Cinderella

An innovative modern interpretation of the ballet

Performers
Zurich Opera Orchestra
Vladimir Fedoseyev (Conductor)
Dancers of the Zurich Ballet
Soloists: Karine Seneca and Stanislav Jermakov

The current wealth of TV makeover shows demonstrates that audiences never seem to tire of seeing a transformation: the 'reveal', that moment when the subject sees their new and improved living room/husband/face is Noughties telly gold. Not be outdone, here at Sky Arts we have our own version: it's performed by the Zurich Opera Ballet, it's based on a centuries-old folk tale, and it's called Cinderella.

In this imaginative modern take on the ever-popular Prokofiev ballet, Heinz Spoerli's updated Cinderella is a poor and wretched corps de ballet member of a provincial company, exploited and humiliated by the wicked ballet mistress who favours her own two daughters. Cinderella's only friend is the put-upon rehearsal pianist and sometime Fairy Godmother, who gives Cinders a pair of ballet slippers so she can attend a ballet benefit gala. There, the star dancer recognises her talent and is desperate to partner her, so when she vanishes at midnight, losing a shoe, he goes in search of her. He roams the world's great companies in pursuit of her, and in a delightful twist, visits the Bolshoi's production of Don Quixote, Paris Opera's La Bayadère and The Royal Ballet's Sleeping Beauty before eventually finding Cinderella languishing in a studio, and the happy ending ensues.

This is a wonderfully inventive version of an old favourite, where the downtrodden heroine's talent for dance elevates her to her rightfully recognised position. Sounds like the premise of another TV series to us; Ballet Idol, anyone?