The Sleeping Beauty Ballet
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Sleeping Beauty (Op. 66) (Russian: Спящая красавица, Spjaščaja krasavica) is one of the classical repertoire's famous ballets, with the musical score composed by Tchaikovsky.
Tchaikovsky was approached by the Director of the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg, Ivan Vsevolozhsky on 25 May 1888 about a possible musical treatment of a ballet based on Charles Perrault's 'La Belle au bois Dormant'. Tchaikovsky did not hesitate to accept the commission although he was aware that his only previous ballet, Swan Lake met with little enthusiasm at that stage of his career. The ballet scenario Tchaikovsky worked on was based on the Brothers Grimm version of Perrault's work entitled 'Dornröschen' which ends with the Princess' parents (the King and the Queen) having survived the 100 years sleep to celebrate the Princess' wedding to the Prince although Vsevolozhsky wisely adapted some of Perrault's works into the ballet. Regardless, Tchaikovsky was happy to inform the Director of the Imperial Theatre that he had great pleasure studying the work and had come away with adequate inspiration to do it justice.
The choreographer was the great Marius Petipa, unrivaled Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet, who wrote a very detailed list of instructions as to the musical requirements. Tchaikovsky worked quickly on the new work at his home in Frolovskoye where he began initial sketches in the winter of 1888 and began orchestration on the work on 30 May 1889.
The ballet's focus was undeniably on the two main conflicting forces of good (the Lilac Fairy) and evil (Carabosse), where a leitmotif representing both of them runs through the entire ballet serving as an important thread to the underlying plot. Act 3 of the work, however, takes a complete break from the two motifs and instead places focus on the individual characters of the various court dances. Tsar Alexander III and his family were present during one of the general rehearsals. Upon leaving, he made the simple remark 'Very nice,' which seemed to have irritated Tchaikovsky, who had likely expected a more favorable response.
The ballet's premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg on 15 January 1890 received more favorable accolades than Swan Lake from the press but Tchaikovsky never had the luxury of being able to witness his work become an instant success in theatres outside of Russia. He died in 1893. By 1903 Sleeping Beauty was the second most popular ballet in the repertory of the Imperial Ballet (the Petipa/Pugni The Pharoah's Daughter was first), having been performed 200 times in only 10 years.
A production mounted at the La Scala in Milan did not arouse much interest and it was not until 1921 where, in London, the ballet finally gained wide acclaim and eventually a permanent place in the classical repertoire. It is Tchaikovsky's longest ballet, lasting well over two hours at full length. On television, it is nearly always cut.
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Carlotta Brianza and Paul Gerdt in the 1890 premiere of the Sleeping Beauty by the Mariinsky Theatre.
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[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Prologue
King Florestan the XIVth declares a grand christening ceremony to be held in honor of the birth of his daughter, Princess Aurora named after the dawn. An entourage of six fairies are invited to the Christening to be godmothers to the child. They are the Candide Fairy, the Coulante Fairy, the Miettes Fairy, the Canari Fairy, the Violente Fairy and most importantly the Lilac Fairy who arrives last (the names of fairies and their gifts vary in productions). As the fairies are happily granting gifts of honesty, grace, prosperity, song and generosity, they are suddenly interrupted by the sudden presence of the evil fairy Carabosse, who is furious at the King's failure to invite her to the ceremony. The King blames this on the Master of Ceremonies, Catallabutte and she rips of his wig. With spite and rage, Carabosse declares her curse on Princess Aurora: she will prick her finger on her sixteenth birthday and die. The Lilac Fairy, fortunately, has not granted her gift to the Princess. She acknowledges that Carabosse's power is immense and she cannot completely reverse the curse. However, she declares, although the Princess will prick her finger, she will not die, but instead sleep for 100 years until the kiss of a prince will awake her.
[edit] Act I
It is Princess Aurora's sixteenth birthday. Celebrations are already elaborately planned and the atmosphere is festive, made complete with a waltz danced by the villagers with garlands. Aurora receives four suitors and their gifts of exquisite roses. Soon after, Aurora is presented with a spindle as a gift, which she has never seen before. Carelessly, she dances with it despite her mother and father's warnings before accidentally pricking herself. She faints. Carabosse immediately reveals her true wicked self triumphantly and vanishes before the astonished guests. At the same moment, the Lilac Fairy appears as she had promised. She reminds the guests and the King and Queen of her gift that will make Aurora merely sleep, not die. She then casts a spell upon the whole kingdom and they will only awake when Aurora does.
