Sleeping Beauty
ACT ONE
SCENE I – The Christening
The King and Queen anxiously await the birth of their first child. At last the baby arrives. The King calls for a grand christening celebration to which all the fairies of the Kingdom are invited to bestow their blessings on his daughter, Princess Aurora. As the fairies present their gifts of beauty, grace, generosity, song and temperament, they are interrupted by the arrival of Carabosse with her entourage; she is enraged and insulted that the King forgot to invite her to the ceremony. Carabosse announces her curse that Aurora will one day prick her finger and die. Luckily the Lilac Fairy has yet to give her present. She declares that although Aurora will prick her finger she will not die. Instead she will fall into a deep sleep from which she will be awoken after a hundred years by the kiss of a prince.
SCENE II – 16th Birthday Celebration
Sixteen years later, the royal family begins to celebrate Princess Aurora’s 16th birthday. Since the night of her birth, the King had ordered that all the sharp objects be kept out of the Kingdom so she could not hurt herself. His rules were broken, however, on the night of her birthday. During the celebration, Carabosse and her entourage prepare the poisonous needle and hide it in a posy of flowers. Then disguised as a Nun, Carabosse presents the deadly posy to Aurora. Enchanted by its beauty, Aurora takes the posy and pricks her finger on the hidden needle, Carabosse laughs in victory. Remembering the spell she cast before, The Lilac Fairy appears to make sure Aurora falls asleep. She then casts a spell on the entire family and court to fall asleep ensuring them their safety.
ACT TWO
The Awakening
One hundred years later in the enchanted forest, a Prince by the name Desire is hunting with his friends. He leaves his friends and insists on being alone. The Lilac fairy hears the commotion and ventures out to desire. He tells her that he is lonely and is in need of love. She has the perfect idea. She presents an image of Princess Aurora to him and he instantly falls in love. The Lilac Fairy and her attendants take him on a journey through the forest. During their travels the forest comes alive with beautiful little fairies and elves. The Lilac Fairy and Desire arrive at the castle where Desire is confronted by the evil fairy, Carabosse, who he must defeat in order to rescue Aurora – a battle quickly follows. Prince desire finally overpowers her and rushes to find the sleeping Princess and her family. The spell is broken when Desire who is overcome by her beauty kisses her. Princess Aurora and her entire family wake up from their deep sleep. Princess Aurora accepts Prince Desire’s proposal for marriage and her family approves.
ACT THREE
The Wedding
The Wedding celebrations begin. Guests from all over the Kingdom are invited to help celebrate their betrothal. The fairies return for the celebration along with the fairy tale characters of Bluebird, Princess Desire, Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Puss in Boots and the White Cat. Everyone joins in a dance of celebration. Finally Prince Desire and Princess Aurora are married and receive the blessing from the Lilac Fairy.
Interesting facts
The ballet ‘Sleeping Beauty’ holds a notable place in the history of ballet, not only as a great work in its own right, but also as a defining moment in many lives.
- It was the first successful ballet composed by Tchaikovsky.
- It was the first ballet that the great impresario Serge Diaghilev ever saw.
- Rudolf Nureyev made his debut in the West dancing in ‘Sleeping Beauty’.
- ‘Sleeping Beauty’ was the first ballet seen by a sickly 8 year old child named Anna Pavlova. After the performance she decided that she wanted to become a ballet dancer.
- The first time George Balanchine appeared on stage was as Cupid, sitting on a gold cage, in ‘Sleeping Beauty’.
- For Galina Ulanova, the Great Russian ballerina, the first ballet she saw was ‘Sleeping Beauty’.
- The great master Enrico Ceccetti danced as Carabosse and was the first Bluebird in the original Maryinski production. He celebrated his 50th anniversary as a soloist by recreating the role of Carabosse in Diaghilev’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’ in London.
