Sleeping Beauty

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Colorado Ballet has a new home that belongs to them and to Colorado Opera. A home with exquisite acoustics, and a stage that can be dressed in the finest of appointed fashion.

In grandeur it is accustomed to, Techaikovsky’s charming and delicate Sleeping Beauty opened last Saturday night at the new Ellie Caulkins Opera House. The ballet, with its magnificent orchestra reverberating throughout the opera house, was a feast for the eyes, and a joy to the ears.

A word to the wise with tickets at Will Call. Go early. The new system has mischievous bugs playing havoc with their computers, and ushers are still learning the seating format. If the wait is long and tedious, have patience. It is well worth the wait.

Sleeping Beauty bowed in honor to the Russian Royal Family in 1890. Its reputation of being one of the most elegant and grandest of all classical ballets continues to surround the atmospheric production.

Colorado Ballet’s production, explicitly choreographed by Marius Petipa and Konsttantino Sergeyev, and precisely staged by Meelis Pakri with Jocelyn Labsan and Andrew Thompson clings tightly to its reputation.

With Maria Mosina dancing as the Princess Aurora and Igor Vassin as Prince Desire, both Colorado Ballet favorites, there wasn’t room for anything but spectacular. Desire gives Vassin some space to showcase his power and strength with leaps and turns, even though there was a wanting for more.

A baby is born to King Florestan XIV (Pakri), and his Queen (Jenna Kapit). A celebration is held to honor the babe. There’s always one in the crowd bent out of shape for lack of an invitation, and Carabosse (Patricia Renzetti) has no intention of hiding her disappointment. A spiteful fairy, she invades the party, interrupting the gift giving by bestowing her own gift: a curse.

When Aurora is 16 years old, she will prick her finger on a spindle and die. The meanness of Carabosse cannot hide the grace and expertise of Renzetti, and yet Renzetti provides Carabosse with the flavor of the vengeful fairy. As powerful as the Lilac Fairy is, she cannot reverse the curse. She can, however, modify it. Yes, Aurora will prick her finger on a spindle, but instead of dying she will sleep for a 100 years to be magically awakened by the kiss of Prince Desire. Chandra Kuykendall infiltrates the Lilac Fairy with soothing confidence, comforting tenderness, and stunning technique.

Sleeping Beauty gives grand opportunity for the company to showcase their talent through frequent dancing en pointe. A humorous highlight for the production comes with the dancing of Puss-N-Boots (Jesse Marks) and White Cat (Ryoko Kono) proving classical ballet leaves room for fun, wit and animal attentiveness.

Denver has reason to be extraordinarily proud of its ballet company. It is difficult to imagine any company being more proficient that Colorado Ballet. With its magic of story, scenery special effects, and beautifully executed ballet, it snuggles well into the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Grand as it is, I expected unprecedented elegance, but I found it stark and sterile left with the feeling it wasn’t quite completed, particularly the lobby. From comments around me, I wasn’t alone. With perfect acoustics, giving vibrating life to sound and music, perfection in looks has to be secondary. Almost as vital to the perfect sound, has to be to the seating, offering an ideal view no matter where one is. There are grand staircases and welcome elevators. The bugs that playfully irritate will give up and move on. For the culturally aware as well as those who think ballet is beyond them, speaking a language they don’t understand, CEO and Artistic Director Martin Fredmann, has a serendipitous surprise waiting in the wings.