Paquita ballet. Music by Édouard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus, recomposed by Yuri Krasavin. Choreography by Marius Petipa revived by Sergei Vikharev and Slava Samodurov. Libretto by Paul Fouché and Joseph Mazilier. Conception by Pavel Gershenzon; musical direction by Fyodor Lednyov. Directed 2021 by Slava Samodurov at the Ural Opera Theatre, Ekaterinburg. Stars Ekaterina Malkovich (Paquita), Arsenti Lazarev (Lucien d’Hervilly), Maxim Klekovkin (Iñigo), Victor Mekhanoshin (Don Lopez de Mendoza), Kamila Beknazarova (Seraphine), Anton Guzeev (Count d’Hervilly), Nadezhda Shamshurina (Countess d’Hervilly), and dancers from the Ural Opera Ballet. Pavel Klinichev conducts the Orchestra of the Ural Opera Ballet. Set design by Alyona Pikalova; costumes by Elena Zaytseva; lighting by Aleksander Naumov; choreography assistant was Klara Dovzhik. Produced by François Duplat. Directed for TV by Bertrand Normand. Released in 2022, disc has 2.0 PCM stereo sound. Grade: A -
Paquita was the first full ballet staged by Petipa in Russia (1846). The plot is simple: The governor of Spain in the Napoleon era is trying to get a Gypsy King to kill Lucien, a young French army officer. Paquita, a gypsy girl, saves Lucien’s life. What reward can the poor Gypsy girl get for this? Turns out she was . . .
Read MoreWagner Tristan und Isolde opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2018 by Dmitri Tcherniakov at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Stars Andreas Schager (Tristan), Anja Kampe (Isolde), Stephen Milling (King Marke), Ekaterina Gubanova (Brangäne), and Boaz Daniel (Kurwenal). Daniele Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Herren des Staatsopernchores (Chorus Master Raymond Hughes). Costume design by Elena Zaytseva; lighting design by Gleb Filshtinksy; video design by Tieni Burkhalter; dramaturgy by Tatiana Vereschagina and Detlef Giese. Sung in German. Released 2022. Grade: NA
Read MoreRimsky-Korsakov Sadko opera to libretto by the composer with assistance from Vladimir Belsky. Directed 2020 by Dmitri Tcherniakov at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Stars Nazhmiddin Mavlyanov (Sadko), Aida Garifullina (Volkhova), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Lubava Buslaevna), Yuri Minenko (Nezhata), Stanislav Trofimov (Ocean Sea, the Sea Tsar), Mikhail Petrenko (Whistle), Maxim Paster (Fife), Dmitry Ulianov (Varangian Merchant), Alexey Nekludov (Indian Merchant), Andrey Zhilikhovsky (Venetian Merchant), Sergey Murzaev (Vision of the old mighty Warrior), Roman Muravitsky (Foma Nazaryich), Alexandra Durseneva (His Wife), Vladimir Komovich (Luka Zinovyich), and Irina Rubtsova (His Wife). Timur Zangiev directs the Orchestra and Chorus of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia (Chorus Master Valery Borisov). Set design by Dmitri Tcherniakov; costume design by Elena Zaitseva; lighting design by Gleb Filshtinsky. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Sung in Russian. Released 2021, disc has PCM stereo sound. Grade: NA
Tcherniakov continues his grand campaign as opera director to update all operas into the 21st century and to bring the glories of Russian opera to ignorant western audiences. In this title he achieves both goals by . . .
Read MoreRimsky-Korsakov The Snow Maiden (La Fille de Niege) opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2017 by Dmitri Tcherniakov at the Opéra national de Paris (Opéra Bastille). Stars Aida Garifullina (Snow Maiden), Yuriy Mynenko (Lel), Martina Serafin (Kupava), Maxim Paster (Tsar Berendey), Thomas Johannes Mayer (Mizguir), Elena Manistina (Spring Beauty), Vladimir Ognovenko (Father Frost), Franz Hawlata (Bermyata), and Vasily Gorshkov (Babyl Bakula). Mikhail Tatarnikov conducts the Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris (Musical Director Philippe Jordan), the Choers de l’Opéra national de Paris, Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine, and the Choeur d’Enfants de l’Opéra national de Paris (Chorus Master José Luis Basso). Set design by Dmitri Tcherniakov; costume design by Elena Zaytseva; lighting design by Gleb Filshtinsky; video by Tiena Burkhalter. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat and Laurent Métivier. Sung in Russian. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
Tcherniakov has long stated that he hopes to bring all the glories of Russian opera to ignorant western audiences. In 2017, the Paris Opera went all out to help him with this. Seems strange that it took 4 years to get this released in Blu-ray. It probably was shown a lot before 2021 on TV in Europe. Let’s start with a shot of the vertigo . . .
