"Sleeping Beauty", the classical ballet with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreography by Marius Petipa, will be presented in the Alexandra Trianti Hall of the Athens Concert Hall for three nights, from June 14 to 16. The performance features renowned soloists from the Berlin State Ballet, the Munich Bavarian Ballet and the Hungarian National Ballet.
Written by Tchaikovsky in 1889, Sleeping Beauty holds a special place in ballet history, not only as an outstanding work but also as the composer's first major success in ballet music. Tchaikovsky imbued the fairy-tale plot with strong emotions, incorporating a human story ̶ story of innocence that touches the limits of danger but is ultimately saved by love.
Its premiere was in St. Petersburg on 14 January 1890. It was the first ballet that Rudolf Nureyev danced in the West (1961), the first role of George Balanchine (at the famous Mariinsky Theatre), the work with which the Royal Ballet debuted in the United States, and the play that reopened the Royal Opera House in London's Coven Garden in 1946 after World War II.
In 1966, Nureyev gave his version for La Scala in Milan in a performance where he was also the protagonist in the role of Prince Désirée.
The Sleeping Beauty ballet transports the audience to another time and another place, to a land where fairies and princes live and stories always have a happy ending. When the lights go down, and the curtain rises, the story of the beautiful Princess Aurora comes to life through flawless dancing, Tchaikovsky's irresistible music, enchanting costumes and captivating scenery.
One hundred and thirty-five years after its first premiere, the Royal Czech Ballet presents a fairy-tale version of "Sleeping Beauty" with the participation of Iana Salenko, Ksenia Shevtsova, Boris Zhurilov and others.
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