ReviewHong Kong Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty marked by ravishing performances and a joyous farewell, but shame about the setting
- Ye Feifei and Amber Lewis gave two quite different yet equally outstanding interpretations of Princess Aurora, strongly partnered by Daniel Camargo and Wei Wei
- Eleven-year-old Matsuharu Wesley Lai looks like a future star, but they all deserved better than Cynthia Harvey’s 2010 production and the clunky set
The opening night of Hong Kong Ballet’s first revival of The Sleeping Beauty since 2015 was distinguished by ravishing performances from Ye Feifei as Princess Aurora and guest artist Daniel Camargo – who put up with another round of quarantine to be here – as her Prince, strongly supported by Wang Qingxin’s serene yet commanding Lilac Fairy and Wei Wei’s masterfully malevolent Carabosse.
The closing night saw a stunning debut from Amber Lewis in the title role, partnered by Wei; this was his farewell appearance as a principal dancer and the evening ended with a joyous onstage celebration paying tribute to his 19 years with the company.
These fine performances deserved a better setting than Cynthia Harvey’s 2010 production, which fails to do justice to Marius Petipa’s masterpiece. While the Prologue and Act 1 are given in their entirety, Harvey has shortened Acts 2 and 3 which makes for a lopsided structure, with a glaring contrast between the quality of the first half and the cut-down, cursory treatment of the rest.
The role of Aurora is Petipa’s ultimate homage to prima ballerinas, and Ye and Lewis gave two quite different yet equally outstanding interpretations.