Sleeping Beauty

The Sleeping Beauty was the second ballet by the team of Marius Petipa and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Originally titled, "La Belle au bois dormant," Sleeping Beauty followed the team's "Swan Lake" in 1890 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. The ballet is based on Charles Perrault's fairy tale, "La belle au bois dormant." As with many popularized fairy tales, the original story is much darker.

In fact, modern feminist thinking is that Sleeping Beauty should be erased from the literature. The basis of that thinking is that Aurora, the protagonist, is completely without agency. The complaints would be louder still about the older stories upon which Perrault based his version. In those early versions, Aurora is not awaked by a kiss, but is raped by the prince on her bower and remains asleep even through the birth of the offspring. That prince was already married and when he brings the child (sometimes twins) home his current princess attempts to murder the children. As with opera (think Wagner), it is left to the individual to accept or reject art on its own terms.

Historical note: In the premiere, the great ballet master and teacher, Enrico Cecchetti, danced the roles of Carabosse and Bluebird. Bluebird is to this day considered the hardest male role to dance. Good news, the Bluebird in our production is fabulous.