Cinderella
Cinderella

Cinderella is a ballet composed by Sergei Prokofiev to a scenario by Nikolai Volkov. It is one of his most popular and melodious compositions and has inspired a great many choreographers since its inception.
The piece was composed between 1940 and 1944. Part way through writing it Prokofiev broke off to write his opera War and Peace. The premiere of Cinderella was conducted by Yuri Fayer on November 21, 1945, at the Bolshoi Theatre, with choreography by Rostislav Zakharov and Galina Ulanova in the title role. Cinderella is notable for its jubilant music, lush scenery, and for the comic double-roles of the step-sisters (which can be performed in travesti), more mad than bad in this treatment.
The ballet is scored for a large orchestra consisting of a piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, a cor anglais, 2 clarinets, a bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, a contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, a tuba, timpani, triangle, castanets, snare drum, maracas, tambourine, tenor drum, cymbals, bass drum, tamtam, glockenspiel, xylophone, wood block, tubular bells, a piano, a harp, and strings.