Paul Taylor is widely considered to be one of the foremost American choreographers of the 20th century. Paul Taylor is among the last living members of the second generation of America’s modern dance artists. He has continued to win acclaim for his recent creations as well as stagings of his earlier works. As prolific as ever, he may propel his dancers through space for the sheer beauty of it, or use them to wordlessly illuminate war, spirituality, sexuality, morality and mortality. This program was recorded in 2012 at the Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris and is composed of two ballets.

BRANDENBURGS
First performed in 1988 to music from Bach’s Brandenburg concertos #3 and #6. “Brandenburgs” is cast for a man and three women, plus an ensemble of five men. In an unusual stroke for Taylor, he uses the male quintet as a proper corps de ballet – that is, they frame the action and move only as a group, anonymously. The sharp hierarchical distinction between soloists and ensemble accounts for one aspect of the dance’s classical feel. More important, though, is the ensemble’s attitude toward the soloists.

BELOVED RENEGADE
Set to Francis Poulenc’s choral “Gloria,” the dance was inspired by the life and work of 19th Century American writer Walt Whitman, who revered the body and soul as one and who famously loved all with equal ardor. It depicts the experiences of an artist described in a line from Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass”: “I am the poet of the body and I am the poet of the soul.”

PRESS REVIEW

“Beauty is the only word for BRANDENBURGS…[which] celebrates the good things in life. Such a radiant, seamless flow of invention that the choreography seems an entirely natural way of moving to this music.” – Mary Clarke, Manchester [UK] Guardian

“The best new choreography in 2008. Deeply moving… a work of philosophic as well as dramatic power. Mr. Taylor ranks among the great war poets… One of the great achievements of his long career and one of the most eloquently textured feats of his singular imagination.” – Alastair Macaulay, New York Times (BELOVED RENEGADE)

Director: Andy Sommer
Bonus: ’Paul Taylor : Architect of Energy’
Length: 55 mins (ballets) & 11 mins (bonus) - Image: NTSC, colour, 16:9
Audio: PCM Stereo, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: French (Bonus)
Zones: All Zones

Full Review:
PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY IN PARIS • Various Artists • BELAIR 095 (DVD: 55:00 + 11:00)

Brandenburgs (1988); Beloved Renegade (2008); Mini-documentary, Paul Taylor: Architect of Energy

This program was recorded in the Théâtre National de Chaillot during the Festival Les Étés de la Danse in 2012, and originally was shown on PBS as part of its Great Performances series. (One assumes that other works were performed that evening, but that only these two made it to American television.)

In Paul Taylor’s words, Brandenburgs (danced to Bach’s Third and Sixth Brandenburg Concertos) is a piece about gallantry, but not about romance. A muted eroticism is present, but it is masked by the piece’s joyous and energetic athleticism, which hardly ever lets up. (One dancer calls it “controlled chaos.”) Lead male dancer Michael Trusnovec is an Apollo-like figure, simultaneously attended by and attending to three of the lead female dancers. Even so, the piece can be enjoyed as pure, abstract dance. Bach’s buoyant music is perfectly suited to Taylor’s fluid, expressive, and yet at times geometrical choreography. Artistically, the piece is flawless, and the dancing approaches flawlessness as well.

Trusnovec’s charisma takes center stage again in Beloved Renegade, which was inspired by Walt Whitman. To the music of Poulenc’s Gloria—strangely appropriate!—the poet reviews episodes and themes from his life—tending wounded Civil War soldiers, observing the innocent play of children, “singing the body electric,” if you will—and, at the end, departs life, with dancer Laura Halzack serving as his Angel of Death. Near the end, there is a touching vignette in which Whitman bids farewell to several of his friends, and one feels that perhaps Whitman is being presented as a Christ-like figure. Again, the work is an artistic triumph. Taylor is one of those modern dance choreographers whose work is informed by classical ballet, but the incorporation of ballet into modern dance is seamless. In this work, the individual dancers are given the opportunity to be more individualized than in Brandenburgs, and here, one realizes what a strong ensemble this is. It is not carried by a few star dancers.

The Bach is danced to Neville Marriner’s recording with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields on Philips. The Poulenc is danced to Stephen Layton’s truly outstanding Hyperion recording. The camera-work is good, although some viewers might not like the cutting from one camera to another, which is as frequent as the blinking of an eye. The 11-minute bonus video contains interviews with Taylor and several of his dancers, and, as is often the case, is beneficial to view before watching the performances themselves.

I have no trouble strongly recommending this to just about anyone, even to viewers who don’t generally watch dance, live or on video. I wish only that the program were longer!

