There are a number of ways of approaching The Sleeping Beauty
(or any other ballet). Firstly, the most preferable option is
to attend a live performance of the entire piece - given by
one of the great international companies at one of the well-known
venues such as Sadler’s Wells, Covent Garden or the Manchester
Opera House. This allows the music-lover to appreciate comprehensively
the total impact of the music, the movement, the scenery and
the special effects. Secondly, there is the occasion to watch
a first-rate presentation on the television - a live version
or on DVD. Thirdly, there is the opportunity to hear the complete
score on a quality sound system (or even one’s iPod) and
then there is the Suite that has been extracted by the composer
or another individual. Finally, there is the present CD which
falls between the two stools of ‘suite and complete’.
If I am honest, I am not sure what the raison d’être
of this new release is, save to encourage the listener to discover
some of the music not included in the Suite Op.66a. Contrariwise,
it may appeal to someone who cannot endure or commit to two
and half hours of the full score.
It is not necessary to give many details about this work or
to relate the well-known fairy-tale ‘La belle au bois
dormant’, written by Charles Perrault (1628-1703). However,
it is always useful to place a work in its chronological setting.
Tchaikovsky wrote The Sleeping Beauty between October
1888 and August 1889. The first performance of the work was
given at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg on 15 January
1890. It was conducted by Riccardo Drigo and was choreographed
by Marius Petipa. The British premiere was not until the Diaghilev
production at the Alhambra Theatre, London in 1921. Since the
nineteen-forties, this ballet has become one of the favourites
for young and old alike.
The liner-notes give the story of the ballet in some detail
and include the appropriate references to the recorded tracks.
The full ballet lasts for some 160 minutes and is usually released
on two or three CDs. The present version is less than half of
that time - so a lot of music has been omitted. However, the
upside is that the numbers have been presented in ‘score’
order so that the general narrative can be followed. Nevertheless,
I do wish that Naxos had chosen to print the conventional act,
section and sub-section numbers.
When the listener hears the Suite Op.66, it is soon clear that
there is precious little of the score here. In fact, there are
only four numbers lasting for a mere twenty minutes: it includes
the ‘purple passages’ such as the ‘Pas d’action-Rose
Adagio’ and the ‘Waltz’ from Act I. The present
recording introduces the listener to nearly four times as much
music. When looking at the track-listing it seems that the second
act has been knocked about the most. Out of some eighteen numbers,
there are only four given here. Out have gone the ‘Dances
of the Duchesses, Baronesses, Countesses and Marchionesses’
the ‘Blind Man’s Buff’ and the ‘Farandole’.
Furthermore, in the Act III the character pieces have all but
disappeared. My favourites such as ‘Puss in Boots’,
‘Tom Thumb, his Brothers and the Ogre’ and ‘Little
Red Riding-Hood and the Wolf’ are all excised. Everyone
will have lost a much-loved dance.
The present CD derives from the ‘commended status by The
Penguin Guide’ complete recording produced some 21 years
ago by the Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra under the auspices
of Andrew Mogrelia. I enjoyed the music and was delighted to
hear many - but by no means all - of my favourite numbers. However,
when it comes to recommendations it is a slightly different
matter. I personally would chose to stick with the old 1974
recording of the complete ballet (from which just ‘Tom
Thumb’ and the ‘Sarabande’ are omitted) by
André Previn which seems to be more ‘romantic’
with the orchestra just a little more on the ball. Yet, for
the complete ballet, it is necessary to buy the three-disc set
(8.550490-2) from Naxos noted above.
John France
Track listing
Introduction [3:21]
Le Prologue :
Marche - Entrée du Roi Florestan et sa cour [5:20]
Scène dansante - Entrée des fées bonnes
[4:46]
Pas de six: Adagio [4:47]
Coulante, Fleur de Farine (Variation II) [0:33]
Fée aux Miettes (Variation III) [1:13]
Le Canari qui chante (Variation IV) [0:36]
Violente (Variation V) [1:02]
Fée des Lilas (Variation VI) [1:20]
Coda [1:51]
Act 1
Valse [4:42]
Pas d'action: Rose Adagio [6:36]
Coda [2:43]
Finale [7:56]
Act II
The Vision: Entr'acte et Scène [3:02]
Panorama [3:40]
Entr'acte symphonique (Le Sommeil) et Scene [1:34]
Finale [2:28]
Act III
The Wedding: Marche [3:30]
Polacca - Cortege des Contes de Fées [4:20]
Pas de quatre: Introduction [1:57]
La Fée - Argent (Variation II) [0:53]
La Fée - Diamant (Variation IV) [0:48]
Pas de quatre - Adagio [2:46]
Cendrillon et le Prince Fortuné (Variation I) [01:00]
Coda [1:36]
Apothéose [2:39]
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Mogrelia 