Read MoreOpéra de Paris: A (Very) Special Season documentary film. Directed by Priscilla Pizzato. Cinematography by Yann Staderoli; edited by Khalid Mamoun; sound by Arnaud Calvar; production manager was Stéphane Garnes; produced by Muriel Meynard. Has bonus interview with Aurélie Dupont and rehearsal scenes with Hugo Marchand, Amandine Albisson, and Mathias Heymann. Released 2022, disc has 2.0 stereo sound. Grade: D+
This title gets off to a bad start because the name isn’t even correct. It’s not a documentary about the Paris Opera. It’s about the Paris Opera Ballet. So a correct name might be Le Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris: une saison (très) particulière. Too long! Maybe the name should be in English: Paris Opera Ballet v. Covid.
We already have La Danse, a “direct cinema” documentary about the Paris Opera Ballet shot in 2008 by Frederick Wiseman. Maybe Pizzato planed to update La Danse before the pandemic arrived. For sure the title we now review was an attempt to salvage something from a broken project. In a slightly shorter version it would make a decent forgettable hour on TV. But now we are asked to buy it and keep it on our shelf . . .
Read MoreThird Practice modern dance performance. Choreography by Tero Saarinen. Performed 2021 by the Tero Saarinen Company at the Finnish National Opera. Music by Claudio Monteverdi. Aapo Häkkinen conducts the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra with tenor Topi Lehtipuu and “virtual soprano” Núria Rial. Dancers are Jenna Broas, Annika Hyvärinen, Natasha Lommi, Pekka Louhio, David Scarantino, and Eero Vesterinen with understudies Elina Häyrynen, Oskari Kymäläinen, Mikko Lampinen, and Emma Pennanen. Music arranged by Aapo Häkkinen; lighting by Eero Auvinen (TTT-Theatre); costumes by Erika Turunen; projection design by Thomas Freundlich; sound design by Marco Melchior; choreographer’s assistants were Henrikki Heikkilä and Satu Halttunen. Title includes a documentary about the work of Tero Saarinen called Rooted with Wings. Recital and documentary directed for TV by Thomas Freundlich. No subtitles for Third Practice songs in Italian and Latin. Released 2022, disc has PCM 2.0 sound. Grade: B-
Read MoreThe Six Brandenburg Concertos dance recital choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker to JS Bach’s famous music. Performed 2019 at the Opéra national de Paris (Palais Garnier). Created with and performed by the dancers of Rosas, including Boštjan Antončič, Carlos Garbin, Frank Gizycki, Marie Goudot, Robin Haghi, Cynthia Loemij, Mark Lorimer, Michaël Pomero, Jason Respilieux, Igor Shyshko, Luka Švajda, Jakub Truszkowski, Thomas Vantuycom, Samantha van Wissen, Sandy Williams, and Sue Yeon Youn. Amandine Beyer conducts the B’Rock Orchestra. Set and lighting design by Jan Versweyveld; costumes by An D’Huys; dramaturgy by Jan Vandenhouwe; artistic assistant was Femke Gyselinck; musical advice by Kees van Houten. Directed for TV by Louise Narboni. Produced by Antoine Perset, Denis Morlière, and Laurent Métivier. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B-
It appears Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker is unusual as a choreographer in that she never trained in someone else’s dance company. She was a music student who took some dance courses. She was from the beginning a universal genius . . .
Read MoreWritten on Water is a motion picture docudrama. Choreography and direction by Pontus Lidberg. Original recorded music by Stefan Levin and pianist Magnus Svensson playing classical music solo. Stars Lidberg , Aurélie Dupont, Alexander Jones, Stina Ekblad, Sarawanee Tanatanit, and Leslie Caron. Directed for TV by Martin Nisser; edited by Lars Gustafson. Produced by François Duplat, Amaury Lafarge, Pontus Lidberg, and Mary Ellen Obias. Video is in letterbox with 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+ with the ‽ designation.
