First performance - 15 January (3 January AD) 1890, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, choreography by Marius Petipa, conductor Riccardo Drigo.

First performance in Bulgaria - 25 February 1938, Sofia Opera, choreographer - Max Froman, conductor - Assen Naydenov, stage designer - Evgeny Vashchenko.

First performance in Ruse - 30 May 2003, conductor - Georgi Dimitrov, choreography and direction - Kalina Bogoeva, set and costume design - Ivan Savov

Actors

Aurora

Prince Desiree

Bluebird

Fairy Lilac

Fairy Carabosse

Princess Florina

Fairy Tenderness

Fairy Generosity

Fairy Courage

Fertility Fairy

Fairy Canary

Freilini

Brilliant

Gemstones

Short content

First act

First scene

At the palace of King Florestan XIV there is a big celebration for the christening of his newborn daughter Aurora. Many guests are present. Aurora's godmother, Fairy Lilac, has brought with her the good fairies to present their gifts. Shortly before she too presents her gift to the princess, Ceremonial Master Catalabut is startled to announce that he forgot to invite Fairy Carabosse, who, enraged and offended, comes to the palace. Everyone is horrified, for they know her anger. The King and Queen apologize to her, but she is adamant - Aurora will be clever and beautiful, but she will sleep an eternal sleep at the first prick of a needle. Those present are despairing. Fairy Lilac cannot undo the curse, but tries to soften it - the princess will be a captive of sleep until the moment a handsome prince wakes her with a kiss. Carabosse leaves, the King is in despair and orders that no needles are to be used in the kingdom ever again!

Second scene

A big celebration is coming up at the Royal Palace - the Princess's eighteenth birthday. The curse of the evil fairy has not come true. Despite the strict order that no one wear anything sharp, the palace maids have "forgotten" to leave their plaits at home. The Master of Ceremonies is horrified and has them arrested. The King and Queen approach, and although they are frightened, they forgive the women as today is a great celebration for the kingdom. The celebration begins, to which the princes are invited, hoping for the attention of the princess. Aurora enters with her courtiers and pageboys. Dancing, she spots an old woman holding a spindle. The princess takes it and plays with it. Suddenly she stops, and blood drips from her hand - she has stabbed herself without noticing. She falls and drifts off to sleep. Everyone is numb, and the old woman throws off the rags. It turns out to be the evil Carabosse. Fairy Lilac comes and lulls everyone to sleep.

Second act

Third scene

After many years. Prince Desiree and his retinue frolic in the forest before continuing with the hunt. The prince must choose his betrothed from among the ladies who accompany him, but his heart is constricted. The hunters continue to look for game, but the prince remains. Fairy Lilac appears before him. She shows him the image of Aurora and he falls in love with the princess. Desiree begs the fairy to help him find his beloved and she takes him with her to the enchanted kingdom of Florestan.

Fourth scene

In the palace. Everyone is fast asleep, only Carabosse and her pageboys are playing a sinister dance. Fairy Lilac comes and chases her away. Aurora's godmother introduces Prince Desiree, who dispels the evil forces, then approaches the princess and kisses her tenderly. The spell is broken and everyone awakens. The prince asks King Florestan for Aurora's hand. The King gives his blessing.

Fifth scene

Celebration in the palace. At the wedding of Princess Aurora and Prince Desiree are invited, fairies and many fairy-tale characters. They offer their congratulations and do not stop dancing. Everyone is joyful. The curse no longer weighs on the princess and she is happy.

History of creation

Thirteen years separate the premiere of Swan Lake from the first performance of Sleeping Beauty. In Tchaikovsky's oeuvre, there is no other instance of two works of the same genre being written so far apart in time. The reason for this was the failure of the first production of Swan Lake, but fortunately this did not affect the composer's interest in the ballet genre. Tchaikovsky mentions offhand that he intends to write a ballet. Several times he returned to his idea of a ballet based on his childhood fairy tale Undine, but he never fully realised his intention.
Tchaikovsky was invited by the director of the Imperial Theatre in St Petersburg, Ivan Vsevolozhsky - the date was 25 May 1888 - with an offer to write the music for the ballet Sleeping Beauty, based on Charles Perrault's fairy tale. "I want to do a mise en scene in the style of Louis XIV. Here you can play out your musical fantasy and compose a melody in the spirit of Lully, Bach, Rameau, etc. In the last act you will necessarily need a quadrille from all of Perrault's tales - the Puss in Boots, the Thumbelina and Little Red Riding Hood should all be here...' Tchaikovsky enthusiastically embraced the idea.

Vsevolozhsky worked on the libretto with balletmaster Marius Petipa. The King, according to the conceived mise en scene, is named Florestan XIV. While writing the music Tchaikovsky was also in constant contact with Petipa. Marius Petipa wrote Tchaikovsky a very detailed list of guidelines for his musical requirements. Tchaikovsky worked rapidly on the new ballet at his home in Frolovsk, where he jotted down the initial musical sketches in the winter of 1888 and began work on the orchestration from 30 May 1889. He completed the ballet's huge score in August. The premiere of the ballet Sleeping Beauty was at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on January 15, 1890. The production was prepared very carefully - with rich scenography, the best soloists of the theatre were attracted.

The audience greets "Sleeping Beauty" with great interest. Tchaikovsky admitted that of his works, only the opera Eugene Onegin was such a success. A real psychosis is created around the performance. Black marketeers buy up all the tickets to sell them at double the price. Instead of saying hello, people are asking: 'Did you see Sleeping Beauty? The ballet's clavier is reissued several times. Brass bands and entertainment groups perform excerpts from the work.
In just a few seasons Sleeping Beauty has been performed over 160 times on the Mariinsky Theatre stage.

Tchaikovsky died in 1893. By 1903, Sleeping Beauty was the second most popular ballet in the repertoire of the Imperial Ballet.
The ballets presented at La Scala in Milan did not show much interest in this ballet, and it was not until 1921, when the ballet was presented in London by Diaghilev's company, that Sleeping Beauty entered the classical repertoire of the world's theatres. In 1999, the Kirov Ballet restored the original 1899 version of the ballet, including a recreation of the original set and costumes.

"The Sleeping Beauty is Tchaikovsky's longest ballet, lasting almost four hours. The ballet is almost always presented in an abridged version.
In Bulgaria "Sleeping Beauty" was one of the first titles staged in Sofia at the dawn of Bulgarian ballet - the premiere was on 25 February 1938. The choreography is by Max Froman, the stage design by Evgeny Vashchenko, conducted by Assen Naydenov.