• Carabosse ( evil fairy )
• The Lilac Fairy (Fairy of Wisdom)
• King Florestan
• The Queen
• Catalabutte, steward
• A nurse

Minor characters:

• In the prologue: five fairies ( beauty, intelligence, grace, eloquence, strength ) and its companion
• In the first act: four princes (East, North, South, West), Aurora's girlfriends
• In the second act: The fiancee of Prince, companion of Carabosse
• In the third act: Hard guests ( fairy tale characters )
• Ladies and courtiers, gardeners, forest spirits ( corps de ballet )

Action

The story is largely based on the fairy tale La belle au bois dormant by Charles Perrault in 1696. 3rd act and the final divertissement are typical of the time due to the taste of the 19th century. The action differs from the well-known version of the Brothers Grimm in Germany (for fairy tales and his versions see also the article Sleeping Beauty ).

Prologue

Aurora's christening

For many years, the royal couple had to wait until the most ardent desire, he was met: the birth of a child! They gave the girl the name Aurora, and today it is to be baptized. At the ceremony, six fairies were invited along with the courtiers. You bring the Princess gifts and good wishes. To the surprise of all is darkened with a dash of sky and a storm is brewing. Suddenly the old, unkempt -looking fairy Carabosse is in the ballroom. From anger that she has not received an invitation, she cursed the child. If Aurora will celebrate her 16th birthday, she should stand on a spindle and fatally injured. The whole festival society is horrified. The Lilac Fairy, which is considered the bringer of luck, though can make the curse is not reversed, but somewhat cushion: Aurora will not die, but rather fall into a hundred-year sleep. If they will then kissed by a prince who awoke in her again the spirits.

In a cut scene you can see how Aurora grows up, always accompanied by the good Lilac Fairy. But Carabosse throws every now and again an eye on the princess and longs for the day when her curse should meet.

Act I

Aurora's Birthday

The Princess celebrates her 16th birthday. Among the guests are also four young princes who ask for her hand. As on the day of their baptism Aurora gets back numerous gifts. Special joy it indicates a huge bouquet of red roses. He is of Carabosse, but what remains hidden from the princess. It does not take long before you blurts out a cry and she falls to the ground apparently dead. Carabosse had hidden in the bouquet of a spindle to which the girl had stung. With a true satisfaction enjoys the evil fairy how her curse has been fulfilled. The good Lilac Fairy, but ensures that all the people in the castle sinking into a deep sleep.

Second Act

Hunting scene, Prince Désiré and Aurora's awakening vision

One hundred years have passed. Not far from the enchanted castle is a royal hunting party, led by Prince Desiré. The young people spent their time with all kinds of board games. Suddenly the Lilac Fairy encounters the group and walks toward the prince. With her magical powers she ensures that the image of Aurora appears to him. In the Prince shows so much delighted, that he wants to learn more about the lovely girls. The Lilac Fairy asks him to follow her; then he would still find happiness.

Desires heart starts to beat faster when he sees the sleeping beauty. He gently takes her head in his hands and pushes Aurora a hot kiss on the lips. Suddenly wake up not only with her, but with the entire court society again the spirits.

Act Three

Aurora's Wedding

With great pomp the king and the queen can be aligned to a costume party. All invited guests are dressed as fairy tale characters: Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella and her prince, Duke Bluebeard and his princess, Scheherazade and Aladdin, Columbine and Harlequin, The Princess and the Frog Prince, the Princess and the Pea and her lover, the porcelain princess and her Mandarin as well as Snow White and the seven Dwarfs. (Depending on the production, it can also be other fairy-tale characters such as Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. )

As the wedding party tends towards its climax, the couple dances a great pas de deux. Subsequently, the Lilac Fairy granted her protégé and groom her blessing. Rumbling of distant observed Carabosse the action. Evil is therefore still not disappeared from the world.

Famous passages

Some parts of the work are particularly well known and are presented regardless of the connection piece in ballet evenings or in the context of competitions:

• "Rose Adagio" ( Adage à la rose ) from the first act

• Pas de deux of the Blue Bird and Princess Florine in the third act

• Wedding Pas de deux from the third act

More choreographies

Another important choreography was created in 1921 by Nikolai Sergeyev, Sergei Diaghilev commissioned a new production of the Ballets Russes in London: This performance under the title The Sleeping Princess was the first in Western Europe. For this staging serious inroads were made into the piece through to the installation of additional, composed by Igor Stravinsky music.

Also Sergeyev brought again Petipa's 1939 version with the Vic- Wells Ballet and in 1946 with the Sadler's Wells Ballet on stage, each with Margot Fonteyn in the title role. Because of this revival of the nearly original version Sleeping Beauty today is part of the standard repertoire of the great ballet companies.

On the basis of this ballet Marcia Haydée created a new more contemporary choreography, but kept the plot structure of the original version in. So the work experienced on May 10, 1987 at the Great House of Württemberg State Theatre in Stuttgart premiered. A performance of their version will take about two and a half hours ( with breaks).

Vladimir Malakhov created with the Berlin State Ballet in 2005 a new version of the ballet. As in the fairy tale fairies determine the interpretation. It has become an opulent, colorful staging, seen in the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

A further elaboration of the material for ballet - music by Ferdinand Herold - which premiered in 1829 in Paris, comes from the choreographer Jean -Pierre Aumer.