SFB: Second Full-Evening Ballet to Return

As has already been observed, three full-evening “story” ballets have been scheduled for the current 90th anniversary season of the San Francisco Ballet (SFB). The second of these, Cinderella, will begin its run of ten performances at the end of this month. The choreography will be by Christopher Wheeldon, working with the three-act score that Sergei Prokofiev composed for the production at the Bolshoi Theatre, which was premiered on November 21, 1945. Wheeldon’s setting was a co-production with the Dutch National Ballet, which SFB first performed in 2013.

Two of the puppets Basil Twist created for Christopher Wheeldon’s staging of Cinderella (photograph by Erik Tomasson, courtesy of SFB)

Wheeldon dispensed with some of the familiar elements of the fairytale. There is no longer a fairy godmother or a fatal stroke of the clock at midnight. Rather, the title character controls her own destiny while coping with the death of her mother. For the most part, any supernatural elements have been conceived by puppeteer Basil Twist, whose creations include a tree that grows from Cinderella’s tears. The entire program will run for approximately two hours and 31 minutes, including two intermissions.

Dates and times for the ten performances are as follows:

• Friday, March 31, 8 p.m.
• Saturday, April 1, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
• Sunday, April 2, 2 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 4, 7:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 5, 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday, April 6, 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, April 7, 8 p.m.
• Saturday, April 8, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

All performances will take place in the War Memorial Opera House, which is on the northwest corner of Van Ness Avenue and Grove Street (across Grove from Davies Symphony Hall). Ticket prices start at $29, and a single Web page has been created for purchasing tickets for all of the above dates and times. There is also a Web page that provides the casting for both the title role and Prince Guillaume for all ten of the performances. Tickets may also be purchased at the Box Office in the outer lobby of the Opera House or by calling 415-865-2000. The Box Office is open for ticket sales Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.