This is an esoteric, puzzling, scrambled-plot movie about the lives of dance artists. One critic asserts that Lidberg’s erraticism results in a “dance movie adrift.” Lidberg defends his wild gyrations saying that “subjective perceptions become reality.” That’s too esoteric. I don’t need a throughplot. I enjoy the movie as a collage of scenes that show what kinds of things that can happen anytime a dancer goes to work. Of course, not everything that could happen will occur in a single gig—except in this wild movie.
Read MorePuccini Turandot opera to a libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simon. In 2018 Robert Wilson directed (with assistant Nicola Panzer), designed the sets (with assistant Stephanie Engeln), and designed the lighting (with assistant John Torres) for Turandot at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Stars Irene Theorin (Turandot), Raúl Giménez (Imperatore Altoum), Andrea Mastroni (Timur), Yolanda Auyanet (Liù), Gregory Kunde (Il Principe Ignoto [Calaf]), Joan Martín-Royo (Ping), Vicenç Esteve (Pang), Juan Antonio Sababria (Pong), and Gerardo Bullón (Un Mandarino). Nicola Luisotti conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Real and the Jorcam Children Chorus (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Costume design by Jacques Reynaud; hairstyle and makeup by Manuela Halligan; video design by Tomek Jeziorski; dramaturgy by José Enrique Macián. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by Natalia Camacho and Xavier Dubois. Sung in Italian. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio surround sound. Grade: A
Read MoreEskapist ballet. Choreography by Alexander Ekman. Music by Mikael Karlsson. Performed 2019 at the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm. Stars Oscar Salomonsson (Eskapist ); Daria Ivanova and Sarah Jane Medley (Cone Heads); Jonna Savioja (Tree Queen); Anton Valdbauer and Emily Slawski (You and Me); Joakim Adeberg, Jérôme Marchand, Anton Valdbauer, and Mayumi Yamaguchi (Senior Eskapists); Haruka Sassa and Adilijiang Abudureheman (Classic Duet); Alina Lagoas (Red Hatwoman); and Coralie Aulas, Frida Hambraeus, Luiza Lopes, Kisa Nakashima, Moe Nieda, Natalie Ogonek, Alessa Rogers, Desislava Stoeva, Lisa Van Cauwenbergh, Madeline Woo, Kaho Yanagisawa, Gabriel Barrenengoa, William Dugan, Mackenzie Faquhar, Hampus Gauffin, Hiroaki Ishida, Pascal Jansson, Julien Keulen, Callum Lowden, Preston McBain, Kentaro Mitsumori, Jeremie Neveu, Samuele Ninci, Javier Rojas, and Erik Rudqvist (Eskapists). Also features cello by Erik Wahlgren. Set and lighting design by Alexander Ekman; costume design by Henrik Vibskov; dramaturgy by Carina Nildalen; production manager was Metta Flensburg. Directed for TV by Tommy Pascal; produced by Xavier Dubois; associate producer was Ditte Feuk. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
Read MoreJean-Philippe Rameau Les Indes galantes opera-ballet to a libretto by Louis Fuzelier. Directed and choreographed 2016 by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui at the Prinzregentheater in Munich as part of the Munich Opera Festival. Stars Lisette Oropesa (Hébé/Zima), Goran Juric (Bellone), Ana Quintans (L'Amour/Zaïre), Tareq Nazmi (Osman/Ali), Elsa Benoit (Emilie), Cyril Auvity (Valère/Tacmas), François Lis (Huascar/Don Alvaro), Anna Prohaska (Phani/Fatime), Mathias Vidal (Don Carlos/Damon), and John Moore (Adario). Also features the Dancers of Eastman. Ivor Bolton conducts Munchner Festspielorchester and Balthasar-Neumann-Chor (Chorus Master Detlef Bratschke). Set design by Anna Viebrock; costume design by Greta Goiris; lighting design by Michael Bauer; dramaturgy by Antonio Cuenca Ruiz and Miron Hakenbeck. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Released 2017, the disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: B-
The Prologue opens in a elementary school where Hébé (Lisette Oropesa), the goddess of youth, is teaching school children about the wonders of nature.
