Ballet

Coppélia

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Coppélia ballet. Music by Léo Delibes. Libretto by Charles Nuitter and Arthur Saint-Léon after E.T.A. Hoffmann. Choreography by Sergey Vikharev and Vladimir Grigoriev after Marius Petipa and Enrico Cecchetti. Recorded 2018 at the Bolshoi Theater. Stars Margarita Shrayner (Swanilda), Artem Ovcharenko (Frantz), Alexey Loparevich (Coppelius), Xenia Averina, Daria Bochkova, Bruna Cantanhede Gaglianone, Antonina Chapkina, Anastasia Denisova, Elizaveta Kruteleva, Svetlana Pavlova, and Yulia Skvortsova (Eight friends); Nadezhda Blagova (Coppélia [Automaton]), Alexander Fadeyechev (Lord of Manor), Yuri Ostrovsky (Burgomaster), Nikolay Mayorov (Chronos), Oksana Sharova, Alexander Vodopetov, Ekaterina Besedina, and Dmitry Ekaterinin (Mazurka), Kristina Karasyova and Vitali Biktimirov (Czardasz), Anastasia Denisova (Aurora), Antonina Chapkina (Prayer), Daria Bochkova, Ksenia Averina, Maria Mishina, Stanislava Postnova, and Tatiana Tiliguzova (Work), and Elizaveta Kruteleva (Folly). Pavel Sorokin conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Bolshoi Theater. Scenography by Boris Kaminsky; costumes by Tatiana Noginova; lighting design by Damir Ismagilov; archive research and coordination by Pavel Gershenzon. Directed for TV by Isabel Julien; produced by François Duplat. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+

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Orphée et Eurydice

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Christoph Gluck Orphée et Eurydice opera/ballet production to libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline. Directed and choreographed 2018 by John Neumeier at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Singing stars are tenor Dmitry Korchak (Orphée), soprano Andriana Chuchman (Eurydice), and soprano Lauren Snouffer (Amore [should be Amour, as this is the French version]). Features The Joffrey Ballet (now the official ballet of the Lyric Opera) performing as themselves and the inhabitants of the underworld. Harry Bicket conducts the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Michael Black). Sets by Neumeier (assisted by Heinrich Tröger), lighting design by Neumeier (assisted by Chris Maravich), and costumes by Neumeier. Directed for TV by Matthew Diamond; produced by John Walker; executive producer was David Horn. Sung in French. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+

Gluck’s relatively simple opera libretto and music encourages extensive embellishment with dancing and updated plot elements. Still, making a video of this is

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Hedda Gabler

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Hedda Gabler ballet. Music composed by Nils Petter Molvær. Choreographed and directed by Marit Moum Aune based on the play of the same name by Henrik Ibsen. Staged 2017 at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Stars Grete Sofie Borud Nybakken (Hedda Gabler) Silas Henriksen (Eilert Løvborg, Hedda’s first lover), Philip Currell (Jørgen Tesman, Hedda’s husband), Eugenie Skilnand (Thea Elvsted, Hedda’s schoolmate), Shane Urton (Assessor or Judge Brack), Samantha Lynch (Aunt Julie), Klara Mårtensson (Diana), Kristian Alm (General Gabler, Hedda’s father), Erle Østraat (Hedda Gabler as child), and Helle Flood (Thea Elvsted as child) supported by other dancers of The Norwegian National Ballet and The Norwegian National Ballet School. Set design by Even Børsum; costume design by Ingrid Nylander; lighting design by Kristin Bredal; assistant direction by Christoper Kettner; group choreography by Kaloyan Boyadjiev. Directed for TV by Tommy Pascal; produced by Xavier Dubois. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+

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The Nutcracker

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The Nutcracker ballet. Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a libretto by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann and Marius Petipa. Choreographed by Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov. Staged 2018 by Christopher Carr at the Royal Opera House. Stars Gary Avis (Herr Drosselmeyer), Anna Rose O’Sullivan (Clara), Marcelino Sambé (Hans-Peter / The Nutcracker), Marianela Nuñez (The Sugar Plum Fairy), Vadim Muntagirov (The Prince), and dancers from The Royal Ballet. Barry Wordsworth conducts the Orchestra the Royal Opera House (Co-Concert Master Sergey Levitin). Designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman; lighting design by Mark Henderson. Directed for TV by Ross MacGibbon. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: NA

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Woolf Works

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Woolf Works ballet. Original music by Max Richter. Directed and choreographed by Wayne McGregor. Staged 2017 at the Royal Opera House (revival of 2015 production). Stars Gary Avis, Matthew Ball, Federico Bonelli, Alessandra Ferri (special appearance), Francesca Hayward, Paul Kay, Sarah Lamb, Steven McRae, Natalia Osipova, Calvin Richardson, Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Akane Takada, Eric Underwood, and Edward Watson supported by other members of the Royal Ballet and students of the Royal Ballet School (Christopher Powney Artistic Director). Features soprano Anush Hovhannisyan and speaker Gillian Anderson. Koen Kessels conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev). 3 separate works are presented, all related to the writings of Virginia Woolf:

