Cinderella (Prokofiev)
| Cinderella | |
|---|---|
| Choreographer | Rostislav Zakharov |
| Music | Sergei Prokofiev |
| Libretto | Nikolai Volkov |
| Based on | Cinderella |
| Premiere | 21 November 1945 Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow |
| Characters | Cinderella, Cinderella's Stepmother, Cinderella's Two Stepsisters, Cinderella's Fairy godmother, Cinderella's Prince Charming. |
| Genre | Classical ballet |
Cinderella (Russian: Золушка, Zolushka; French: Cendrillon) Op. 87, is a ballet composed by Sergei Prokofiev to a scenario by Nikolai Volkov. It is one of his most popular and melodious compositions, and has inspired a great many choreographers since its inception. The piece was composed between 1940 and 1944. Part way through writing it Prokofiev broke off to write his opera War and Peace. The premiere of Cinderella was conducted by Yuri Fayer on November 21, 1945 at the Bolshoi Theatre, with choreography by Rostislav Zakharov and Galina Ulanova in the title role. Cinderella is notable for its jubilant music, lush scenery, and for the comic double-roles of Cinderella's stepmother and Cinderella's two stepsisters (which can be performed in travesti), more mad than bad in this treatment.
Act I
As the ballet opens, Cinderella is seen helping her stepmother and her two stepsisters to prepare for the Spring Ball, at which it is rumoured that the Prince will choose his bride. Though the two stepsisters are working together to produce a new shawl, they get into an argument over who will wear it and end up tearing it in two. Cinderella is then left alone to clear up the remnants and finish preparations. Since her mother's death and her father's remarriage with her stepmother, she has been reduced to little more than a servant in her own home, and though her father is concerned for her, he is just as much under her two stepsisters and her stepmother's control as Cinderella herself is. Their brief peace is interrupted, however, as the stepmother and the two stepsisters reenter and begin ordering them about. During supper, a beggar woman turns up, asking for shelter. The two stepsisters and the stepmother try to chase her off, but Cinderella offers her a place by the kitchen fire and an old pair of slippers. The beggar thanks her for her kindness and departs, leaving the preparations to resume. After choosing dresses and a quick dancing lesson, the family finally sets off for the ball with the father reluctantly in tow, leaving Cinderella behind. Although lonely at first, she cheers herself up by dancing with her broom, imagining the Prince himself has asked her for a dance. She is surprised when the beggar woman comes back to return the slippers with her thanks. To Cinderella's amazement, they have been turned into dancing slippers of glass. The beggar woman reveals herself as Cinderella's fairy godmother, come to grant her wish of going to the ball. Summoning the fairies of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, she turns Cinderella's rags into a beautiful dress, a pumpkin and mice into a carriage and horses, and grasshoppers and dragonflies into a retinue of footmen. As she is about to leave, the fairy godmother warns her that the spell will only last until midnight, at which time everything will revert to its original form. Only the glass slippers will remain as a gift for her kindness. She then summons twelve dwarves, who will appear to warn her if she has not left by midnight. With this warning in mind, Cinderella departs for the ball.
...
Wikipedia