Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, in the Liceu
La Belle, one of the more emblematic pieces by the company directed by Jean-Christophe Maillot, is a unique adaptation of the original Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty with an extended score
On the 13th, 15th and 16th of February, the Gran Teatre del Liceu will play host to Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo with a performance entitled La Belle, created by Jean-Christophe Maillot and presented for the first time in Monaco in 2001.
La Belle is inspired by Charles Perrault’s tale, The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood which, towards the end of the 19th century was in turn adapted by Russian composer Tchaikovsky and French choreographer Marius Petipa, director of the Imperial Russian Ballet during their golden age and creator of many of ballet’s most celebrated classical choreographies.
The performance by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo recovers the symbolism of the original story while extending Tchaikovsky’s score with additions from Romeo and Juliet and breaking away from the innocence of Petipa’s original choreography. This version of the fairy tale takes place in a world of adult emotions and desires and demands the utmost from the soloists and the company as a whole, and Maillot’s reinterpretation delivers a sensual, scintillating, dreamlike ballet representative of the neo-classical school.
Le Ballets de Monte-Carlo was founded in 1985 and has become the undisputed flagship for the most refined expression of classical dance. La Belle is a work of great aesthetic and technical sophistication and was the winner of the Nijinsky Award for Best Choreography in 2001.