Prokofiev's ballet Cinderella was completed in 1941, and is one of the last works he composed before falling into official disfavor with Soviet authorities. Prokofiev's life-long admiration for Tchaikovsky is evident in the work, and Cinderella is in fact dedicated to that master of Russian ballet music. In 1946 he compiled three orchestral suites from the ballet, basing his work on transcriptions he had earlier made for piano; the eight numbers that comprise the first suite from Cinderella offer a taste of the first two acts of the ballet.

The "Introduction" presents two themes which will come to be associated with differing aspects of the title character's persona—one a melancholy but hopeful idea, and the other a happier singing melody. The two step-sisters are depicted by clarinets in "Pas de Chale." Other extracts included in the first suite include the "Quarrel" between Cinderella and the family, and a lively "Mazurka" from Act Two. Cinderella meets and dances with the prince in the "Grand Waltz" from Act Two. In the concluding excerpt, "Midnight", the conflicting "Cinderella" themes (introduced in the "Introduction") appear simultaneously as the clock strikes twelve and her regal attire vanishes. The suite (as well as Act Two of the actual ballet) ends as Cinderella flees the ballroom, dropping, of course, the one slipper.

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