Carmel ThomasonThis year marks the 40th anniversary of Sir Peter Wright’s iconic production of The Sleeping Beauty for Birmingham Royal Ballet. Under the direction of Carlos Acosta this sumptuous production is revived to its full extravagance and splendour, living up to its name by being both dreamy and beautiful.
Of course, the origins of this much-loved ballet are older still, having premiered at Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg in 1890 with choreography by Marius Petipa. It has stood the test of time because of its ability to enchant both those experiencing their first ballet and ballet enthusiasts alike. And, even if you’ve only heard the music ‘Once upon a Dream’ thanks to Disney, you will instantly recognise Tchiakovsky’s uplifting, romantic score, here played live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia conducted by Paul Murphy.
As the curtain lifts, we are immediately transported into a grand royal court, decorated with rich gold drapes that stretch the full width of the Lowry’s huge Lyric stage. The costumes, many of which have been restored for this production, are equally striking with a palate of gold, black, peach, and blue, made from luscious fabrics of velvet, taffeta, layered lace and sequins. It makes for a fairytale vision, with the Sleeping Beauty, Aurora wearing a sparkling lace and sequinned tutu, spinning on-pointe like the perfect, music-box ballerina.
This simple tale of good versus evil, makes for effective contrasts of light and dark in the characters, the music, the costumes, and the lighting, none more so than between Daria Stanciulescu’s scheming, Fairy Carabosse, carried villainously high on a sedan chair, and Ellis Small’s gentle, almost floating, Lilac Fairy.
Taking on the challenging principal role of Princess Aurora, Momoko Hirata strikes a balance of being both delicate and strong. She is well-matched with Max Maslen, a commanding Prince Florimund, whose stage presence provides an emotional depth to the technical brilliance of their partner dances.
All the dancers are wonderfully light of foot, and there is much to admire in their technical detail and strength. However, focus on the dancers’ skill is never at the expense of the narrative, which draws us in to this world of deep forests, spells, and glittering balls.
The grand finale is joyously danced by the whole assembly with gold confetti adding a final touch of magic to the evening.
BRB The Sleeping Beauty is at The Lowry, Salford from 7 -9 March 2024.
Steve Timms
Reece Donlan
Jemma Christie