Front Row Reviewers

Feb 11, 2023 | Reviews

At Salt Lake City’s Capitol Theatre, Ballet West’s The Sleeping Beauty Is Intricate and Inspiring

Front Row Reviewers

Front Row Reviewers

By Kathryn Olsen

With Valentine’s Day near at hand, it is wonderful to be persuaded of true love and Ballet West’s production of The Sleeping Beauty at Salt Lake City’s Capitol Theatre is the perfect place to do so.  This 1889 ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is based on the synopsis of Ivan Vsevolozhsky, who was inspired by The Beauty Sleeping in the Forest by Charles Perrault, while this production is masterminded by Artistic Director Adam Sklute.  I have been familiar with the ballet’s music since childhood, even playing some of the music as a violinist, but had never seen it performed before; I brought along a newcomer to the wonderful world of ballet and looked forward to seeing it brought to life.

As the ballet opens, the King (Zachary Brickson) and Queen (Michele Gifford) are holding a christening for their newborn daughter Princess Aurora (danced later by Emily Adams/Katlyn Addison/Jenna Rae Herrera/Amy Potter).  Among the invited guests are fairies representing Wisdom (Victoria Vassos/Anisa Sinteral), Kindness (Lillian Casscells/Victoria Vassos), Joy (Chelsea Keefer/Kristina Weimer), Beauty (Amy Potter/Kazlyn Nielsen/Isabella Corridon/Amelia Dencker), and Temperament (Olivia Gusti/Rylee Ann Rogers), who have come to present the infant with their gifts.  Disaster strikes when Carabosse (Nicole Fanney/Emily Adams/Katlyn Addison), the Fairy of Jealousy crashes the party.  Having taken offense at not having been invited, she casts a spell that will cause Aurora to someday prick her finger on a spindle and die.  The only consolation is that the Lilac Fairy uses her gift of wisdom to modify the spell so the princess will fall into a deep sleep until she is awakened by true love’s kiss.  Sixteen years later, all precautions have been taken to prevent the spell from taking effect and Aurora is presented with princes who have come to win her hand and, just as Aurora is filled with joy over the life ahead of her, a crone approaches with a gift she does not recognize because her parents have banned spindles from their kingdom.  She pricks her finger, falls into a deep sleep, and the fairies put the entire court to sleep so they will be undisturbed until the arrival of Aurora’s true love.  One hundred years later, Prince Desire (Hadriel Diniz/Adrian Fry/Jordan Veit/Brian Waldrep) is longing for ideal love and begs the fairies to lead him to a beautiful and mysterious maiden seen only in vision.  Will the prince be able to break the curse and find the love he desires?

Aurora is described in the program notes as dazzling and Adams fantastically fits that role.  The fairies’ gifts clearly have an influence on the choreography so that she explores a broad expressive range from regal poise to unbridled excitement and the audience enthusiastically applauded Adams’ spritely gamboling as much as the dramatic dignity in the famous “Rose Adagio” during which she dances with her suitors in turn.  She strikes a balance between the child she has been allowed to be and the stature that she must develop as the heir to the throne.

Diniz is a perfect Tchaikovsky prince in that he follows heart before head and commits himself to a quest on noble terms.  Though Prince Desire is a late arrival to the plot, only appearing after Aurora’s kingdom has been put under the spell, his performance is fervent and his stage presence is compelling.  There is never any real suspense as to whether he will succeed in awakening the princess with the kiss of true love, but Diniz capitalizes on the tensions and credibly struggles with obstacles so that his intervention comes after a valiant effort.  The love story that is depicted in the finale of the ballet as the two wed is inspiring for the difficulty of its execution.  Apart from the marvelous storyline and Diniz’ acting ability, he is a commanding dancer with impressive technical accuracy and wonderful expression.

Carabosse is a perfect foil for all the best intentions and it is no criticism to call Fanney a drama queen in this situation.  She arrives with a crack of thunder and departs in a sudden blaze of fire and if that were not enough to make her sinister, she is the mistress of Malice and Spite (Kristina Weimer and Kazlyn Nelson/Olivia Gusti and Claire Wilson)and an entourage of beasts.  She is convincing in her rare moments of mild persuasiveness and utterly terrifying when she is in her true form.  Fanney naturally invokes her counterpart from the 1959 Walt Disney because Carabosse and Malificent seem to be cut from the same unsympathetic cloth, but this Carabosse interpretation is outstanding in its vicious and cunning execution on its own merits.

