Triple bill of shorter ballets choreographed by Frederick Ashton---each work is quite different and unrelated to the others. All were recorded on the same day in June 2017 at a revival in honor of Ashton. Because the works are so different, we grade each separately:
Symphonic Variations. Music by César Franck. Features Marianela Nuñez, Vadim Muntagirov, Yasmine Haghdi, James Hay, Yuhui Choe, and Tristan Dyer. Solo piano by Paul Stobart. Designs by Sophie Fedorovitch; lighting by John B. Read, staging by Wendy Ellis Somes and Malin Thoors.
Marguerite and Armand. Music by Franz Liszt. Stars Zenaida Yanowsky (Marguerite), guest Roberto Bolle (Armand), Christopher Saunders (Armand’s father), Gary Avis (Duke), Mica Bradbury (Maid) and the following as admirers of Margarite:
Read MoreAlice's Adventures in Wonderland ballet. Original music by Joby Talbot orchestrated by Christopher Austin and Joby Talbot. Choreography by Christopher Wheeldon with assistant Jacquelin Barrett. Performed 2017 at the Royal Opera House. Stars Lauren Cuthbertson (Alice), Federico Bonelli (Jack/The Knave of Hearts), James Hay (Lewis Carroll/The White Rabbit), Laura Morera (Mother/Queen of Hearts), Christopher Saunders (Father/King of Hearts), Steven McRae (Magician/Mad Hatter), Fernando Montaño (Rajah/Caterpillar), Gary Avis (The Duchess), Paul Kay (Vicar/March Hare), Romany Pajdak (Verger/Doormouse), Kristen McNally (Cook), Tristan Dyer (Footman/Fish), Meaghan Grace Hinkis and Beatriz Stix-Brunell (Alice’s sisters), David Yudes (Footman/Frog), and Harry Churches (Butler/Executioner). Koen Kessels conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Associate Concert Master Ania Safonova). Designs by Bob Crowley; scenario by Nicholas Wright; lighting design by Natasha Katz; production design by Jon Driscoll and Gemma Carrington; original sound design by Andrew Bruce for Autograph; staging by Christopher Saunders. Directed for TV by Ross MacGibbon. Released in 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
This is the same production that was first recorded and released in 2011. Stars that are the same in both the 2011 and 2018 shows are
Read MoreMozart Così fan tutte opera and dance program to libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Directed 2017 by choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker at the Opéra national de Paris. Singing stars are Jacquelyn Wagner (Fiordiligi), Michèle Losier (Dorabella), Frédéric Antoun (Ferrando), Philippe Sly (Guglielmo), Paulo Szot (Don Alfonso), and Ginger Costa-Jackson (Despina). The corresponding dancing stars are Cynthia Loemij (Fiordiligi), Samantha Van Wissen (Dorabella), Julien Monty (Ferrando), Michaël Pomero (Guglielmo), Boštjan Antončič (Don Alfonso), and Marie Goudot (Despina), supported by other dancers of de Keersmaeker's Rosas dance company. Philippe Jordan conducts the Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Alessandro di Stefano). Set and lighting design by Jan Versweyveld; costume design by An D'Huys; choreography by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker; dramaturgy by Jan Vandenhouwe. Directed for TV by Louise Narboni. Sung in Italian. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C-
Così fan tutte is my favorite opera. I wish someone would hire me to translate the libretto into English. I would call it So Do They All with the tagline (“It’s in the nature of women to love, and in the nature of men to lie.”) Ponte’s title has more punch because it blames everything on the two sisters, but my title would support Mozart
Read MoreNijinsky ballet. Choreographed by John Neumeier. Music by Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Dmitri Shostakovich. Staged 2017 at the Hamburg State Opera. Stars Alexandre Riabko (Vaslav Nijinsky), Carolina Agüero (Romola Nijinsky/The Woman), Patricia Friza (Bronislava Nijinska/The Sister), Aleix Martínez (Stanislav Nijinsky/The Brother), Ivan Urban (Serge Diaghilev/The Impresario & Mentor), Anna Laudere (Eleonora Bereda/The Mother), Carsten Jung (Thomas Nijinsky/The Father), Silvia Azzoni (Tamara Karsavina/The Ballerina), Alexandr Trusch (Nijinsky as "Harlequin" and "Le Spectre de la Rose"), Marc Jubete (Nijinsky as "The Golden Slave" and "The Faun"), Lloyd Riggins (Nijinsky as "Petrushka"), and Jacopo Bellussi (Leonid Massine/The New Dancer).
