The Sleeping Beauty, Moscow Festival Ballet Enchant

The Moscow Festival Ballet graced the FSU Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, March 23 and Thursday, March 24, performing Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece, The Sleeping Beauty. Both shows were held in the Drama Theatre with sold out audiences.

Directed by Sergei Radchenko, The Sleeping Beauty tells the familiar tale of a storybook princess cursed at birth by a jealous, evil fairy. Tchaikovsky’s version of the tale includes a Lilac Fairy as the princess’s savior, who spares her from death and instead enchants the kingdom to slumber in the first act. The second act entails The Lilac Fairy guiding the prince of a neighboring kingdom (one hundred years later) to meet the sleeping princess through vision in which the prince is enamored. He eventually makes his way to the castle and kisses the princess, awakening her and all of those enchanted to sleep by the Lilac Fairy.  The third and final act concludes the ballet with an opulent wedding celebration including visits from other fairytale characters.

The extensive set design included impressive suggestions of palace structures and, at times, castle gardens. Fog, thin gauze, and heavy blue lighting help to create the impression of a sleeping city.

Complete with period-appropriate costuming and an easily recognizable score (in part thanks to the 1952 Walt Disney film adaptation), Sleeping Beauty brings classical elegance to the medieval Charles Perrault legend. The Russian ballet dancers, on tour in the United States, stuck around after the performance to meet with the audience over refreshments.

The Sleeping Beauty was brought to the Frostburg community as part of the Cultural Events Series (CES). Upcoming CES events include “The Hot Sardines,” a contemporary jazz group, and the Zuzu African Acrobats. Visit the CES homepage for more details.

Featured open source image courtesy of Nona Lohr.