Prologue

King Florestan the XIVth declares a grand christening ceremony to be held in honor of the birth of his daughter, Princess Aurora, named after the dawn. An entourage of fairies is invited to the Christening to be godmothers to the child. As the fairies are happily granting gifts of honesty, grace, prosperity, song and generosity, they are interrupted by the appearance of the evil fairy Carabosse, who is furious at the King's failure to invite her to the ceremony. The King blames this on his Master of Ceremonies, Catallabutte, and she rips off his wig. With spite and rage, Carabosse declares her curse on Princess Aurora: she will prick her finger on her sixteenth birthday and die. The Lilac Fairy, fortunately, has not granted her gift to the Princess. She acknowledges that Carabosse's power is immense and she cannot completely reverse the curse. However, she declares, although the Princess will prick her finger, she will not die.  Instead she will sleep for 100 years, until the kiss of a prince awakens her.

Act I

It is Princess Aurora's sixteenth birthday. Celebrations are already elaborately planned and the atmosphere is festive. Aurora receives four suitors and their gifts of exquisite roses. Soon after, Aurora is presented with a spindle as a gift, which she has never seen before. Carelessly, she dances with it despite her mother and father's warnings, and accidentally pricks her finger. She faints. Carabosse immediately reveals her true wicked self triumphantly and vanishes before the astonished guests. At the same moment, the Lilac Fairy appears as she had promised. She reminds the guests and the King and Queen of her gift that will make Aurora merely sleep, not die. She then casts a spell upon the whole kingdom and they will only awake when Aurora does.

Act II

One hundred years later, Prince Florimund is at a hunting party with his companions. He is not happy and his friends try to cheer him up with a games and dances. Still unhappy, he asks to be alone and the hunting party departs. Suddenly, Florimund sees the Lilac fairy, who presents him with a vision of Aurora; he is entranced by her beauty. The Prince pleads with the Lilac Fairy to bring him to see Princess Aurora, to which the latter consents. The Prince discovers the castle, which is now overgrown in thick vines. His first act is to defeat the evil Carabosse. Once past her and inside the castle, the Prince finds Aurora and awakens her with a kiss. The entire kingdom awakes with her. The Prince then declares his love for Aurora and proposes to her. The King and the Queen are happy to give their blessings.

Act III

Preparations for the wedding are made. On the day of the festivities, many fairies are invited, including the Lilac Fairy.  Many characters from other fairytales are among the guests. A golden chain of dances is held, including a Pas de Quatre for the four precious jewel and metal fairies, a dance for Puss in Boots and the White Cat, a Pas de Deux for the Bluebird and Princess Florine, a dance for Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, a Pas de Deux for Aurora and Florimund and finally a mazurka. The Prince and the Princess are wed, and the Lilac Fairy blesses their marriage. The ballet ends with an apotheosis where all the characters make a final bow.