Over the weekend, Queen Margrethe of Denmark was present for the première of the ballet ‘The Tinderbox’ at the Pantomime Theatre in Tivoli.
Her Majesty was accompanied by her sister, Princess Benedikte, and was present because of having designed the scenes and the costumes.
She sat in the audience with her sister and the choreographer, observing the entire ballet from the first row.
Queen Margrethe has long been involved in the theatre industry, designing scenes and costumes for ballets and theatre pieces. She also paints and embroiders for personal artistic expression, and her pieces have been on display in several exhibitions.
This particular version of the ballet has been created by Her Majesty in 2007, in collaboration with choreographer Dinna Bjørn and composer James Price.
The ballet, based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale ‘The Tinderbox’, tells the story of a soldier who comes into a lot of money after meeting a witch who makes him rich by gifting him a tinderbox and the possibility to summon three dogs with it. He falls in love with the local princess and, after having summoned the dogs to escape death by hanging, the soldier and the princess marry happily ever after.
The Tivoli Pantomime Theatre has been running since 1874, and being placed in the middle of Tivoli Old Garden allows it to gift the entire population with entertainment while immersed in nature.
Her Majesty has been behind other ballet productions at the Tivoli Pantomime Theatre, including “Cinderella”, “The Nutcracker”, “The Tin Soldier” and “The Pig Boy”, as well as her most recent production, “The Snow Queen”.
The Tivoli Pantomime Theatre takes its name from the fact that it resembles a puppet theatre. It has been created with an Eastern feel, having clear elements of Chinese and Japanese architecture.
