Ballet Talk: The Sleeping Beauty | The National Ballet of Canada

I'm Christopher Stowell, the Associate Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada. Welcome to our winter presentation of The Sleeping Beauty, one of the largest and most significant ballets in the National Ballet of Canada repertoire. Beauty is one of three landmark works of the classical canon, featuring choreography by Mario Spettipa and an original score by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the others being Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. It premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1890, and it is one of ballet's most loved works, both musically and choreographically, existing in countless versions worldwide. The version the National Ballet of Canada performs was adapted by the legendary Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev for our company in 1972. Nureyev created it for Milan's Teatro alla Scala in 1966, and it was redesigned for the National Ballet with opulent sets and costumes by Nicholas Georgiadis and lighting by David Hersey. When it premiered, the National Ballet was still quite young, just 21 years old, and this was the most ambitious production the company had ever presented. Acquiring a new full evening ballet from Nureyev was a coup for the National Ballet, and it launched an unprecedented period of international touring that accelerated its artistic growth. It did the same for the company's promising dancers, including a young Karen Kane, who performed Princess Aurora opposite Nureyev himself. The National Ballet performed Beauty more than 50 times in its inaugural year of 1972-73, culminating in an extended engagement at New York's Metropolitan Opera House. Karen Kane reinforced the significance of this work for the National Ballet when she revived it in 2006 to open the company's first season at the Four Seasons Center for the Performing Arts in Toronto. It remains a staple of our repertoire and still holds a special place in Karen's heart. The story of The Sleeping Beauty is based on Charles Perrault's fairy tale of 1697, La Belle au Bois Dormant. A princess is born, christened, and cursed by an evil fairy to sleep for 100 years until her true love awakens her with a kiss. Much of what happens is symbolic, with different characters representing values and ideas in a world divided into good and evil. The prologue is particularly symbolic. A series of fairies arrive to bestow gifts of character on the new baby Aurora, whose name literally means the dawn, suggesting that she will bring a new light to the kingdom she will one day represent. She will do this with the gifts of character she receives from the fairies, which contribute to an ideal of civilized society. Purity, vitality, generosity, eloquence, energy, and wisdom. Aurora's beauty is an inner light, not an external picture. Each fairy performs a variation that is expressive of her gift. For example, the fifth fairy, Violante, who gives energy, is known informally as the Finger Fairy for the way she points assertively as she dances, as though she's conducting electricity. The fairy solos require of the dancers the full arsenal of classical virtues, technically, musically, and interpretively. At the height of the celebration, another fairy arrives, Carabosse, whom the king and queen have forgotten to invite. She gets her revenge by telling the court that Aurora will one day prick her finger and die. Carabosse is the evil in dark to Aurora's goodness and light. This curse is softened by yet another fairy, the Lilac Fairy, who arrives at the christening to protect Princess Aurora. She ensures that Aurora will not die, but only sleep for 100 years until she meets her true love. And this, of course, is Prince Florimond. One of the distinguishing features of Nureyev's staging of Beauty is the lead role of Prince Florimond, which Nureyev expanded and performed himself. In fact, the National Ballet still uses his costumes with his name sewn inside. In Nureyev's version, Florimond performs four solos and a grand pas de deux, whereas Petipa had given him only a single variation. The spirit of Nureyev is always with us when we're working on this role. Nureyev was very demanding on himself, and the complexities of the choreography are still challenging for dancers today. The role requires incredible commitment, refinement, and attention to detail. Florimond's role is just one of many instances of the beautiful and demanding choreography that has made Beauty so enduringly popular with artists and audiences. Among the most famous is the Rose Adagio of Act I. Four suitors present Aurora with a rose on her 16th birthday, asking for her hand in marriage. As she accepts each rose, she balances in attitude on point, on one foot, holding the cavalier's hand, letting go just for a moment to balance on her own. It's an incredible challenge of the ballerina's strength and stamina, and a thrilling theatrical moment that represents Aurora's youthful daring and confidence. Another highlight is the famous Bluebird Pas de Deux of Act III. It is thrilling to watch, with brilliant jumps, footwork, and turns to match the lightness of Tchaikovsky's score. The Bluebird appears to teach Princess Florine to fly by performing an amazing series of brisee vollee, and Princess Florine often dances with her hand to her ear as though listening for the Bluebird's song. Both are characters from a French fairy tale, as are several of the guests at Aurora's wedding. These stories were popular at the time that Sleeping Beauty was created. The wedding celebrations from Act III conclude with Princess Aurora and Prince Florimond reuniting for a regal Pas de Deux, following the exquisite variations performed by their guests. In it, the couple express their love and commitment for one another, signaling the long- awaited triumph of good over evil. Ballets of this era relied heavily on mime to tell the story. It's something we don't use as much anymore, but it still requires as much attention and careful training in it to make it effective. At the core of what we love about The Sleeping Beauty is Tchaikovsky's score, which is one of the most beautiful in classical ballet. Tchaikovsky composed it with detailed instructions from Petit Pas, and he was proud of it. At one point he said, The Sleeping Beauty may be the best of all my compositions, and yet I wrote it improbably quickly. The score includes distinctive themes or motifs for the different characters in the ballet, and these recur throughout. For example, Carabosse's music is dark and ominous, while the Lilac Fairy is light and harmonious and almost settling in its effects. This is one of many instances in which the score blends seamlessly with the choreography to tell the story. The National Ballet of Canada last performed The Sleeping Beauty on tour at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., just before the pandemic hit in 2020. We received rave reviews for those performances, which reinforced how accomplished our dancers are in this ballet, how integral it is to our history and repertoire, and the extent of the talent we have in our ranks. We can't wait to share it with you again, a large, full company work for a live audience.