The Lithuanian National Ballet has through the last years got a line of good new classical productions to their repertoire. Among them are the wonderful old fashion Sleeping Beauty that I shall write about to day, but also their new La Sylfide, La Bayadere and Swan Lake. All of them on the highest niveau in the dance, setting, costumes and lightning. And allways sold out, even with 50-100 standing tickets sold. Fantastic. It is, for me, like a new aera has come to the company. The great company headed by their balletchef Tatjana Sedunova deserve this succes.

Anastasija Cumakova and Romas Ceizaris as Aurora and Prince Desiree in Sleeping Beauty with The Lithuanian National Ballet in Vilnius, 16th December 2009.

In Sleeping Beauty we enjoyed a new generation of soloists in the two leading roles, Anastasija Cumakova as Aurora and Romas Ceizaris as Prince Desiree. Both brilliant technically, and with a good stage appearance. For both I need more variation in the mimic, so that we can see that they are performing their roles, not only dancing brilliantly. For Cummakova which only have two faces, Smiling in 2. and 4
. act. Sad in 3 act, where she is still at sleep and dancing with the Prince in a dream. Romas Ceizaris has all the brilliant details in his dance, he is looking very handsome on stage and his liftings and jumps are first class. However I feel that he is still too young for the Prince role. He dont yet have the autority to be a Prince. But I like that these young outstanding talents are getting the posibillity to grow by being on stage in these roles. And the audience loves them.  

The role as the Lilac Fee was in very good hands and at very beautiful legs by Nailia Adigamova. Voldemaras Chlebinska is first class and dangerous as the fee Karabosse. This ballet is good in that way that it is giving very many soloposibilityes for all the good female soloists in the company, who by this is getting a great chance to show their qualityes. At the ending ball, as it shall be the Blue Bird Pas de deux was danced by some of the companys absolutely best dancers Olga Konosenko and Eligijus Butkus, it was a hit, and the other hit this evening was the Grand Pas de deux by Anastasija Cumakova and Romas Ceizaris, presenting them both in the absolutely most outstanding way.

This new production, but in the fully old fashion style, as I appreciate, with beautiful scenography and costumes by Viacheslav Okunev, is in the choreogaphy by Marius Petipa but renewed by Lyudmila Kovaliova. The orchestra was conducted by Robertas Servenikas

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Premiere of this production was 31 December 2006

Peter Tchaikovsky wrote about this ballet, “The plot is so poetic, and cut out for music that we Composing was accompanied with tremendous delight and Enthusiasm which generally determines the value of any work ‘. The outcome seems to have exceeded all expectations: The Sleeping Beauty, Choreographed by Marius Petipa and first produced in 1890, was to mark the beginning of a new era in the development of ballet. Grand pageantry, lavish decorations and a superb performance of ballet artists – all these indispensable attributes are found in our smoker’s theater production as well.