Read MoreGreat Ballets from the Bolshoi box set. This box has four ballets from the Bolshoi. All have been released individually, and we already have done reviews with screenshots and grades for all of them. Following are links to more information and our grade for each title:
💓 Minkus La Bayadère A+
Auber Marco Spada A+
Tchaikovsky Swan Lake D+
Shostakovich The Golden Age B+
Released 2018. Combined Grade: B+
Read MoreTchaikovsky---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:
Swan Lake with Natalia Osipova and Matthew Golding, which we graded B-.
The Sleeping Beauty with Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov, which we graded A+.
The Nutcracker with Lauren Cuthbertson and Federico Bonelli, which we graded B.
Combined Grade: B+
Read MoreThe Sleeping Beauty ballet. Music by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. Directed by Kevin O'Hare. Choreography by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell, and Christopher Wheeldon (based on tradition of Marius Petipa). This is a revival production (based on the original Oliver Messel 1946 production at Royal Opera House) by Monica Mason and Christopher Newton after Ninette de Valois and Nicholas Sergeyev. Stars Marianela Nuñez (Princess Aurora), Vadim Muntagirov (Prince Florimund), Kristen McNally (Carabosse), Claire Calvert (Lilac Fairy), Christopher Saunders (King Florestan XXIV), Elizabeth McGorian (The Queen), and Alastair Marriott (Cattalabutte). A huge number of other dancers from the ROB are credited in the the nice keepcase booklet.
Read MoreRomeo and Juliet ballet. Music by Prokofiev. Libretto by Leonid Lavrovsky, Adrian Piotrovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and Sergei Radlov. Choreography by Vyacheslav Samodurov (assisted by Klara Dovzhik) in 2019 at the Ural Opera Ballet at the Ural Opera Theater in Ekaterinburg. Stars Ekaterina Sapogova (Juliet), Alexandr Merkushev (Romeo); Igor Bulytsyn (Mercutio); Gleb Sageev (Benvolio), Vadim Eremin (Tybalt), Victor Mekhanoshin (Lord Capulet), Elena Safonova (Lady Capulet), Nadezhda Shamshurina (Nurse), Rafaela Hernandes Morel (Rosaline), Andrei Veshkurtsev (Rosaline’s Suitor), Maxim Kletkovkin (Paris), Ivan Sobrovin (Friar Lawrence), Anton Guzeev (The Duke), and Sofiya Tyupa (he Duke’s companion). Additional dancers are:
Molls: Anastasia Bagaeva, Anna Domke, and Anastasia Rakitina
Folk dance soloists: Miki Nishiguchi, Kyonsun Pak, Alexei Seliverstov, and Tomoha Terada
Gavotte: Anna Kamchatnaya, Yulia Kruminsh, Renata Nizamutdinov; Anastasia Kerzhemankina, Gleb Alferov, Alexei Seliverstov, Mikhail Husutin, Tomoha Terada
Pavel Klinichev conducts the Ural Opera Ballet Orchestra. Sets by Anthony MacIlwaine; costumes by Irena Belousova; lighting by Simon Bennison. Directed for TV by Denis Caïozzi; produced by François Duplat. Released 2020, disc has PCM stereo sound. Grade: C
Russia is the second most important opera market in the world (after Germany), and they love ballet there too. The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow is the biggest ballet operation of all, and we have 2 extraordinary Blu-ray ballet discs from Bolshoi published by Bel Air. The Ural Opera Ballet is located in Ekaterinburg, the 4th largest city in Russia, and it is one of 4 ballet companies in Russia that gets special “federal” support.
Read MoreRudolf Nureyev box set with 3 ballets in the classical tradition with revival choreography by Nureyev. Below are the discs. Each of them has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
Swan Lake. 2014. (Grade A+)
The Nutcracker. 2014. (Grade A+)
Don Quixote. 2017. (Grade A-)
Read MoreC(H)ŒURS ("Choirs/Hearts") dance production. Choreographed and directed 2012 by Alan Platel at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Music by Verdi and Wagner; additional music by Steven Prengels; short spoken part with words of Desmond Tutu. Features dancers from Patel's dance company, les ballets C de la B: Bérengère Bodin, Daisy Ransom Phillips, Ido Batash, Juliana Neves, Lisi Estaras, Quan Bui Ngoc, Roman Guion, Rumeu Runa, Rosalba Torres Guerrero, and Serge Aimé Coulibaly. The other star of this show is the Chorus of the Teatro Real (and individual members thereof). Consuelo Garres is a chorus member who sings solo. Two boys, Martin López Malgesini and Nicolás Del Real Sasaki, join the Chorus for special roles.
