The Sleeping Beauty

When Rudolf Nureyev came to Paris in 1961 on tour with the Kirov, shortly before he applied for political asylum, he captived audiences at the Palais Garnier in the role of the Prince in The Sleeping Beauty. Thirty years later, he proposed a new choreography of what he considered to be “the ballet of ballets” for the Paris Opera Ballet. While retaining the spectacular enchantment of the ballet and the sparkling charm of Tchaikovsky’s music, he brought a new balance to Marius Petipa’s original choreography by giving more prominence to the male roles, particularly that of the Prince. Absent from the Paris Opera stage for ten years, there is no doubt that Aurora and Désiré, the Lilac Fairy and the Blue Bird, not forgetting the terrible Carabosse, will fascinate new generations.