The idea of creating a ballet on this subject was proposed by the Director of the Russian Imperial Theaters Ivan Vsevolozhsky. He created the libretto of the ballet together with the famous ballet master Marius Petipa. Vsevolozhsky used only the first part of Perrault's tale for the plot. He omitted the long part on the later fate of Aurora, Prince Désiré, and his evil stepmother. Vsevolozhsky and Petipa did not change the plot of the story. They just changed its style, turning the moral and instructive story into a magic and stunning performance.
The ballet was premiered on January 3, 1890, at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg.
This phrase points out the minor concerns, all the small and useless things that have no permanent and real values. “Vanity of vanities – said Ecclesiastes – vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” There was a very specific genre in philosophical literature that was typical of the ancient Middle East. That genre is the so-called “pessimistic literature.” In the Bible, this genre is represented only by the Book of Ecclesiastes, though the pessimism in the Book of Ecclesiastes is a little different. Desperateness was typical of the works of “ordinary pessimistic” literature, which left no hope whatever.
The Christian life is also full of problems, that is why the words of Ecclesiastes not only have historical importance but are also actual today.
