Javier Torres – Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Sleeping Beauty
A fantastic fairy tale to rouse the whole family
Sleeping Beauty is one of the most beloved ballets of all time. The familiar story about the bewitched princess Aurora, the good and evil fairies, and the adventurous prince truly comes into its own as a ballet. The choreography created by the Artistic Director of the Finnish National Ballet, Javier Torres, has been performed to full houses for over 15 years.
The stunning costumes and sets evoke a richly colourful fairy-tale world, which will enthrall the entire audience from young children to adults. Sleeping Beauty is an ideal first experience of ballet for a child.
“Sleeping Beauty is a holistic experience. The orchestra’s beautiful renditions of Tchaikovsky setting the rhythm for the dancers, the exquisite set designs, and the stunning costumes with their rich colours, along with fantastic dance performances by both individuals and groups. An absolutely delightful performance.”
– Audience feedback
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Synopsis
The birth of Princess Aurora is celebrated at the court of a faraway kingdom. Three fairies have been invited to be godmothers: Volante, the fairy of courage, Grazia, the fairy of joy, and Syrene, the fairy of love. As the fairies are giving their christening gifts to the princess, the fairy of fear, Carabosse, barges in. The King and Queen have forgotten to invite her. The enraged Carabosse bestows a curse upon the Princess: one day she will prick her finger on a rose thorn and die! Syrene is yet to give her gift, however, and utters a counterspell.
The Princess won’t die, but she’ll fall asleep for a hundred years and finally awake to the kiss of a prince.
The Princess celebrates her 16th birthday. She meets four princes who have come to ask for her hand in marriage. An elderly woman also appears and gives her a rose. The court is horrified, but there is no time to take the rose off the Princess before she pricks her finger on it. The old woman is revealed as Carabosse, and the princess falls asleep.
A hundred years later, Prince Desiré is out hunting, and a golden deer leads him to
Syrene. Syrene tells the Prince about Aurora and shows him the way to the castle where he has to fight Carabosse. In the end, the Prince finds Aurora and she and her court are awakened by his kiss.
Aurora and Desiré’s wedding is attended by a multitude of fairy tale characters, from Little Red Riding Hood to Puss in Boots and the Blue Bird. Love has conquered the entire count.
Full synopsis and other background information can be found in the programme leaflet.
Creative team
- Choreography (partly after Petipa)
- Javier Torres
- Music
- Pjotr Tšaikovski
- Conductor
- Maria Seletskaja
- Sets
- Minna Wallenius
- Costumes
- Erika Turunen
- Lighting design
- Eric Loustau-Carrere
- Make-up design
- Tuija Luukkainen
Cast
Listen to Sleeping Beauty
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