A brief overture contrasts the themes of the malicious Carabosse and the benevolent Lilac Fairy.
When the curtain rises, the court assembles for Princess Aurora's christening. The three fairies present their gifts. Carabosse, a fairly overlooked by the master of ceremonies, enters. She curses Aurora. The Princess shall die on her 16th birthday, she says, after pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel.
The remaining seventh fairy the Lilac Fairy comes forward. She cannot put the curse to rest, but she can soften it. The Princess shall not die, she commands, but sleep one hundred years. At the end of that term, a Prince will awaken her with true love's kiss.
Artist Director: Vyacheslav Gordeev
Performance: Russian State Ballet
In 1984 Vyacheslav Gordeev founded and headed Moscow State Theatre of Russian Ballet, where he stages about 30 ballets, such as Passacaglia, The Meeting, Memory, The Steps, Revived Pictures, Surprise Maneuvers, or Wedding with a General. He is also the author of choreography reductions of Walpurgis Night, The Clocks Dance (from the Ponchielli's opera La Gioconda), such ballets as Don Quixote, Paquita, Swan Lake, Giselle, Coppelia, and ballets by A. Gorsky and M. Fokin.
The "Russian State Ballet" Theatre over 20 years remains one of the leading Russian Ballet companies. The repertoire includes masterpieces of the world ballet classical repertoire and the best samples of Modern Choreography.