Watch Now: Scottish Ballet in "Le Baiser de la Fée (The Fairy's Kiss)"
From now through January 15, Pointe is streaming Scottish Ballet in Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Le Baiser de la Fée (The Fairy’s Kiss). This one-act ballet, based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Ice Maiden,” was choreographed for The Royal Ballet in 1960. For more on the ballet’s history and for behind-the-scenes footage, click here.
This video is no longer available.
Synopsis
The Lullaby in the Storm
A mother with her child struggles through the storm. The Fairy with her attendants appears and pursues her. The Fairy separates the mother from her child. Passing villagers find the body of the mother, now dead, and guided by the Fairy, they find the child. The Fairy kisses him on the forehead. The villagers become frightened and taking the child with them, they run away.
A Village Fête
The villagers gather for the fête. The child, now a young man, appears with his fiancée. A gypsy endeavors to tell the fortune of the young man and during the fortune telling the fiancée leaves with the villagers; left alone the young man discovers that the gypsy is the Fairy in disguise. She subjects him to her will, and promises him great happiness. Captivated, the young man is led to his fiancée.
At the Mill
Guided by the Fairy, the young man arrives at the mill, where he finds his fiancée playing games among her friends. The fairy disappears. They all dance. The Fairy appears again, and the young man is confused. The fiancée leaves with her friends and the young man is once more left alone. The Fairy reappears and the young man mistakes her for his fiancée. Suddenly the Fairy throws off her cloak and, dumbfounded, the young man realizes his mistake. He is defenseless before the supernatural power of the Fairy. His resistance overcome, she holds him in her power. She kisses him.
The Lullaby of the Land Beyond Time and Place
The fiancée, lonely and sad, looks in vain for her lost love. The young man, now completely submissive to the power of the Fairy, is taken to the Land Beyond Time and Place; to live there eternally, marked by the kiss of the Fairy.
Text provided by Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet in Le Baiser de la Fée (The Fairy’s Kiss)
Choreography: Sir Kenneth MacMillan
Music: Igor Stravinsky
Production Designer: Gary Harris
Lighting: Simon Bennison
Time: 49 minutes
