The Ballets de Monte Carlo is televising La Belle, a full-length ballet, on Saturday evening via two media outlets to entertain lockdown crowds all over the region.
If people can’t attend the ballet, let the ballet come to the people. On Saturday 11^th April the Ballets de Monte Carlo will be televising La Belle at 5pm on both Monaco Info channel and France 3 PACA TV.
For those not in the area but still wishing to be a part of the magic, the ballet will be streamed live on the websites of both channels. Monaco Info’s link can be found on https://bit.ly/2JI8nO6 and France 3’s on https://bit.ly/39MTft9.
The ballet, choreographed by long-time director and choreographer to the Ballets de Monte Carlo Jean-Christophe Maillot, and set to Tchaïkovski’s haunting music, is a beautiful and thought-provoking twist on the classic fairy tale, Sleeping Beauty.
The story revolves around her life and mimics the rites of passage most women go through in their lives. Based on the lesser-known second half of the story, the part after Sleeping Beauty is awoken by her prince, it tells of how life was not happily-ever-after. The girl, now Queen, is threatened by her stepmother, the sorceress Maleficent.
Wicked to her core, Maleficent is the personification of unpleasantness within the story.
“Maleficent is like a magnet, sucking in all of our fears and taboos,” said Maillot of his character’s portrayal. “I created an androgynous, ambiguous being that is far from a straightforward symbol, and that might be a potential partner for Sleeping Beauty. Although the character embodies evil, evil is nevertheless difficult to define. My ballets always reject Manichaeism, the concept of evil versus good.”
La Belle is portrayed by Olga Smirnova wearing costumes from the 2016 production and the ballet is one hour 50 minutes in duration.