PETER ILYCH TCHAIKOVSKY
SLEEPING BEAUTY
(ballet performance)
15.5.2024 – 8.00 p.m.
Conductor: Nayer Nagui (Egypt)
Choreographer: Viktor Yaremenko (Ukraine)
Assistant choreographer: Tetyana Belecka (Ukraine)
Set Designer / Costume Designer: Miodrag Tabachki (Serbia)
Light design: Milcho Alexandrov
Repetitours: Goran Bozhinov, Aleksandra Mijalkova, Sasha Evtimova, Dafina Daniloska-Kochevska, Maja Mitrovska-Bogojevska
Concert master: Jane Bakevski
Solo violin: Kliment Todoroski
Solo cello: Kiri Josifov
Stage managers: Dubravka Shopova, Tijana Tarchugovska Georgieva
Accompanists: Marjan Vasilevski, Stefan Pehchevski
Cast:
Princess Aurora: Marta Petkova (Bulgaria)
Prince Desiree: Nikola Hadjitanev (Bulgaria)
PERFORMING SOLOISTS, THE BALLET ENSEMBLE AND THE ORCHESTRA OF THE NATIONAL OPERA AND BALLET
Synopsis
Prologue
A daughter – Princess Aurora was born to the King Florestan XXIV and his Queen. The old master of ceremonies Catalabutte checking the guest list, finds out that by mistake of his secretary at the ceremony it was invited also the wicked fairy Carabosse. Her name was immediately erased from the guest list. The King Florestan with the Queen arrives accompanied by the Fairies of Beauty, Happiness, Wealth, Humanity, Mood and Mercy. They all bring gifts. In the middle of the dance with lyres of the castle girls and varlets ominous sound is heard at the doors. The wicked fairy Carabosse wants to enter. The King orders immediately all the entrances to be closed, but in vain – Carabosse shows with her mice, rats and bets and immediately attacks Catalabutte. Furious from the king’s request to leave the castle, she casts spell to the Princess Aurora that after the happy childhood in the bloom of the youth, she will prick her finger and die. The Lilac Fairy casts another spell saying that she will only fall asleep for a hundred years. She and the other fairies forced the Fairy Carabosse to leave the castle and all of them give their blessing to the Princess Aurora.
ACT I
Sixteen years later. It is Princess Aurora’s birthday. The people gather before the castle. At this ceremony also arrived four foreign princes to seek Princess Aurora’s hand. To girls dance and in the middle of their dance appears an unknown woman, who gives them two spindles and they begin to dance with them, although in the Florestan’s Kingdom it is forbidden the use of the spindle. The Queen comes accompanied by the princes and orders the two girls
to be taken. The Prince Eme begs for mercy accompanied by the other princes. The Queen forgives them and the ceremony continues. The varlets and the castle ladies announce the coming of the gorgeous Princess Aurora. The Princes are admired by her bauty. The Princess Aurora’s heart is conquered only by the Prince Eme and she chooses him. Suddenly appears the ominous fairy Carabosse (the same woman that gave the two spindles to the girls), cunningly approaches the Princess Aurora, humbly begging to give her a gift – silver spindle. Admired by the unknown toy,she starts dancing with it, but the curse induces her and she pricks and dies. Than Carabosse omi-nously reveals her identity before the Queen, remembering her curse. The princes furiously want to kill her, but Carabosse disappears. Appears the Lilac Fairy, consoling the Queen and the desperate Prince that the Princess Aurora didn’t die, but only fell asleep and that one day she will wake up by a kiss of the prince, who will be brought by her when the time will come. The beautiful Princess Aurora is taken to the castle, the people with sad heart leave, and the Lilac Fairy, through the power of her magic casts a spell everyone to fall asleep. The castle is enveloped in mist and trees.
ACT II
Picture 1
One hundred years later in a dark forest, a Prince by the name of Désiré is hunting with his friends.The Prince Désiré avoids the secret meeting with the Marchioness. He feels internal disquiet; some-thing unfamiliar keeps him to this field. The Marchioness nervously leaves. And suddenly appears the Lilac Fairy in a strange boat adorn by lilac. She shows to the surprised prince the vision of the sleeping Princess Aurora and tells him that he can wake her up by a kiss and thus releasing from the power of the magic. The Prince Désiré begs the fairy to see at least her shadow. The fairy calls the shadows and among them the shadow of the beautiful Princess Aurora. The Prince Désiré is crazy in love and he decides to follow the Lilac Fairy to the spelt castle. With a magic boat they leave.
Picture 2
The Lilac Fairy and the Prince Désiré arrive before the castle fallen asleep in a hundred year’s dream.With a magic stick the fairy cleans the entrance towards the stairs of the castle where the Princess Aurora is sleeping. In the same moment they all wake up. The Queen thanks to the Lilac Fairy, and she, wishing them love and happiness to the Prince Désiré and the Princess Aurora, leaves.
Picture 3
At the forest wedding of the Prince Désiré and the Princess Aurora come all the protagonists of the tales. The Blue bird with the Princess Florina, the Booted Cat with the White Cat, the Snow White with the Prince Floremon and the seven dwarfs, Cinderella with the Prince, the Red Riding Hood with the wolf, the Bluebeard with his five women, … All gests wish joy and happiness to the young couple