For the First Time, “The Sleeping Beauty” by Cairo Opera Ballet Company

04 May 2024

Within the Ministry of Culture’s strategy to promote all forms of creativity and innovation, the Cairo Opera House, under the supervision of Dr. Lamiaa Zayed, presents the world-famous classical ballet, “The Sleeping Beauty”, by P. I. Tchaikovsky. The Ballet is performed, for the first time, by the Cairo Opera Ballet Company accompanied with the Cairo Opera Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Ahmed Farag, at the Main Hall on 9, 10, 12, and 13 May 2024 at 8:30 p.m.
The production is choreographed by Marius Petipa, set design by Mohamed El Gharbawy, and lighting design by Yasser Shalaan. The introduction and three acts tell the story of a beautiful princess who falls under a curse from an evil witch. According to the curse, the princess will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die. Despite the king’s precautions, the plot succeeds and the princess falls into a deep, eternal sleep after touching a spindle, and is eventually awakened by a brave young who saves her and the entire kingdom.
Established in 1966, the Cairo Opera Ballet Company was first affiliated to the Higher Institute of Ballet (Academy of Arts). During that time, the members of the Company were coached by Soviet experts. The first production of the Company was “The Fountain of Bakhchisaray” directed by Leonid Lavrovsky, former director of the Bolshoi Theater.
In 1991, the Cairo Opera Ballet Company was integrated into the National Cultural Center “Cairo Opera House” presenting a vast repertoire of international classical ballets like “Romeo and Juliet”, “Swan Lake”, “The Nutcracker”, “Cinderella”, “Le Corsaire”, “Carmina Burana”, “Boléro”, “Lorkiana”, “Hamlet”, “Malgré Tout”, “Zorba”, “One Thousand and One Nights”, “Danses qu’on Croise”, “Odysseus”, “Spartacus”, “The Rites of Spring”, “Pinocchio” and “Jeu d’échecs”.
Since 1972, the Cairo Opera Ballet Company has embarked on numerous international tours traveling to Moscow, Leningrad, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Germany, France, Italy, United States of America, Tunisia, Korea and China.