The Sleeping Beauty, 1946

Ballet in a prologue and three acts by Marius Petipa and Ivan Vsevolozhsky, after Charles Perrault

STAGING

Produced by Nicholas Sergeyev after the choreography of Marius Petipa, with additions by Frederick Ashton and Ninette de Valois

MUSIC

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (La Belle au bois dormant, ballet, opus 66)

SCENERY & COSTUMES

Oliver Messel

DANCERS

Princess Aurora: Margot Fonteyn; Prince Florimund: Robert Helpmann; The Lilac Fairy: Beryl Grey; Carabosse: Robert Helpmann

Act I Garland Dance: corps de ballet

Act III Florestan and his Two Sisters: Moira Shearer, Gerd Larsen, Michael Somes (first woman’s variation by Marius Petipa, from Jewels pas de quatre; from 20 January 1950 the programme credit for this pas de trois read “by Frederick Ashton after Petipa”)

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Sadler’s Wells Ballet, Royal Opera House, London, 20 February 1946

New Stagings / Productions

Sadler’s Wells Ballet, 1952

DANCERS

Act II Aurora’s Variation (“after Marius Petipa”)
Aurora: Beryl Grey

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Sadler’s Wells Ballet, Royal Opera House, London, 9 January 1952

Sadler’s Wells Ballet, 1955

DANCERS

Act III Florimund’s Variation (“after Marius Petipa”)
Florimund: Michael Somes

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Sadler’s Wells Ballet, Royal Opera House, London, 23 February 1955

NBC Television, 1955

STAGING

Adapted for television by Frederick Ashton

DANCERS

Princess Aurora: Margot Fonteyn; Prince Florimund: Michael Somes; Lilac Fairy: Beryl Grey; Carabosse: Frederick Ashton

FIRST PERFORMANCE

NBC Television (Producers’ Showcase), New York NY, 12 December 1955

Royal Ballet touring section, 1959

STAGING

Royal Ballet touring section

DANCERS

Aurora: Anya Linden

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Grand Theatre, Leeds, 14 September 1959

Royal Ballet, 1963

STAGING

The Rose Adagio; specially produced by Frederick Ashton

DANCERS

Aurora: Nadia Nerina

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Royal Performance, Prince of Wales Theatre, London, 4 November 1963

Royal Ballet, 1964

STAGING

Act II The Awakening Scene

DANCERS

Aurora: Violette Verdy; Florimund: David Blair

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, London, 29 February 1964

Royal Ballet, 1968

NEW PRODUCTION

Production devised and staged by Peter Wright, with new and additional choreography by Frederick Ashton

SCENERY

Henry Bardon

COSTUMES

Lila de Nobili and Rostislav Doboujinsky

DANCERS

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Royal Opera House, London, 17 December 1968

Royal Ballet, 1973

NEW PRODUCTION

Royal Ballet; produced and with new and additional choreography by Kenneth MacMillan

SCENERY & COSTUMES

Peter Farmer

DANCERS

This production retained Ashton’s choreography for Prince Florimund’s variation in Act II: Anthony Dowell
Fairy of Joy, incorporated into a new Jewels pas de six in Act III: Georgina Parkinson

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Royal Opera House, London, 15 March 1973

Royal Ballet, 1977

NEW PRODUCTION

Royal Ballet; production by Ninette de Valois

SCENERY & COSTUMES

David Walker

DANCERS

This production included the following numbers by Ashton:
Act I Garland Dance (1946 version)
Act II Florimund’s variation: Anthony Dowell
Aurora’s variation: Lesley Collier
Pas de deux (Awakening Scene) (later omitted): Lesley Collier and Anthony Dowell
Act III Florestan and his Sisters: Stephen Beagley, Wendy Ellis, Laura Connor
(Connor’s variation was that for the Fairy of Joy from the 1968 production)

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Royal Opera House, London, 14 October 1977

Royal Ballet, 1994

NEW PRODUCTION

Royal Ballet; production by Anthony Dowell

SCENERY & COSTUMES

Maria Bjornson

DANCERS

This production included the following numbers by Ashton:
Act II Florimund’s variation: Zoltan Solymosi
Aurora’s variation: Darcey Bussell
Act III Gold, Silver, Sapphire, and Diamond (replacing Florestan and his Sisters):
Entrée and coda (Dowell after Ashton): William Trevitt, Deborah Bull, Sara Gallie, Muriel Valtat
Sapphire variation (formerly Fairy of Joy): Sara Gallie

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Kennedy Center, Washington DC, 6 April 1994

Royal Ballet/Paris Opera Ballet, 2004

STAGING

Royal Ballet/Paris Opera Ballet; Awakening pas de deux only

REPRODUCED BY

Donald Macleary

DANCERS

Darcey Bussell, Laurent Hilaire

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Entente Cordiale gala, Opéra National de Paris, Palais Garnier, 29 September 2004

Royal Ballet, 2006

NEW PRODUCTION

Royal Ballet; production by Monica Mason and Christopher Newton, staging by Christopher Carr

SCENERY & COSTUMES

After Oliver Messel, realized and with additional designs by Peter Farmer

DANCERS

This production included the following numbers by Ashton:
Act II Florimund’s variation (Sarabande): Johan Kobborg
Aurora’s Variation: Alina Cojocaru
Act III Florestan and his Sisters (Entrée and Coda): Martin Harvey, Belinda Hatley, Deirdre Chapman

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Royal Opera House, London, 15 May 2006

By Other Companies

Royal Danish Ballet, 1957

STAGING

Royal Danish Ballet; Prince’s Act III solo (1955) in a production of the ballet by Ninette de Valois

DANCERS

Henning Kronstam

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Kongelige Teater, Copenhagen, B March 1957

Gala Ballet Season, 1978

STAGING

Gala Ballet Season; “Awakening” pas de deux only

DANCERS

Lynn Seymour and Stephen Jefferies

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Royal Festival Hall, London, 7 August 1978

Boston Ballet, 2005

STAGING

Boston Ballet: Act I Garland Dance (1945) and Act II Florimund’s variation (1968) in a production of the ballet by Patricia Ruanne

DANCERS

Nelson Madrigal

SCENERY & COSTUMES

David Walker (Royal Ballet 1977)

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Wang Theatre, Boston MA, 5 May 2005

New York City Ballet, 1991

STAGING

New York City Ballet: Act II Aurora’s variation after Frederick Ashton (1952), uncredited; in a production of the ballet by Peter Martins

DANCERS

Darci Kistler

SCENERY

David Mitchell

COSTUMES

Patricia Zipprodt

FIRST PERFORMANCE

New York State Theater, New York NY, 24 April 1991