The Sleeping Beauty

Guillaume Côté and Greta Hodgkinson with artists of the ballet in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Bruce Zinger.
Photo Credit

Guillaume Côté and Greta Hodgkinson with artists of the ballet in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Bruce Zinger.

Produced, originally staged and with additional choreography:
Rudolf Nureyev after Marius Petipa
Staged by:
Karen Kain
Music:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Set and Costume Design:
Nicholas Georgiadis
Lighting Design:
David Hersey
Repetiteurs:
Karen Kain, Magdalena Popa, Peter Ottmann, Mandy-Jayne Richardson, Tomas Schramek, Rex Harrington, Lorna Geddes
Made possible by generous contributions from Margaret & Jim Fleck, The Catherine & Maxwell Meighen Foundation, Sandra & Jim Pitblado, Gretchen Ross, and Nancy Pencer & Michael Benjamin.
The National Ballet of Canada dedicates the 2009/10 season performances of The Sleeping Beauty to the memory of Mona Campbell.

About the Ballet

The Sleeping Beauty is a ballet that, in its opulence, dynamism, formal rigour and sensitivity to the sheer pleasures of choreographed stagecraft, epitomizes perhaps better than any other the meaning of classical ballet.

Never simply a retelling of the well-known fairy tale, the ballet is perhaps the greatest of the Tchaikovsky-Petipa collaborations, unparalleled in both its artistic ambitions and its summation of an entire dance culture.

Few of the many choreographers who have revised and re-imagined this extraordinary work have brought to it the combination of dramatic flair, burnished technique and imaginative generosity that Rudolf Nureyev did when he created his version of the ballet in 1966. It was immediately recognized as a landmark interpretation and when Nureyev set the work on The National Ballet of Canada in 1972 it became one of the most significant milestones in the company’s history.

Mingling showmanship with craft, spectacle with subtlety, Nureyev’s approach proved the perfect vehicle for many of the company’s young dancers, including Veronica Tennant, Karen Kain, Tomas Schramek and Frank Augustyn. They rushed to embrace the challenge and opportunity with a level of eagerness and energy that established the company’s international reputation and to which subsequent generations of National Ballet dancers have always felt compelled to rise.

 

Read synopsis

Download 2009/10 Brochure PDF

Reviews

"a stunning success… this truly classical ballet is a triumph for the company."

- The Globe and Mail, 2009

"****/4 The Sleeping Beauty awakens new season... It takes a well-bred company to pull it off, which happily the National Ballet proves itself to be."

- The Toronto Star, 2009

"*****/5 The Sleeping Beauty an eye-opener… the magic at the heart of the story [is] awakened with a kiss."

- Toronto Sun, 2009

"The Sleeping Beauty demands that dancers possess the strength, stamina, and speed of Olympic athletes. In last Friday's performance, the National Ballet of Canada proved that they're medal-worthy."

- The National Post, 2009

More


Ballet Notes

Get more insight into The Sleeping Beauty before you see the production. Read the synopsis, articles and view photos.

Download the Ballet Notes PDF >


Ballet Talks

Penelope Reed Doob, Professor of Dance and English at York University, will host the Ballet Talks for The Sleeping Beauty.

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Canada's National Ballet School, dance critic Michael Crabb will host a panel discussion on Saturday November 21, at 6:45 pm with Artistic Directors from some of the world's top ballet training institutions, including Canada's National Ballet School, The Royal Ballet School, Ecole de Danse de l'Opera national de Paris and more.

