Weekender: Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty still wowing audiences
Review: Moscow City Ballet, The Sleeping Beauty, Palace Theatre, Manchester
Moscow City Ballet returned with Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable The Sleeping Beauty, a performance which seems to have become an annual event as the ever-popular corps de ballet maintain touring success.
The collective are of indubitable infamy, taking their intricate and exceptional performances worldwide for three decades, and Friday night’s adaptation of a classic fairy tale is surely one of their best and most adored productions.
The Sleeping Beauty as a childhood fable is enchanting and memorable enough but seeing it portrayed through dance so confidently and with such finesse is a sight to behold.
In the prologue, the six fairies, including the Lilac Fairy, arrive to bestow gifts upon the new-born Princess Aurora. The physical strength and stamina showed in this opening sequence was made even more beautiful by the bright, intricate outfits of the fairies.
It is at this stage that the evil Carabosse, played by Kirill Kasatkin, is introduced – demanding to know why she had not been invited to the christening by the Master of Ceremonies, Catalabutte.
The jester-like character Catalabutte never failed to raise a laugh from the audiences, particularly the younger ones who might have been struggling with the duration of each act.
In one particular scene, the ‘pantomime villain’ Carabosse rips Catalabutte’s hair from his head, raising boos from the audience, and leaves him with a bald patch. It was these two characters, Red Riding Hood and Puss in Boots, that possibly rescued those who might have been lost by the lengthy routines and repetition in parts.
Appearing shortly before the end of the first act, Princess Aurora, as an adult, is introduced to her suitors and the sheer talent of Liliya Orekhova who has danced with the troupe for more than a decade and is their principal dancer, quickly stole the show from the Lilac Fairy.
As she took to the stage for her first solo performance followed by the pas de deux with Prince Florimund (Talget Kozhabaev) each step looked effortless – each movement could only be described as swan-like as she remained en pointe for prolonged periods and pirouetted around her husband-to-be.
Although this year’s UK tour has now ended, the show is a must-see for all and whether you have just heard the story of Sleeping Beauty as a child for the first time, or need a gentle reminder of its plot, this is a brilliant, unforgettable masterpiece which will take you on that magical journey through the narrative.
