thousands of pop-culture references.  The story is simple – an overlooked, mistreated person’s purity of spirit allows her to achieve true happiness.  From Jerry Lewis’s Cinderfella to Caddyshack’s “former groundskeeper – now about to become the Masters champion” to the movie Shrek, the essence of the story survives any outer modifications.

However, Five years before Walt Disney laid his Midas touch on Cinderella in 1950, Sergei Prokofiev put his own stamp on the story.  Fresh off the success of his unforgettable Romeo and Juliet, he asked his Juliet – legendary Russian ballerina Galina Ulanova – if he could write Cinderella for her.  It took Prokofiev nearly four years to complete the ballet, punctuated by the Nazi invasion of Russia and the composition of his opera based on Tolstoy’s War and Peace.  Through the evacuation of Moscow and his separation from his wife and children, Prokofiev crafted a tender, lighthearted ballet that recalls the sweeping scale of Tchaikovsky’s grand masterpieces from a half-century earlier.

The Russian National Ballet Theatre, based in Moscow, is dedicated to upholding the grand traditions of Russian ballet.  Artistic Director Sergei Radchenko, selected by Presidential decree to lead this outstanding company, is one of the Bolshoi Ballet’s most celebrated soloists.  Few companies have the resources to maintain a corps de ballet of over 50 dancers trained to the exacting standards of the Russian ballet academies.  However, every member of the company is in full command of the precision and the expressiveness necessary to bring the story to life.  Marianna Chemalina perfectly captures the title role’s heartfelt innocence.

For more information about this, or any of Wichita Grand Opera’s upcoming performances, visit www.WichitaGrandOpera.org.  Season Subscriptions and Gift certificates are still available.  Individual tickets cost $85, $58, or $35, and can be purchased by calling 316.262.8054 or visiting any Select-A-Seat outlet.

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