Portrait von Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowski, 1888, vermutlich von Leonard Berlin im Atelier E. Bieber Hamburg
Tchaikovsky - The Sleeping Beauty - Premiere
The Sleeping Beauty (Спящая красавица), Op. 66 (TH 13 ; ČW 13), was the second of Tchaikovsky's three ballet scores, based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault. It was composed and orchestrated from October 1888 to August 1889, with minor revisions during stage rehearsals in the last three months of 1889.
The first production of the ballet took place on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg on 3/15 January 1890, conducted by Riccardo Drigo, and choreographed by Marius Petipa. The principal roles were performed by Feliks Krzesiński (Florestan), Giuseppina Cecchetti (Queen), Carlotta Brianza (Aurora), Marie Petipa (Lilac Fairy), Enrico Cecchetti (Carabosse) and Pavel Gerdt (Desiré).
The ballet was produced for the first time on the Moscow stage at the Bolshoi Theatre on 17/29 January 1899, under balletmaster Aleksandr Gorsky, with Lyubov Roslavleva as Aurora, and Ivan Khlyustin as Desiré.
Outside Russia, The Sleeping Beauty was first staged at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1896, under balletmaster Giorgio Saracco, and Carlotta Brianza reprising her role as Aurora.
The first complete performance in London was given by the Ballets russes on 9 November 1921 at the Alhambra Theatre, conducted by Eugene Goossens, and choreographed by Serge Diaghilev under the title The Sleeping Princess.
In the United States, the ballet was first produced in its entirety at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia on 11 February 1937, in a version choreographed by Catherine Littlefield.
Tchaikovsky's attitude towards his ballet was consistent; frequently he was enthusiastic towards his works, before becoming disappointed with them, but this was not the case with The Sleeping Beauty. "It seems to me", the composer wrote on 25 July/6 August 1889, while orchestrating the ballet, "that the music from this ballet will be amongst my best works. The subject is so poetical, it is so suited for music, that in composing it I was utterly absorbed, and wrote with a fervour and passion which always result in work of merit".
After the ballet had been staged, his estimation was unchanged. "Besides, I confess that I love working in a rush, I love the anticipation and the urgency! And yet this doesn't show itself at all in the quality of my works. Isn't "The Sleeping Beauty" perhaps the best of all my compositions, and yet I wrote it incredibly quickly"
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| Alexander Gorsky in 1905 |
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| Photo of Marius Petipa |
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| Original cast members costumed for Act I. At center is Carlotta Brianza as Aurora. Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, 1890 |
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| Ricardo Drigo |
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