Ashton Celebration. Frederick Ashton was the founding choreographer of the Royal Ballet. The program on this disc was performed in February 2013 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his death: 

1. La Valse by Ravel. Stars Hikaru Kobayashi, Ryoichi Hirano, Samantha Raine, Bennet Gartside, Helen Crawford, and Brian Maloney. Designs by André Levasseur; lighting by John B. Read; staging by Christopher Carr.

2. Meditation from Thaïs by Jules Massenet. Performed by Leanne Benjamin and Valeri Hristov. Costumes by Anthony Dowell; lighting by John B. Read; solo violin by Vasko Vassilev.

3. Voices of Spring by Johann Strauss II. Performed by Yuhui Choe and Alexander Campbell. Costumes by Julia Trevelyan Oman; lighting by John B. Read.

4. Monotones I and II to music by Erik Satie. Performed by Emma Maguire, Akane Takada, Dawid Trzensimiech, Marianela Nuñez, Nehemiah Kish, and Edward Watson. Orchestration by Claude Dubussy, Roland-Manuel, and John Lanchbery.  Designs by Frederick Ashton; lighting by John B. Read; staging by Lynn Wallis.

5. Marguerite and Armand to music of Franz Liszt. Performed by Tamara Rojo, Sergei Polunin, Christopher Saunders, Gary Avis, Sander Blommaert, Nicol Edmonds, Bennet Gartside, Ryoichi Hirano, Valeri Hristov, Kenta Kura, Anhrej Uspenski, Thomas Whitehead, and Jacqueline Clark. Orchestration by Dudley Simpson; designs by Cecil Beaton; lighting by lighting by John B. Read; staging by Grant Coyle; solo piano by Robert Clark.

This was the last performance with the Royal Ballet of Tamara Rojo, who retired early to become General Director (and dancer) at the English National Ballet. Leanne Benjamin retired this summer; this could well be the last recording she made with the Royal Ballet.

Emmanuel Plasson conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev). Directed for screen by Margaret Williams. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A

A Midsummer Night's Dream ballet. Choreography by George Balanchine. Music by Felix Mendelssohn. Based on the play by William Shakespeare. Directed 1999 by Kent Stowell and Francia Russell at the Pacific Northwest Ballet and recorded at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, London. Stars Patricia Barker (Titania), Paul Gibson (Oberon), Seth Belliston (Puck), Julie Tobiason (Hermia), Ross Yearsley (Lysander), Lisa Apple (Helena), Jeffrey Stanton (Demetrius), Ariana Lallone (Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons), Batkhurel Bold (Theseus, Duke of Athens) Kaori Nakamura (Butterfly), Charles Newton (Titania's Cavalier), Timothy Lynch (Bottom), Louise Nadeau (Divertissement), and Oliver Wevers (Divertissement). Stewart Kershaw directs the BBC Concert Orchestra (Leader Cynthia Fleming).  Solo singers: Libby Crabtree, soprano, and Judith Harris, mezzo-soprano. Set and costume design by Martin Pakledinaz, lighting by Randall G. Chiarelli; directed for TV by Ross MacGibbon. This is the Blu-ray version of the A Midsummer Night's Dream that Opus Arte published earlier in HD DVD. Filmed in 1999, and released  2008, disc has 5.1 PCM audio. Grade: B+

Tchaikovsky---The Classic Ballets is a box set with 3 titles previously issued by Opus Arte as individual HDVDs. We have previously reviewed all of them, and all are available at full price. So follow our links here to learn more about each title:

1. Swan Lake with Marianela Nuñez and Thiago Soares, which we graded "D".
2. The Nutcracker with Miyako Yoshida and Steven McRae, which we graded "B".
3. The Sleeping Beauty with Alina Cojocaru and Federico Bonelli, which we graded "B+".

I don't think Opus Arte has a "budget" brand. But by offering these 3 decent (but in every case overshadowed) recordings as a package, Opus Arte has a chance to reach folks interested in a lower price point. You do the math!

