Starting March 5, Bulgarian conductor Rossen Milanov leads Ballet Zürich’s revival of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty. The production reunites Rossen with Swedish choreographer Mats Ek, who recasts somnambulistic princess Aurora as a modern-day drug addict. Writing of the work in 1999, The Guardian notes that the driving message behind Ek’s interpretation is “that there are no happy endings except those that we make for ourselves.” Rossen premiered the production at the Opernhaus Zürich two seasons earlier.
Yen Han dances the role of Princess Aurora, opposite Olaf Kollmannsperger as the King. Arman Grigoryan is Carabasse, Mélanie Borel is Queen Sylvia, and Filipe Portugal is King Florestan. Rossen was last heard at Opernhaus Zürich earlier this winter for the company’s New Year’s Eve Gala, which also focused on ballet.