Moscow Festival Ballet’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’ awakens at MSU Riley Center
“The Sleeping Beauty,” grandest of all classical ballets, will come to the MSU Riley Center in downtown Meridian in a performance by the all-star troupe known as the Moscow Festival Ballet on April 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Sergei Radchenko, former principal dancer of the famed Bolshoi Ballet, formed the Moscow Festival Ballet to showcase the best performers from across Russia. “The Sleeping Beauty” brings to life the familiar fairy tale of a princess who falls into a century-long enchanted sleep until awakened by the kiss of a handsome prince. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky created the lush, romantic music, including the famous “Garland Waltz” from Act I.
This production uses the original Marius Petipa choreography from the premiere production in 1890. Appropriately, that’s the year the Riley Center’s Grand Opera House first opened. The theater, now elegantly restored to its Victorian splendor, provides the perfect setting for this supreme achievement of the Russian classical age.
Tickets are $39 and $33 at the MSU Riley Center Box Office, which is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.msurileycenter.com or by calling the box office at 601-696-2200.
