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THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

Ballet in three acts
P.I. Tchaikovsky
Libretto and choreography by M. Petipa and V. Vladimirov
Characters:
King Florestan
Princess Aurora
Prince Desire
Catalabutte, the master of ceremonies of King Florestan
Fairy Carabosse, the evil fairy
Fairy of Diamonds
Duchesses, baronesses, countesses, marchionesses
Fairy-tale characters:
Puss-in-Boots
The White cat
Bluebird
Princess Florine
I action II action III action

The King and the Queen are celebrating the birth of their daughter – Princess Aurora. The magnificent hall of the palace is filled by arriving guests. Catalabutte, the master of ceremonies, greets them. The Lilac Fairy arrives with her suite and the other Good Fairies of Tenderness, Playfulness, Generosity, Audacity, and Carelessness. But the evil Fairy Carabosse is also here. The King’s dismay and fear grow stronger when he finds out that Catalabutte has forgotten to include Carabosse in the list of those invited. Ablaze with her desire for revenge, Carabosse summons an image of the young Aurora, and predicts that she will die from pricking her finger with a knitting spindle. The King and the Queen, the Good Fairies and the courtiers beg her to have mercy on Aurora, but in vain. Carabosse is deaf to their pleas. The Lilac Fairy promises to protect the Princess. Carabosse tries to push aside the Good Fairy, but her efforts are futile. Carabosse loses this battle of good and evil, and leaves the hall. The King issues an order, prohibiting the use of spindles in his kingdom.

A garden in front of the King’s castle. Today is Aurora’s birthday – she is sixteen. Aurora’s friends bring the princess a gift – a tapestry with her image embroidered on it. A group of young peasant girls, who brought flowers for the celebration, find a spindle, which was left there by the Fairy Carabosse. The girls study the unknown object. Catalabutte appears, he is terrified at the sight of the spindle. He asks the peasant girls where they had found it, but no one can explain how it got to the garden. The master of ceremonies suspects that the peasant girls have broken the king’s order. The King and the Queen appear. Seeing the spindle, the enraged King orders the arrest and execution of the peasant girls and Catalabutte. The Queen, who doesn’t want to spoil the festive day, intervenes on behalf of the arrested, and persuades the king to forgive them. The youths happily dance.
Four princes arrive. They have come to seek Aurora’s hand in marriage. Eventually, she appears before them. Aurora is introduced to the suitors. She is kind to everyone, but doesn’t show preference to anyone. Her heart is unperturbed. A lady of the court with a bouquet of flowers inconspicuously approaches her. Aurora accepts the bouquet of flowers, but they suddenly spill, leaving a spindle in her hands. Terrified, the King and the Queen rush to her, trying to avert the disaster, but it’s too late. The girl has pricked her finger. Everyone is drunk with grief. At this moment, the lady’s cloak falls of her shoulders. It’s the evil Carabosse. She revels in her victory.
The Lilac Fairy, Aurora’s protector, appears again. “Aurora is not dead, she is asleep,” – says the Good Fairy, soothing the King, the Queen and the guests. The sleeping Princess is taken into the castle. With a wave of her magic wand the Lilac Fairy puts the kingdom into century-long sleep.
A hundred years later. Prince Desire is hunting in the woods. Young girls try to attract his attention, to charm him, but he remains indifferent. Desire is daydreaming. Feelings, yet unclear to him, pull him far and deep into the mysterious forest illuminated with a magical light.
The Lilac Fairy appears. Desire tells her of the beautiful girl of his dreams. The Fairy casts a spell and summons a ghostly image of Aurora, fulfilling his dream. The enchanted Prince feels a passionate desire to see her again. The Lilac Fairy agrees to help him. To the sounds of tender lulling music, they float on a boat to the sleeping castle, guarded by dryads.

The fairy Carabosse and her servants create obstacles for the Prince, to prevent him from reaching the castle where Aurora is sleeping. Evil forces sent by Carabosse attack the Prince. He drives them away and makes a path for himself. He is at the bed of the sleeping Aurora. The evil Fairy Carabosse’s magic spell is broken; Aurora wakes up, together with the whole Kingdom. The King and the Queen give their blessing to Desire and Aurora.

The sumptuous wedding of Aurora and Desire. The fairies of Lilac, Diamond, Sapphire, Gold, and Silver, have come to congratulate them. Perrault’s fairy-tale characters are among the many guests: Florine and the Bluebird, Puss-in-Boots and the Little Red Riding Hood, Tom Thumb and his brothers, chased by a giant. Dances illustrating episodes from different fairy-tales take turns. Finally, Aurora and Desire arrive, dressed in festive attire. The celebration is concluded by a dance of mazurka performed by everyone present. They all praise the Lilac Fairy – the embodiment of all-conquering and all-triumphant Good.