[edit] Act II
One hundred years later, Prince Florimund (in the original production, Desiré) is at a hunting party with his companions. He is not happy and his hunting party try to cheer him up with a game of blind man's bluff and a series of dances. Still unhappy, he asks to be alone and the hunting party depart. Suddenly, Florimund sees the Lilac fairy who presents him with a vision of Aurora and he is entranced by her beauty. The Prince pleads with the Lilac Fairy to bring him to see Princess Aurora, to which the latter consents. The Prince discovers the castle, which is now overgrown in thick vines. His first act is to defeat the evil Carabosse. Once past her and inside the castle, the Prince finds Aurora and awakens her with a kiss. The entire kingdom awakes with her. The Prince then declares his love for Aurora and proposes to her. The King and the Queen are happy to give their blessings.
[edit] Act III
Preparations for the wedding are made. On the day of the festivities, different fairies are invited. These are the fairies to bless the marriage - The Gold Fairy, the Silver Fairy, the Sapphire Fairy and the Diamond Fairy. The Lilac Fairy also makes an appearance. Many fairytale characters, such as Puss in Boots and the White Cat, are also among the guests. A golden chain of dances is held, including a Pas de Quatre for the four precious jewel and metal fairies, a dance for Puss in Boots and the White Cat, a Pas de Deux for the Bluebird and Princess Florine, a dance for Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, a dance for Cinderella and Prince Fortune (usually omitted), a Sarabande (usually omitted), a Pas de Deux for Aurora and Florimund and finally a mazurka. The Prince and the Princess are wed, and the Lilac Fairy blesses their marriage. The ballet ends with an apotheosis (apothéose) where all the characters make a final bow.
[edit] Ballet
Introduction
- Prologue
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- 1 Marche
- 2 Scene Dansante
- 3 Pas de Six
- a) Candite (Honesty Fairy)
- b) Coulante. Fleur de Farine (Running Fairy)
- c) Miettes qui Tombent (Falling Crumbs Fairy)
- d) Canari qui Chante (Singing Canary Fairy)
- e) Violente (Forceful Fairy)
- f) La Fee des Lilas (Lilac Fairy)
- g) Coda
- 4 Scene Finale
- Act I
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- 5 Scene
- 6 Valse
- 7 Scene
- 8 Pas d'Action
- a) Adagio
- b) Danse des Demoiselles d'Honneur et des Pages
- c) Variation d'Aurore
- d) Coda
- 9 Scene Finale
- Act II
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- 10 Entr'acte et Scene
- 11 Colin-Maillard
- a) Scène
- b) Damse des Duchesses
- c) Danse des Baronnes
- d) Danse des Comtesses
- e) Danse des Marquises
- 13 Farandole
- a) Scène
- b) Danse
- 14 Scène
- 15 Pas d'Action (Scène d'Aurore et de Désiré)
- a) Adagio-Allegro
- b) Variation d'Aurore
- c) Coda
- 16 Scène
- 17 Panorama
- 18 Entr'acte
- 19 Entr'acte Symphonique (Le Sommeil) et Scène
- 20 Finale
- Act III
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- 21 Marche
- 22 Polacca
- 23 Pas de Quatre
- a) La Fée Or
- b) La Fée Argent
- c) La Fée Saphir
- d) La Fée Diamant
- e) Coda
- 24 Pas de Caractere (Le chat botté et la chatte blanche)
- 25 Pas de Quatre (Cendrillon, Prince Fortuné, L'oiseau Bleu, La Princesse Florine) (now known as the "Bluebird Pas de Deux")
- a) Cendrillon et Fortuné
- b) L'oiseau Bleu et La Princesse Florine
- c) Coda
- 26 Pas de Caractere (Chaperon Rouge et le Loup)
- Cendrillon et Le Prince Fortuné
- 27 Pas Berrichon (Le Petit Poucet, ses Frères et l'Orge)
- 28 Pas de Deux
- a) Entrée
- b) Adagio
- c) Desiré
- d) Aurore
- e) Coda
- 29 Sarabande
- 30 Finale et Apotheose