  • I Now, I Then (based on the 1925 novel Mrs Dalloway), designed by Ciguë

  • Becomings (inspired by the 1928 novel Orlando), designed by We Not I [not to be confused with the name of Act 1above]

  • Tuesday (inspired by the 1931 novel The Waves), designed by Wayne McGregor

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Iolanta and The Nutcracker

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This title has a double bill of Tchaikovsky works, an opera and a ballet:

  1. Iolanta opera to a libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky. Stars Sonya Yoncheva (Iolanta), Arnold Rutkowski (Vaudémont), Alexander Tsymbalyuk (King René), Andrei Zhilikhovsky (Robert), Vito Priante (Ibn-Hakia), Elena Zaremba (Marta), Roman Shulakov (Alméric), Gennady Bezzubenkov (Bertrand), Anna Patalong (Brigitta), and Paola Gardina (Laura). Sung in Russian.

  2. The Nutcracker ballet to a libretto by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Choreography by Arthur Pita, Édouard Lock, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Stars Marion Barbeau (Marie), Stéphane Bullion (Vaudémont), Nicholas Paul (Drosselmeyer), Aurelien Houette (The Father), Alice Renavand (The Mother), Takeru Coste (Robert), and Caroline Bance (The Sister) supported by the Corps De Ballet de L’Opéra national de Paris.

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Le Corsaire

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Le Corsaire ballet. Choreographed by Manuel Legris to a libretto by Manuel Legris and Jean-François Vazelle. Music by Adolphe Adam. Staged 2016 at the Wiener Staatsoper. Stars Robert Gabdullin (Conrad), Maria Yakovleva (Médora), Liudmila Konovalova (Gulnare), Kirill Kourlaev (Lanquedem), Davide Dato (Birbanto), Alice Firenze (Zulméa), Mihail Sosnovschi (Seyd Pasha), Natascha Mair, Nina Tonoli and Prisca Zeisel (Odalisques) as well as dancers from the Wiener Staatsballet and the Balletakademie der Wiener Staatsoper. Valery Ovsianikov conducts the Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper. Set and costume design by Luisa Spinatelli; lighting design by Marion Hewlett; choreographic assistance by Albert Mirzoyan. Directed for TV by François Roussillon. Released 2019, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A

The show opens with our bodacious boatload of buccaneers beating across the boisterous billows boldly breaching beaches boasting beautiful bimbos. Wherever these pirates venture, wild adventures await:

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John Neumeier Collection

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This John Neumeier Collection box set has four Neumeier ballets previously published by C Major. Each disc has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:

  1. Nijinsky. 2018. (Grade B)

  2. Bach Christmas Oratorio. 2015. (Grade A+)

  3. Tatiana. 2016. (Grade: A-)

  4. The Little Mermaid. 2011. (Grade A+)

All the titles in this box are magnificent dance productions from the finest story-telling choreographer working today. We graded two of these down some for what we consider to be excessive video pace (two many clips too fast). But don’t let this slow you down. With an appropriate price, this would be one of the very best Blu-ray ballet boxes on the market and a must buy for every ballet fan. We are so fortunate to have material of this quality coming out in a money-saving package.

Released 2019. Box Set Grade: A

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Onegin

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Onegin ballet. Music by Tchaikovsky arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze (various selections and not the music to Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin). Choreography by John Cranko. Filmed November 2017. Stars Friedemann Vogel (Onegin), Alicia Amatriain (Tatiana), David Moore (Lensky), Elisa Badenes (Olga), Jason Reilly (Prince Gremin), Melinda Witham (Madame Larina), and Marcia Haydée (Tatiana’s and Olga’s Nurse). James Tuggle conducts the State Orchestra Stuttgart. Set and costume design by Jürgen Rose; artistic supervision by Reid Anderson. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer. (It appears this was shot in 4K but published in 2K.) Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C+

Cranko introduced today’s Onegin in Stuttgart in 1967 (after revising slightly the original 1965 version). It’s an extremely simplified, straight-forward telling of the lost-love story from Puskin’s poem with elaborate but easy-to-understand dancing and acting in a naturalistic style (no pantomime). It was an immediate hit and has been in the Stuttgart repertory ever since. It was quickly taken up by many dance companies around the world. With the exception of the great Tchaikovsky/Petipa works from the 19th century (Sleeping Beauty, etc.), Cranko’s Onegin may well have been seen by more people than any other ballet.

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The Frederick Ashton Collection: Volume One

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The Frederick Ashton Collection: Volume One Box Set released 2018. 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:

  1. Ashton Celebration (with ballets La Valse, Meditation from Thaïs, Voices of Spring, Monotones I and II, and Marguerite and Armand). Grade: A.

