San Francisco Ballet's 90th Anniversary Season is featuring Christopher Wheeldon's adaptation of Cinderella©, with Sergei Prokofiev's score, opened on March 31st at the War Memorial Opera House and continuing until April 8th. Wheeldon's Cinderella takes a captivating twist on the well-known fairy tale, with the protagonist controlling her own fate after the loss of her mother, rather than relying on a fairy godmother or the stroke of midnight.
The production, inspired by the darker Brothers Grimm version of the story, boasts set and costume designs by Tony Award-winning designer Julian Crouch and San Francisco-native puppeteer Basil Twist. The dazzling end of Act I, which The New York Times describes as a "triumph of fantasy," is directed by Twist and features a tree growing from Cinderella's tears. With an enormous 197 roles and 370 costumes, including Cinderella's gold gown detailed with computer-printed feathers, the production is a co-production with Dutch National Ballet, and it premiered in the United States with SF Ballet in 2013 before touring the world.
Casting for Cinderella includes Soloist Isabella DeVivo in her role debut as Cinderella, while Principal Dancer Max Cauthorn also makes his role debut as Prince Guillaume. Additionally, Principal Dancer Isaac Hernández performs as Prince Guillaume for the first time with SF Ballet, having previously played the role at English National Ballet in 2019. Cinderella is Wheeldon's only full-length ballet for SF Ballet and one of the 15 ballets he has choreographed for the Company. The production was last performed at SF Ballet in 2020.
CALENDAR: Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 7:30 pm Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 7:30 pm Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 7:30 pm Friday, April 7, 2023 at 8 pm Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 2 and 8 pm
Nature and Individual