On November 2 and 3, 2023, the Ballet Company of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre presented the ballet The Sleeping Beauty by Pyotr Tchaikovsky on the stage of the Harbin Grand Theatre. The tour of the Primorsky Ballet Company came as part of the Days of Culture of the Primorsky Region in Heilongjiang Province.
The audience enjoyed this ballet gem in one of its most successful dance versions: staging by Konstantin Sergeev and Eldar Aliev with major set pieces of Marius Petipa’s classical choreography retained.
“In my opinion – and it is not just my opinion – this is the most successful version of The Sleeping Beauty, clearly conveying the spirit of Petipa’s performance. The Primorsky Stage performance includes the “basic” version by Konstantin Mikhailovich Sergeev, adapted to the specifics of our ballet company. Some pieces have been remade, for example, the suite of the retinue of the Lilac Fairy, the famous Garland Waltz from Act I, and the polonaise from Act III. The suite of Carabosse, the evil fairy, has been rearranged in the prologue and in the finale of Act II, that is, he hunting scene. The Cinderella and Prince Fortuné duet staged for the divertissement of Act III has become also new”, notes Eldar Aliev, Ballet Artistic Director of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.
The set and costume design has been created by People’s Artist of Russia Vyacheslav Okunev. It takes the audience straight into the world of Charles Perrault’s incredible fairy-tale story.
The main parts of the tour were performed by the leading soloists of the Primorsky Stage Ballet Company: Anna Samostrelova, Lilia Berezhnova, Viktor Mulygin, Lada Sartakova, Ksenia Abdulkarimova, Denis Klepikov.
The dancers performed with the Harbin Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the famous Chinese conductor Muhai Tang.
