The Royal Ballet 2024/25 - Prokofiev: Cinderella

Director: Frederick Ashton (coreographer)

Dancer: Fumi Kaneko (Cinderella), William Bracewell (The Prince)
Set designer: Tom Pye
Costume designer: Alexandra Byrne
Orchestra: Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Jonathan Lo

Stuck at home and put to work by her spoiled Step-Sisters, Cinderella’s life is dreary and dull. Everything changes when she helps a mysterious woman out... 

With a little bit of magic, she is transported into an ethereal new world – one where fairies bring the gifts of the seasons, where pumpkins turn into carriages, and where true love awaits. 

In 1939, Frederick Ashton first began to consider creating a full-length work, the Company's first three-act ballet. At the time, it seemed like the obvious next step for British ballet. The idea was shelved during the war but in 1946, Ashton returned urgently to it. Inspired by other balletic adaptations of Cinderella coming out of Russia, Ashton chose to create his own version of Charles Perrault’s famous rags-to-riches story. Set to Prokofiev’s exquisite score, the ballet received its premiere in 1948, featuring Moira Shearer and Michael Somes in the lead roles.