Sleeping Beauty

Legend has it that after having seen The Sleeping Beauty’s dress rehearsal, the Tsar Alexander III made the simple remark “very beautiful,” which sparked Tchaikovsky’s resentment, who was expecting a more favorable response. Looking today at its marvelous costumes in a capturing vintage style, the pompous opulence of Vive Henri IV!’s music, the rigorous yet brilliant dance steps of Petipa’s choreographies, one could wonder how the Tsar wasn’t rendered speechless! Inspired by the eponymous fairy-tale by Perrault and Brothers Grimm, Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty was an immediate success that rapidly became the second most staged ballet in Imperial Theatre’s repertoire. Nevertheless, it’s a tragedy that Tchaikovsky could never rejoice in the worldwide fame of his The Sleeping Beauty, having died only three years later.