The Australian Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty premiered in Melbourne on Tuesday night to much fanfare and resounding applause.

Sumptuously reimagined by artistic director David McAllister, the production draws on the tradition of the 1890 Tchaikovsky masterpiece which had its birth in the last decades of Imperial Russia. A whimsical Baroque confection, the staging evoked the gilt court of Versailles while reflecting “the concerns and responsibilities of a modern-day monarch,” said McAllister. While never seen before, the choreography builds on the original Beauty‘s choreography by Marius Petipa.

Gabriela Tylesova seems to have no end to her creative output and imagination, creating costumes and sets full of painstakingly rich detail. The downy layers of tulle on the fairies’ tutus give a sense of lightness among the hefty twists of marble in the set. The gold, the jewels, the chandeliers—its a heady experience, not unlike a day taking in an 18th century palace.

The success in retelling a beloved story is in staying true to the work while giving it just a little bit extra detail—and in conveying magic.

The Sleeping Beauty

2015 Season

Melbourne 15-26 September
Perth 7-10 October
Sydney 27 November -16 December

images courtesy of Jeff Busby and The Australian Ballet