Sydney Opera House, 21 November 2025. David McAllister’s decade-old production of The Sleeping Beauty returns, and from the first chord it is clear this is no children’s fairy tale but a glittering allegory of absolutist order. Premiered in 1890 by Marius Petipa and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the ballet’s staging is a deliberate homage to Louis XIV’s Versailles. Performed by The Australian Ballet 98 times to date, with nearly 150 performances projected by the end of the 2025 season.
The ballet wears its baroque ancestry openly: crystalline chandeliers, symmetrical courtiers in fontanges and gold embroidery, choreography that turns around hierarchy and symmetry. The Prologue’s christening is pure court ritual. Six variation fairies line up like courtiers bestowing protocol gifts upon the infant Aurora. Their orderly procession is shattered by the uninvited Carabosse (a terrifying Katherine Sonnekus, in black feathers with rat attendants), the dark remainder the Sun King’s system could not assimilate. Rina Nemoto’s Lilac Fairy is the production’s quiet sovereign: poised, magisterial, wand in hand she suspends time itself, softening death into dormancy.
Benedicte Bemet’s Aurora is luminous from the Rose Adagio onward—her every solo greeted by spontaneous mid-performance applause. Chengwu Guo’s Prince Désiré matches her with soaring leaps and attentive partnering.
Jonathan Lo, guest conductor, led the Opera Australia Orchestra through the rich harmonies and sweeping melodies of the Tchaikovsky score that audiences will find at times particularly familiar. David McAllister’s staging honours the original 19th-century choreography by Marius Petipa, brought to life with lavish set and 300-plus costumes by Gabriela Tylesova, a multiple Helpmann and Green Room Award-winner.
Opening Night included a special treat: the Principal Partner Telstra Ballet Dancer Award for 2025 was announced from five nominations, and it was awarded to Adam Elmes, who last night performed as a courtier across various scenes and settings.
The Sleeping Beauty, heralds the return of a work of art, a celebration of precision, of dancers, of the ballet form itself, and of the baroque impulse to make power and the dream of perfect order visible.
Opening at the Sydney Opera House’s Joan Sutherland Theatre from 21 November to 17 December 2025.
Credits:
Choreography: Marius Petipa
Production and additional choreography: David McAllister
Composer: Piotr IIywich Tchaikovsky
Costume and Set Design: Gabriela Tylesova
Design Associate: Kat Chan
Dramaturge: Lucas Jervies
Lighting Design: Jon Buswell
The Sleeping Beauty Performance Details:
Sydney
21 November – 17 December
Sydney Opera House
Joan Sutherland Theatre
With Opera Australia Orchestra
visit: www.australianballet.com.au for details.
*Photography credits Daniel Boud