Read More1984 ballet based on the novel 1984 by George Orwell. Choreographed and directed 2015 by Johnathan Watkins at the Northern Ballet in Leeds, England. Music by Alex Baranowski. Stars Tobias Batley (Winston Smith), Martha Leebolt (Julia), Javier Torres (O'Brien), Hironao Takahashi (Mr. Charrington), Giuliano Contadini (Parsons), Kevin Poeung (Ampleforth), Ashley Dixon (Martin), Victoria Sibson (Lead Prole), and other artists from the Northern Ballet. John Pryce-Jones conducts the Northern Ballet Sinfonia (Leader Geoffrey Allan). Set and costume design by Simon Daw; lighting by Chris Davey; video designs by Andrzej Goulding; dramaturgy by Ruth Little; production management by Steve Wilkins. Directed for TV by Ross MacGibbon. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
Read MoreMarianela Nuñez, The Art of box set with 4 Opus Arte titles starring the Argentine prima ballerina. Each disc below has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
- Don Quixote. 2009. (Grade B-)
- La fille mal gardée. 2009. (Grade A+)
- Giselle. 2017. (Grade A)
- Swan Lake 2010. (Grade D)
Read MoreDon Quixote ballet. Music by Ludwig Minkus arranged by John Lanchbery. Choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev after Marius Petipa. Staged 2016 by Manuel Legris at the Wiener Staatsballett. Stars Maria Yakovleva (Kitri/Dulcinea), Denys Cherevychko (Basilio), Ketevan Papava (A Street Dancer), Roman Lazik (Espada), Olga Esina (The Queen of the Dryads), Kiyoka Hashimoto (Amor), Kamil Pavelka (Don Quixtoe), Christoph Wenzel (Sancho Panza), Gabor Oberregger (Lorenzo), Andrey Kaydanovskiy (Gamache), Alice Firenze, Nina Tonoli (Kitri's friends), Igor Milos, Beata Wiedner (Two aged Gypsies), Mihail Sosnovschi, Rebecca Horner, Erika Kováčová (Gypsies), Gala Jovanovic, Oxana Kiyanenko, and Laura Nistor (Three Dryads), Natascha Mair (First Bridesmaid), plus Marat Bavletshin and Keata Wiedner (Caregivers). Kevin Rhodes conducts the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper. Set and costume design by Nicholas Georgiadis; lighting design by Marc Anrochte; video directed by Michael Beyer. Released 2017, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreRomeo and Juliet ballet. Music by Sergei Prokofiev. Libretto by Leonid Lavrovsky and Sergei Prokofiev. Staged 2015 at the San Francisco Ballet based on choreography by Helgi Thomasson. Stars Maria Kochetkova (Juliet), David Karapetyan (Romeo), Pascal Molat (Mercutio), Joseph Walsh (Benvolio), Luke Ingham (Tybalt), Ricardo Bustamante (Lord Capulet), Sofiane Sylve (Lady Capulet), Anita Paciotti (Nurse), Myles Thatcher (Paris), Wan Ting Zhao (Rosaline), Rubén Martín Cintas (Lord Montague), Lacey Escabar (Lady Montague) Jim Sohm (Friar Lawrence), and Martino Pistone (Prince of Verona) along with many other dancers and extras. Martin West conducts the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Lighting design by Thomas R. Skelton; sets and costumes by Jens-Jacob Worsaae; fight direction by Martino Pistone; directed for film by Thomas Grimm; executive producer Andrew Carl Wilk. Released 2017, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
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Romeo and Juliet ballet. Music by Sergei Prokofiev. Libretto by Leonid Lavrovsky and Sergei Prokofiev. Staged 2017 at the Teatro alla Scala with choreography by Kenneth MacMillan revived by Julie Lincoln. Stars Roberto Bolle (Romeo); Misty Copeland (Juliet); Antonino Sutera (Mercutio); Mick Zeni (Tybalt); Marco Agostino (Benvolio); Riccardo Massimi (Paris); Alessandro Grillo (Lord Capulet); Emanuela Montanari (Lady Capulet); Luigi Saruggia (The Duke); Chiara Borgia (Rosaline); Monica Vaglietti (Nurse); Matthew Endicott (Friar Laurence); Christian Fagetti (Mandolin solo); Virna Toppi, Denise Gazzo, and Beatrice Carbone (Three Gypsies); Giuseppe Conte (Lord Montague); Francesca Podini (Lady Montague); Vittoria Valerio, Agnese di Clemente, Marta Gerani, Danieal Cavalleri, Chiara Fiandra, and Alessandrea Vassallo (Six Friends of Juliet); and dancers from the Ballet Company of Teatro alla Scala. Patrick Fournillier conducts the Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala. Set design by Mauro Carosi; costume design by Odette Nicoletti; lighting design by Marco Filibeck. Video direction by Lorena Sardi; photography directed by Luciano Cricelli. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
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