Cinderella ballet. Music by Sergei Prokofiev.  Christopher Wheeldon (assisted by Jackie Barrett) choreographed in 2012 the world première of this production at Het Nationale Ballet (Dutch National Ballet). Stars Anna Tsygankova, Matthew Golding,  Larissa Lezhnina, Megan Zimny Gray, Nadia Yanowsky, Remi Wörtmeyer, Alexander Zhembrovskyy, Erica Horwood, Boris de Leeuw, Simona Ferrazza, Dario Meali, and Jeanette Vondersaar. Spirits and fates portrayed by Suzanna Kaic, Young Gyu Choi, Serguel Endinian, Sasha Mukhamedov, Ernst Meisner, James Stout, Rink Sliphorst, and Jared Wright.  Ermanno Florio conducts The Holland Symfonia. Libretto by Craig Lucas; sets and costumes by Julian Crouch; lighting by Natasha Katz; tree and carriage scene direction and design by Basil Twist; video projection design by Daniel Brodie; directed for screen by Jeff Tutor at Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam; produced by Adrienne Liron. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A

Tales of Beatrix Potter ballet. Choreography by Frederick Ashton. Music by John Lanchbery. Produced 2008 by Anthory Dowell at the Royal Opera House. Stars Victoria Hewitt, Ricardo Cervera, Jonathan Howells, Gemma Sykes, Gary Avis, Bennet Gartside, Laura Morera, David Pickering, Zachary Faruque, Giacomo Ciriaci, Iohna Loots, Joshua Tuifua, and Steven McRae. The Royal Ballet Synfonia was conducted by Paul Murphy. Designs by Christine Edzard; masks by Rostislav Doboujinsky; lighting by Mark Jonathan; staging by Christopher Carr and Grant Coyle. Directed for TV by Jonathan Haswell. Released 2010, this disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A

Triple bill of short ballets choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan---each ballet is quite different and unrelated to the others.

1. Elite Syncopations. Music by Scott Joplin and others. Stars Sarah Lamb, Mara Galeazzi, Laura McCulloch, Iohna Loots, Valeri Hristov, Paul Kay, Steven McRae, Liam Scarlett, and Jonathan Watkins. Onstage band includes players Deborah Green, John Montague, Stephen Broom, Rhydian Shaxson, Tony Hougham, Sarah Brooke, Rachel Elliott, Ian Balmain, John Shaddock, Lindsay Shilling, Jim Anderson, and Nicholas Ormrod led by Robert Clark, piano player and conductor. Costume design by Ian Spurling; lighting by John B. Reed; staging by Julie Lincoln.

2. The Judas Tree. Music by Brian Elias commissioned for this ballet. Stars Carlos Acosta, Edward Watson, Bennet Gartside, Leanne Benjamin, Ryoichi Hirano, Andrej Uspenski, Valeri Hristov, Kenta Kura, José Martín, Erico Montes, Michael Stojko, Eric Underwood, Jonathan Watkins, James Wilkie, and Thomas Whitehead. Barry Wordsworth conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House with concert master Sergey Levitin. Designs by Jock McFadyen; lighting by Mark Henderson; staging by Karl Burnett.

3. Concerto. Music is the Dmitry Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2. Stars Yuhui Choe, Steven McRae, Marianela Nuñez, Rupert Pennefather, and Helen Crawford. Dominic Grier conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House with concert master Sergey Levitin. Jonathan Higgins plays solo piano. Designs by Jürgen Rose; lighting by John B. Read; staging by Christopher Carr.

Film director was Ross MacGibbon. Released 2010, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: B

The Sleeping Beauty ballet. Music by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. Direction and choreography by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell, and Christopher Wheeldon  (based on tradition of Marius Petipa). Produced 2006 at Royal Opera House by Monica Mason and Christopher Newton.  Stars Alina Cojocaru (Princess Aurora), Federico Bonelli (Prince Florimund), Marianela Nuñez (Lilac Fairy), Christopher Saunders (King Florestan), Elizabeth McGorian (The Queen), Alastair Marriott (Cattalabutte), and Genesia Rosato (Carabosse). Also features Isabel McMeekan, Ricardo Cervera, Lauren Cuthbertson, Andrej Uspenski, Mara Galeazzi, Johannes Stepanek, Natasha Oughtred, José Martin, Laura Morera, Ernst Meisner, Valeri Hristov, Gary Avis, Edward Watson, David Makhatelli, Gemma Bond, Helen Crawford, Victoria Hewitt, Hikaru Kobayashi, Iohna Loots, Samanthan Raine, Gemma Sykes, Jonathan Howells, Deirdre Chapman, Sarah Lamb, Yohei Sasaki, David Pickering, artists of the Royal Ballet, and students of the Royal Ballet School. Valeriy Ovsyanikov conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Original designs by Oliver Messel and Peter Farmer; lighting by Mark Jonathan; staging by Christopher Carr. Directed for TV by Ross McGibbon. Released 2009, disc has 5.1 PCM sound. Grade: C+