Cinderella ballet pulls out a magician to enchant crowd
THE Royal Ballet is working with a magician to create an ethereal world of fairy godmothers and pumpkin carriages for its ambitious production of Cinderella.
Dancers and designers are working with Chris Fisher, an “illusion consultant” and member of the Magic Circle whose visions will enhance the magic of the choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton’s masterpiece 75 years after it premiered.
In previous stagings of the fairy tale, when the fairy godmother turns a pumpkin into a carriage for Cinderella the fruit would have been thrown into the wings or down a trap door before the carriage was wheeled on in a puff of smoke. That was “very unmagical”, Mr Fisher said. Now, with his wizardry, it will float from the fairy godmother’s hands, levitating high above the stage as the carriage suddenly appears – in an “upscaling” of coin conjuring, he said.
The fairy godmother’s transformation will also be a spectacle. “In the past, the old woman runs into the wings and the fairy godmother runs on. We attempt to achieve [that] before your eyes,” he said.
Other “stunning visuals” include doors that “magically open” and, when the fairy godmother reminds Cinderella to be back by midnight, a clock that changes into the moon.
Kevin O’hare, director of the Royal Ballet, explained they were trying to do magic appropriate for Cinderella. “To have an expert like Chris, who’s steeped in magic and illusion, is really exciting,” he said. “I’m thrilled to be getting Ashton’s version back on stage with an extra bit of magical dust.”
The production opens at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, today with Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov, the Royal Ballet’s principal dancers, in the lead roles.
Other dancers will take their roles during the run. Live streaming to cinemas begins next month.