Ballet Talks are free for ticket holders and take place 45 minutes before every show in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre of the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

 

Read synopsis

Principal Casting

Princess Aurora
Heather Ogden (November 13, 18 and 21 at 7:30 pm)
Xiao Nan Yu (November 14 at 2:00 pm/November 19 at 7:30 pm)
Sonia Rodriguez (November 14 and 20 at 7:30 pm/ November 22 at 2:00 pm)
Bridgett Zehr* (November 15 at 1:00 pm)
Jillian Vanstone* (November 19 at 2:00 pm)
Stacey Shiori Minagawa (November 21 at 2:00 pm)

Prince Florimund
Guillaume Côté (November 13, 18 and 21 at 7:30 pm/ November 15 at 1:00 pm)
Jason Reilly✧ (November 14 at 2:00 pm/ November 19 at 7:30 pm)
Zdenek Konvalina (November 14 and 20 at 7:30 pm/ November 22 at 2:00 pm)
Piotr Stanczyk* (November 19 and 21 at 2:00 pm)

King Florestan
Rex Harrington (November 13, 14, 18, 19, 20 and 21 at 7:30 pm/ November 14 and 22 at 2:00 pm/ November 15 at 1:00 pm)
Jonathan Renna (November 19 and 21 at 2:00 pm)

The Queen
Sophie Letendre+

Catalubutte, Master of Ceremonies
Hazaros Surmeyan+ (November 13, 14, 20, 21 at 7:30 pm)
Tomas Schramek (November 14 and 22 at 2:00 pm/ November 18 and 19 at 7:30 pm)
Kevin D. Bowles (November 15 at 1:00 pm/ November 19 and 21 at 2:00 pm)

The Lilac Fairy
Lise-Marie Jourdain (November 13, 18 and 21 at 7:30 pm/ November 15 at 1:00 pm/ November 22 at 2:00 pm)
Tanya Howard (November 14 and 19 at 2:00 pm/ November 20 at 7:30 pm)
Stephanie Hutchison (November 14 and 19 at 7:30 pm/ November 21 at 2:00 pm)

Carabosse, the wicked fairy
Victoria Bertram (November 13, 14 and 20 at 7:30 pm/ November 19, 21 and 22 at 2:00 pm)
Rebekah Rimsay (November 14 at 2:00 pm/ November 15 at 1:00 pm/ November 18, 19 and 21 at 7:30 pm)

Princess Florine
Sonia Rodriguez (November 13 and 18 at 7:30 pm)
Stacey Shiori Minagawa (November 14 at 2:00 pm/ November 19 at 7:30 pm)
Jillian Vanstone (November 14 and 21 at 7:30 pm)
Elena Lobsanova* (November 15 at 1:00 pm/ November 20 at 7:30 pm)
Tina Pereira* (November 19, 21 and 22 at 2:00 pm)

Bluebird
Keiichi Hirano (November 13 and 18 at 7:30 pm/ November 22 at 2:00 pm)
Wei Chen* (November 14 at 2:00 pm/ November 19 at 7:30 pm)
Naoya Ebe* (November 14 and 21 at 7:30 pm)
Etienne Lavigne (November 15 at 1:00 pm/ November 20 at 7:30 pm)
Richard Landry (November 19 and 21 at 2:00 pm)

Pas de Cinq: Diamonds
Diamond Lady
Bridgett Zehr (November 13, 18 and 21 at 7:30 pm)
Stephanie Hutchison (November 14 and 19 at 2:00 pm)
Chelsy Meiss* (November 14 and 19 at 7:30 pm)
Stacey Shiori Minagawa (November 15 at 1:00 pm)
Rebekah Rimsay (November 20 at 7:30 pm/ 21 at 2:00 pm)
Jillian Vanstone (November 22 at 2:00 pm)

Diamond Man
Piotr Stanczyk (November 13 at 7:30 pm/ November 15 at 1:00 pm/ November 22 at 2:00 pm)
Etienne Lavigne (November 14, 19 and 21 at 2:00 pm)
James Shee* (November 14 and 19 at 7:30 pm)
Brett van Sickle (November 18, 20 and 21 at 7:30 pm)

* Debut
✧ Principal Guest Artist
+ Additional Dancer

All casting is subject to change.

PROLOGUE & ACT I 65:00
Intermission 18:00
ACT II 38:00
Intermission 15:00
ACT III 39:00
Total (approx) 2:55:00

Please note that The Sleeping Beauty will begin immediately at the time advertised. Late comers will be sat by ushers at appropriate moments in the ballet.