Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty ***
English National Ballet, Coliseum, 6th June 2018
While Nutcracker is a sugary confection bursting with toothsome numbers and Swan Lake seeps tragedy from its first watery bars, Sleeping Beauty is the Tchaikovsky ballet for the connoisseur. It marks the apex of Russian Imperial style, a fairy tale full of grandeur, an exquisite Fabergé egg boasting ballet’s most sumptuous, symphonic score. It can be a difficult work to bring off – it’s long and nothing happens in Act 3 – and, despite an Aurora of gauzy delicacy from Alina Cojocaru and brilliant orchestral playing, English National Ballet’s latest revival of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s gem lacked a little lustre.
Alina Cojocaru (Aurora)
© Laurent LiotardoKennet
Read the full review on Bachtrack.