  2. Ashton Rhapsody and The Two Pigeons. Grade: B for Rhapsody, C+ for The Two Pigeons)

  3. Ashton Triple Bill (with ballets Symphonic Variations, Marguerite and Armand, and The Dream). Grade: A for Symphonic Variations; A- for Marguerite and Armand; C+ for Dream.

Total Grade: B+.

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Bernstein Celebration

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Bernstein Celebration ballet collection. The Royal Ballet, for the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth, performed a triple bill of ballets set to different pieces by Bernstein. Directed 2018 by Kevin O’Hare. The performances are as follows:

  1. Yugen. Set to Chichester Psalms. Choreographed by Wayne McGregor. Stars Federico Bonelli, William Bracewell, Harry Churches, Melissa Hamilton, Francesca Hayward, Chisato Katsura, Paul Kay, Sarah Lamb, Calvin Richardson, Joseph Sissens, and Akane Takada. Koen Kessels conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Co-Concert Master Sergey Levitin; Assistant Concert Master Melissa Carstairs) and Members of the Royal Opera Chorus and Extra Chorus (Chorus Director William Spaulding).

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The Nutcracker

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The Nutcracker ballet. Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a libretto by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann and Marius Petipa. Choreographed by Valery Kovtun and filmed at the National Opera of Ukraine in 2018. Stars Oleksiy Kovalenko (Stahlbaum); Liudmyla Melnyk (His Wife); Iuliia Moskalenko (Clara, their Daughter); Ielizaveta Gogidze (Fritz, Clara’s Brother/Chinese Doll); Iaroslav Tkachuk (Drosselmeyer/Russian Doll); Ielizaveta Cherniak (The Nutcracker Doll); Mykyta Sukhorukov (The Nutcracker/The Prince); Ruslan Avramenko (Mouse King); Sergii Kliachin (Harlequin/Indian Doll); Ganna Muromtseva (Columbine); Marjia Nelen (She-Devil/Russian Doll); Volodymyr Kutuzov (He-Devil); Raisa Betancourt and Oleksandr Shapoval (Spanish Dolls); Anastasiia Shevchenko(Indian Doll); Mykyta Hodyna (Chinese Doll); and Lina Volodina, Oksana Sira, Vladyslav Romashchenko, and Maksym Bilorkynytskyi (French Dolls), and dancers from the Ballet Company of the National Opera of Ukraine. Oleksiy Baklan conducts the Orchestra the National Opera of Ukraine. Directed for TV by Bertrand Normand; produced by François Duplat. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. [Preliminary information needs confirmation.] Grade: NA

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Mayerling

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Mayerling ballet. Choreography by Kenneth MacMillan. Music by Franz Liszt as arranged and adapted by John Lanchbery. Performed 2018 at the Royal Opera House. Stars Steven McRae (Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary), Sarah Lamb (Baroness Mary Vetsera, Rudolph’s mistress), Meghan Grace Hinkis (Princess Stephanie, Rudolf’s wife), Gary Avis (Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, Rudolf’s father), Kristen McNally (Empress Elisabeth, Rudolf’s mother), Laura Morera (Baroness Marie Larisch, Rudolf’s ex-mistress), Elizabeth McGorian (Baroness Helena Vetsera, Mary’s mother), James Hay (Bratfisch, Rudolph’s driver and entertainer), Ursula Hageli (Archduchcess Sophie, mother of Franz Joesph), Mayara Magri (Mitzi Caspar, a high-class prostitute and Rudolph’s regular mistress), Nehemiah Kish (Colonel ‘Bay’ Middleton, Elizabeth’s lover), Catherine Carby (Katherina Schratt, a friend of the Emperor), Marcelino Sambé, Reece Clarke,Tomas Mock, Calvin Richandson (four Hungarian officers), Paul Stobart (Alfred Grünfeld, a pianist), Alastair Marriott (Count Taafe, Prime Minister of Austria-Hungary), Nicol Edmonds (Count Hoyos, Rudolph's friend), Anna Rose O’Sullivan (Princess Louise, Stephanie's sister), Johnathan Howells (Prince Philipp of Coburg, husband of Princess Louise and friend of Rudolf), Olivia Cotley o(Princess Gisela, Rudolf's elder sister), Camille Bracher (Princess Valerie, Rudolf's younger sister), Ashley Dean (Princess Valerie as a child), Sarah Lamb (Mary Vetsera as a child); David Yudes (Loschek, Rudolf's valet), Thomas Whitehead (Count Larisch), and other artists of the Royal Ballet. Koen Kessels conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev). Designs by Nicholas Georgiadis; scenario by Gillian Freeman; lighting design by John B. Read. Directed for TV by Ross MacGibbon. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+

This is, of course, the same 2009 show we reviewed several years ago with Ed Watson as Prince Rudolf and Mara Galeazzi as Mary Vetsera. Mayerling is a modern costume/historical ballet first performed in 1978 at the Royal Opera

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