{"id":1649,"date":"2026-05-31T18:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T18:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1649"},"modified":"2026-05-31T18:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T18:38:16","slug":"viktorina-kapitonova-lights-up-boston-ballets-the-sleeping-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1649","title":{"rendered":"Viktorina Kapitonova lights up Boston Ballet\u2019s \u2018The Sleeping Beauty\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In 1993, Boston Ballet debuted a production of \u201cThe Sleeping Beauty\u201d it had bought from the Royal Ballet, with French Baroque sets and costumes by David Walker. Thirty-three years later, that production is on its 10th outing and still going strong. Opening night Thursday at the Citizens Opera House, Viktorina Kapitonova was a showstopper in the title role. Tickets will be hard to come by for the remaining 11 performances.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Princess Aurora doesn\u2019t come on till Act 1, and Prince D\u00e9sir\u00e9 doesn\u2019t appear till Act 2, but you wouldn\u2019t want to miss the Prologue, where the Lilac Fairy and her entourage are guests at baby Aurora\u2019s christening. Thursday\u2019s audience applauded as soon as the curtain rose, in appreciation of Walker\u2019s royal pageantry. There\u2019s humor and a bit of social commentary here. Master of ceremonies Catalabutte (Lawrence Rines Munro on Thursday) accepts the assurance of an underling that the guest list is complete; the King (Alexander Nicolosi) accepts the assurance of Catalabutte. When uninvited \u201cbad fairy\u201d Carabosse (Mar\u00eda \u00c1lvarez) arrives in a hail of thunder and lightning and demands an explanation from the Queen (Lauren Herfindahl), she points a finger at her husband, and he does the same to the hapless Catalabutte. Then there\u2019s Carabosse\u2019s christening gift, a spindle; it flummoxes the King and Queen, who are clearly unacquainted with the concept of work. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00c1lvarez stole the show Thursday, her domineering Carabosse full of malevolent glee and malicious mimicry. Lilac Fairy Lia Cirio wasn\u2019t at her best in the difficult Italian fouett\u00e9s of her variation, but she brought the requisite serene authority to her face-off with Carabosse. Her entourage shone: Alainah Grace Reidy as a seductive, teasing Crystal Fountain Fairy; Sage Humphries giving control and amplitude to Enchanted Garden; Emma Topalova walking on pointe with hypnotic precision as Woodland Glade; Alexis Workowski chirpy and ebullient as Songbird; Haley Schwan a commanding, dramatic Golden Vine. The six fairy cavaliers served up a nice set of synchronized double tours; the eight Lilac Fairy attendants, when they weren\u2019t dodging Carabosse\u2019s Goya-nightmare cohort, did full justice to Tchaikovsky\u2019s sumptuous score.<\/span><\/p>\n

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