Russian National Ballet: Sleeping Beauty

It is a grandiose and refined blending of the traditional mime, expressive pas d'action and spectacular divertissements in a lavish theatrical setting. Tchaikovsky was delighted to write the music for a ballet based on Charles Perrault's well-known fairy tale. A baby princess, condemned at her christening by an evil fairy to prick her finger and die on her 16th birthday, is saved by the good Fairy, who declares the princess will only sleep until awakened by the kiss of a prince. The fairy tale, replete with a king and queen, fairies both good and evil, a beautiful princess and dream prince, magical stage effects, and courtly splendor, lends itself to an afternoon of ballet at its finest. $42, $39