The Royal Ballet's flagship production, Sleeping Beauty, comes to the big screen today, Wednesday 24 May. It will be broadcast live from the Royal Opera at London's Covent Graden via satellite, at 8.15pm.
In Mallorca it can be seen at Cines Ocimax Palma and Ocine Porto Pi. In Spain it will be screened in 120 cinemas in more than 90 locations. It will also be shown in more than 1,300 cinemas in 43 countries.
Sleeping Beauty holds a place of honour in the heart and history of the Royal Ballet: it was the company's first performance when the Royal Opera House reopened in 1946 after the Second World War. In a famous statement, Frederick Ashton cited the pure classicism of choreographer Marius Petipa's 19th century ballet as an early lesson in atmospheric artistry and choreographic skill.
The three-act ballet, set to Tchaikovsky's magnificent music, was fully restored in 2006 by Monica Mason and Christopher Newton, based on the production by Ninette de Valois and Nicholas Sergeyev, and incorporating Oliver Messel's original designs. It features additional choreography by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon. A true gem of the classical ballet repertoire, full of virtuosic sequences that present unique challenges to even the most experienced dancers.
The ballet is approximately 3 hours and 25 minutes long, including 2 intermissions. The broadcast includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with the protagonists and information on the rehearsal process. In Spain it is distributed by Versión Digital.