Read MoreVerdi Falstaff opera to libretto by Arrigo Boito. Directed 2019 by Laurent Pelly at the Teatro Real, Madrid. Stars Roberto De Candia (Sir John Falstaff), Joel Prieto (Fenton), Christophe Mortagne (Dr. Caius), Mikeldi Atxalandabaso (Bardolfo), Valeriano Lanchas (Pistola), Rebecca Evans (Mrs. Alice Ford), Simone Piazzola (Ford), Ruth Iniesta (Nannetta), Daniela Barcellona (Mistress Quickly), and Maite Beaumont (Mrs. Meg Page). Danielle Rustioni conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Real (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Set design by Barbara de Limburg; costume design by Laurent Pelly; lighting design by Joël Adam; musical assistant director was Alessandro Poleggi; assistants to the stage director were Christian Räth and Barbara Lluch; sets and costume assistant was Anuschka Braun. Directed for TV by Stéphane Lebard; produced by François Duplat and Xavier Dubois. Sung in Italian. Released in 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreLa Bayadère ("The Temple Dancer") ballet. Music by Ludwig Minkus. Choreography by Nacho Duato after Marius Petipa. Performed 2019 at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. Stars Angelina Vorontsova (Nikiya, the Lead Bayadère); Victor Lebedev (Solor); Sergey Strelkov (The High Brahmin); Andrey Kasyanenko (Dugmanta, the Rajah); Andrea Laššáková (Gamzatti); Nikita Tchetverikov (Bronze Idol); Olga Poryvko (Aya); Andrey Yakhnyuk (Magedaveya, a Fakir); Victoria Zaripova and Marina Korotchenkova (D’Jampe); Victor Lebedev, Andrea Laššáková, Debora Davis, Yulia Lukyanenko, Ekaterina Odarenko, Ella Persson (Grand Pas Classique); Tatiana Miltseva and Andrey Yakhnyuk (Drummers); Svetlana Bednenko, Andrea Laššáková, and Yulia Lukyanenko (Three Shades); Olga Arsenina (First Variation), and dancers of the Mikhailovsky Ballet (Bayadères, Fakirs, Dancers, Guests, Guards, and Shades). Pavel Sorokin conducts the Orchestra of the Mikhailovsky Theatre. Stage and costume design by Angelina Atlagić; lighting design by Brad Fields; artistic director for the Mikhailovsky Theatre was Vladimir Kekhman. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Released 2020. Grade: A
Before I got this disc to review, I’d never heard of the Mikhailovsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. I thought ballet in Saint Petersburg resided at the
Read MoreDebussy Pelléas et Mélisande opera to libretto by Maurice Maeterlinck. Directed 2016 by Benjamin Lazar (with assistance from Elizabeth Calleo and Katrina Sörensen Palm) at the Malmö Opera. Stars Marc Mauillon (Pelléas), Jenny Daviet (Mélisande), Laurent Alvaro (Golaud), Stephen Bronk (Arkel), Emma Lyrén (Geneviève), Julie Mathevet (Yniold), and Stefano Olcese (Doctor/Shepherd). Maxime Pascal conducts the Malmö Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master André Kellinghaus). Stage design by Adeline Caron; costume design by Alain Blanchot; make-up by Mathilde Benmoussa; lighting by Mael Iger. Directed for TV by Corentin Leconte; produced by Xavier Dubois. Sung in French. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
Read MoreDebussy Pelléas et Mélisande opera to libretto by the composer after the play by Maurice Maeterlinck. Directed 2016 by Dmitri Tcherniakov at the Opernhaus Zürich. Stars Brindley Sherratt (Arkel), Jacques Imbrailo (Pelléas), Kyle Ketelsen (Golaud), Damien Göritz (Yniold), Charles Dekeyser (A doctor), Corrine Winters (Mélisande), Yvonne Naef (Geneviève), and Reinhard Mayr (Pelléas’s Father). Alain Altinoglu conducts the Philharmonia Zürich, Zusatzchor Opernhaus Zürich, and the Sopralti Der Oper Zürich (Chorus Master Jürg Hämmerli). (The “Sopralti” is an all female choir of sopranos and altos.) Set design by Dmitri Tcherniakov; costume design by Elena Zaytseva; lighting design by Gleb Filshtinksy; video design by Tieni Burkhalter; dramaturgy by Beate Breidenbach. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Sung in French. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: F+
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