The Sleeping Beauty

High on the adrenaline rush of acclaim they received at London’s Coliseum Theatre in August, Queensland Ballet is dancing better than ever. Greg Horsman’s reinterpretation of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece The Sleeping Beauty is a sumptuous evening of classical ballet and a feast for the eye. Originally produced by Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2011, this is the Australian premiere.

Gary Harris’s set overwhelms in its splendour, drawing rapturous applause at each change, whilst his costumes dazzle with their fairytale opulence. His use of colour is rich, especially the corps de ballet in Act 2’s court scene with their mix of royal blue and gold.

Yanela Pinera not only brought superb technique and control to Aurora, but a fragile and waif-like quality to the role. Her pas de deux work in Act 2 astonished with its range. As her Prince and saviour, Hao Bin also displayed outstanding technique. If his character study of a bored Prince erred too much on the aloof-side, he made up for it with some attention-grabbing leaps and liftsand a spectacular fight with the dragon.

Eleanor Freeman brought evil and menace to the black-hearted Carabosse, helped by a quartet of black figures that appeared to have escaped from Lord of the Rings, whilst Clare Morehen’s study of the Lilac Fairy faultlessly combined ethereal edge with magic. Teri Crilly and Zhi Fang impressed as the Bluebirds, as did Jack Lister as Catalabutte who was a great audience pleaser and upped the humour quotient considerably. Katherine Rooke, Sophie Zoricic, Lisa Edwards and Tamara Hanton captivated as the Blue, Green, Orange and Yellow Fairies, while Shane Wuerthner, Emilio Pavan, Zhi Fang and Joel Woellner brought virility to the adult Princes.

The whole production was helped immeasurably by Jon Buswell’s lighting which captured the gaiety of the court and the Caravaggio-like gloom of the hundred-year-sleep period, and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Nigel Gaynor who brought a dynamic flair to Tchaikovsky’s familiar but difficult score.

The Sleeping Beauty is a fitting finale to Queensland Ballet’s most successful season.

Peter Pinne           

Photographer: David Kelly