Cinderella

Delightful dance, humour and music with an impact: This fairytale ballet has it all! At the heart of the tale is the dreamer Cinderella, who is bullied by her stepsisters but brave enough to stand up to them, and who attends a ball and falls head over heels in love with the prince.  

The Norwegian National Ballet’s version is the brainchild of Ben Stevenson and is danced in ballet houses in many countries. It has now returned to the Oslo Opera House! 

A story that gives hope 

Not surprisingly, there are over 1,500 versions of the Cinderella story found around the world. After all, who doesn’t dream about something unexpected and fantastic taking place someday?  

Ben Stevenson wanted to create a version of Cinderella that we can relate to in terms of both love and courage. 

Great ballet composer Sergej Prokofiev 

After achieving tremendous success with Romeo and Juliet, Prokofiev was commissioned in 1940 to compose music to Cinderella. World War II put a halt to the plans, but in 1945, the ballet finally premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. 

The composer said that he had attempted to give the characters colour in the music – the delicate and dreaming Cinderella, the shy and downtrodden father, the evil stepmother, the selfish sisters and the passionate young prince – so that listeners could share their joys and sorrows.