Vassos is one of the greatest contributors to the effectiveness of this production.  As my friend observed, you can tell from the very start that she is the one to direct the outcome of the story, from leading the fairies to engineering the defeat of Carabosse.  Vassos is a dancer of inimitable grace in this production as well as being effective in guiding others to discover their purpose and greatness.  There is almost a sly intelligence to her tendency to set other characters on the correct path and then take a more subdued role, which makes her eventual victory rewarding.

The more secondary characters shine in brief tableaux.  Brickson and Gifford effectively play parents who fear for their child while trying to give her as happy a life as possible.  Malice and Spite were my favorite characters, as their choreography gave them inhuman vibes, and their later roles as the fairies of Gold and Silver were a dazzling reprieve from their wickedness.  Catalabutte (Tyler Gum/Robert Fowler/Adrian Fry) is entertaining as the set-in-his-ways and commanding Major Domo of Aurora’s home court, while the Tutor (Beau Chesivoir/Vinicius Lima) to Prince Desire is obviously a beloved but bumbling member of the prince’s inner circle.  The fairies and their cavaliers (Dominic Ballard/Loren Walton/Vinicius Lima/Jake Preece/Robert Fowler/Joseph Lynch/Beau Chesivoir/Jacob Hancock) each approach their featured dances with a sense of their virtues and their purposes, whether the exuberant Fairy of Kindness or the more patient Fairy of Beauty.  Act III has a parade of fairy tale guests to the wedding and personal favorites in these dances were the delightfully staged catfighting between Puss-in-Boots (Joshua Whitehead/Vinicius Lima/Beau Chesivoir) and Wise Little Cat (Anisa Sinteral/Nicole Fanney/Lillian Casscells) and The Bluebird (David Huffmire/Jordan Veit/Tyler Gum/Hadriel Diniz) and Princess Florine (Jenna Rae Herrera/Chelsea Keefer/Kazlyn Nielsen) in their companionably affectionate pas de deux.  Students of Ballet West Academy brought hilarity and teamwork to their roles as pages, court members, and heralds.

A remarkable feature of this production is its casting on a variety of levels. Before the performance, my friend and.I looked through the names of the various performers and then went on a search for those artists in the profiles in the program.  It was wonderful to see Carabosse and the Lilac Fairy roles filled by members of the corps de ballet, working in prominent partnership with dancers from all levels of the company.  The variety of casting gave a sense of greater appreciation for every member of Ballet West, Ballet West II, and the affiliated programs.

This production is particularly rich in its technical aspects.  Artistic Director Adam Sklute mentions that his goal was to “bring out the fairy tale magic of the ballet and its emotional heart by distilling the characters’ qualities and emphasizing their archetypal nature.”  This imagination is evident at every level.  New sets were done by Alain Vaes alongside Assistant Scenic Designer Jefferson Ridenour which reflect the period styles of the early events as well as a century later and this grounds the ballet in historical authenticity with the embellishment of the fantastical. Of particular note is the partial lowering of a screen when the spell sets in so that the forest is closing in on the kingdom while Carabosse’s magic is at its most powerful.  The reimagining also includes original staging and choreography by Pamela Robinson-Harris and Mark Goldweber as well as restating by Jane Wood, Bruce Caldwell, Calvin Kitten, and Michele Gifford.  Peter Cazalet’s Costume Design and the masks by Logan Long work well with the ambience of the sets while still creating individualized and intriguing aesthetics for the players.  Lighting Design by Jim French is at its best in expressing the mystical elements in the plot, particularly when the prince is following the visions given to him by the fairies.  As always, The Ballet West Orchestra under the baton of Jared Oaks provides a driving and responsive accompaniment to every scene and solo passages for musicians enhance the emotional expressions of the dancer.

This production runs through February 18, so leave your spindles at home and come to the Capitol Theatre for a ballet full of soulful expression and defeatable sorcery.  It is a story for all ages to enjoy.

Ballet West presents The Sleeping Beauty; By Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, scenario by Ivan Vsevelozhsky, based on Charles Perrault’s La Belle au bois dormant.
Capitol Theatre, 50 W 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Feb 10-18, 2023, 7:30 PM, 2 PM matinee. See site for individual performance details.
Tickets:  $29-130
Contact:  801-869-6900
www.balletwest.org
Ballet West Facebook Page
The Sleeping Beauty Facebook Event

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