Sergei Prokofiev transformed ballet music through its strong rhythmic character, sharp contrasts and distinctive modern sound. His ballets, including Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella, quickly established themselves following their premieres, owing to the strength of their dramaturgy and the rich possibilities they offered to choreographers.
The three-act score follows Perrault’s fairy tale and provides a diverse and richly textured musical source, supporting both the virtuosity and expressive qualities of ballet artists.
The contemporary fairy-tale ballet Cinderella, choreographed by Lukas Zuschlag and created as a co-production with Stadttheater Klagenfurt, transposes the classical fairy tale into the contemporary world, permeated by social pressures and deceptive glitter, where a young girl searches for her place and her identity. The story continually shifts between reality and dreams. The fairies open portals into an imaginary realm where the constraints of everyday life begin to loosen and familiar things take on new forms. The space is constantly transformed, shifting from the familiar to the unpredictable.
The Prince, heir to his father’s shoe factory, gives Cinderella a pair of the company’s latest model, yet she loses one of the shoes. At the end, the two shoes are reunited, becoming a symbol of connection and a new beginning. The story remains deliberately open-ended, inviting us to imagine for ourselves what might happen next.
Artists
- Music Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev
- Choreographer and Director Lukas Zuschlag
- Conductors Ayrton Desimpelaere
- Assistant Conductor Leon Felix Schlagintweit
- Costume Designer Leo Kulaš
- Set Designer Nicola Reichert
- Lighting Designer Jaka Šimenc
- Concertmaster Igor Grasselli
- Assistant Choreographer Mateja Železnik
- Dramaturg Tatjana Ažman
- Performance Assistants Rita Pollacchi, Tjaša Kmetec, Olga Andreeva, Viktor Isajčev, Ana Klašnja
- Costume Design Consultant Lara Kulaš
- Executive Producer Nives Fras
- Stage Manager Višnja Fičor
Entire cast
- Cinderella Eleonora Ancona, Marin Ino, Erica Pinzano
- Prince Matteo Moretto, Filip Jurič, Paolo Calò
- Stepmother Nina Noč, Tasja Šarler Vogrin, Barbara Potokar, Katja Samobor
- First Half-sister Erica Pinzano, Eleonora Ancona, Mariya Pavlyukova
- Second Half-sister Tasja Šarler Vogrin, Nina Kramberger, Emilie Tassinari
- Ballet teacher Lukas Bareman, Filippo Jorio, Matteo Moretto
- Main Fairy Emilie Tassinari, Nina Noč, Ellen Mäkelä
- The Prince's father Kenta Yamamoto, Yujin Muraishi, Filip Jurič
- The Prince's mother Chie Muraishi, Emilie Tassinari, Neža Rus, Lara Flegar
- Fairy of Spring Filippo Jorio, Pedro Marques, Jean Baptiste de Gimel
- Fairy of Summer Marin Ino, Nađa Mrašić, Chie Muraishi
- Autumn Fairy Nina Kramberger, Mariya Pavlyukova, Klara Strmčnik
- Winter Fairy Oleksandr Koriakovskyi, Lukas Bareman, Pablo Doria Aguirre
- Luis's two friends Yujin Muraishi, Paolo Calò, Yuki Seki, Hugo Mbeng
- Waiters Hugo Mbeng, Aleks Theo Šišernik, Oleksandr Koriakovskyi, Jean Baptiste de Gimel
- Boys at the dance Yujin Muraishi, Yuki Seki, Lukas Bareman, Filippo Jorio, Matteo Moretto, Oleksandr Koriakovskyi, Aleks Theo Šišernik, Paolo Calò, Pablo Doria Aguirre, Jean Baptiste de Gimel, Pedro Marques
- Girls at the dance Nina Kramberger, Nađa Mrašić, Manca Strmčnik, Klara Strmčnik, Mariya Pavlyukova, María Trabalón Sanjuán, Lara Flegar, Ellen Mäkelä, Mariša Nač Šuštar, Barbara Potokar, Neža Rus, Katja Samobor, Eleonora Ancona, Eva Gašparič
**The Higher Ballet School of the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet
Orchestra SNG Opera in balet Ljubljana