FANFARE: Raymond Tuttle

Roberto Alagna (tenor), Serena Gamberoni (soprano) & Marc Barrard (baritone)
Teatro Comunale di Bologna Orchestra, Giampaolo Bisanti
Libretto Pierre-Louis Moline
Subtitles: French, English, German, Spanish, Italian
Length: 104 minutes - Bonus: Backstage & Interviews
Colour 16/9 - PCM STEREO, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1

Theatrical and musical adaptation in one prologue and three acts by David Alagna
Filmed in High Definition at the Bologna Opera, January 2008
THE PERFORMANCE: Roberto Alagna as Orpheus in his brother David's new version of Gluck’s masterpiece. A major event recorded in Bologna.

Opting for the French-language version of Orpheus, David Alagna was faced with the task of achieving an appropriately subtle adaptation. In a plot transposed to the present day, Eurydice dies in a car accident on the day of her wedding and Orpheus's quest for his beloved is a dream beginning and ending at the cemetery. No happy ending in this interpretation, but a new approach to characterisation:Amore, sung by a baritone, becomes a funeral parlour employee and Orpheus' guide. Orpheus, of course, loses his loved one forever by turning to look back. World famous tenor Roberto Alagna throws himself body and soul into this production. His incredible vitality, flawless timbre and diction make him a great Orpheus. His partner, young Italian soprano Serena Gamberoni, is simply stunning as Eurydice, while French baritone Marc Barrard is suitably terrifying as the guide to the Underworld. The orchestra is conducted by Giampaolo Bisanti, who masterfully brings out all Gluck's poetry, romantic melancholy and depth.
A co-production with the Montpellier Opera.

Also available on Blu-ray

Although posthumous, 'The Tales of Hoffmann' is considered as the masterpiece of Jacques Offenbach’s work and mixes love, pain and whim. The intrigue settles around three stories about a broken love. Told by Hoffmann, narrator and hero, these tales paint a portrait of three feminine figures: Olympia the automaton, Antonia the dying opera singer and Giulietta the courtesan. This triptych allows the development of very different universes, and colour. It’s also a declension of the image of woman and of evil.

Christoph Marthaler signed this creation for the Teatro Real. This was Gerard Mortier’s last commission for this stage: the Swiss director has proven his ease in many different registers. An essential capacity needed for a work as rich and subtle as 'The Tales of Hoffmann'. Music is conducted by Sylvain Cambreling and the cast includes Eric Cutler, Anne Sofie von Otter, Measha Brueggergosman and Jean-Philippe Lafont.

Running time: 193 minutes
Subtitles: French, German, English, Spanish
Format: 16/9, NTSC, Sound Dolby digital 2.0/5.1

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

'The Tales of Hoffmann' is considered as the masterpiece of Jacques Offenbach’s work and mixes love, pain and whim. The intrigue settles around three stories about a broken love. Told by Hoffmann, narrator and hero, these tales paint a portrait of three feminine figures: Olympia the automaton, Antonia the dying opera singer and Giulietta the courtesan. This triptych allows the development of very different universes, and colour. It’s also a declension of the image of woman and of evil.

Christoph Marthaler signed this creation for the Teatro Real. This was Gerard Mortier’s last commission for this stage: the Swiss director has proven his ease in many different registers. An essential capacity needed for a work as rich and subtle as 'The Tales of Hoffmann'. Music is conducted by Sylvain Cambreling and the cast includes Eric Cutler, Anne Sofie von Otter, Measha Brueggergosman and Jean-Philippe Lafont.

Running time: 193 minutes
Subtitles: French, German, English, Spanish
Format: 16/9, NTSC, Sound Dolby digital 2.0/5.1

Verdi’s third opera was created at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1842, in the epicentre of the “Risorgimento” and the capital of Italian nationalism, at a time where the supporters of Italian independence from Austrian occupation were starting to make their voices heard. The “Chorus of the Hebrew slaves,” a pivotal point in the third act where the Jews, exiled from Babylon by Nabuchodonosor, mourn their country, “so beautiful and lost,” immediately resonated with the Italian nationalists and has ever since been a symbol of Italian national identity. French director Arnaud Bernard goes as far as to center the entire opera during the popular uprisings of 1848 and in the insides of the Milanese opera house. A clever way to emphasize on the legends that have been building around Verdi’s operas and the role they played in the political process of uniting the Italian peninsula. Soprano Susanna Branchini steals the stage as Nabuchodonosor’s daughter Abigaille, while Israeli-born conductor Daniel Oren conducts with great panache this “lyrical epic” that holds such a special place in the heart of all Italians. As a film director, Ingmar Bergman was also a choreographer. His “invisible hand” is constantly directing the actor in a slow dance around the room. The renowned and innovative Swedish choreographers Alexander Ekman, Pär Isberg, Pontus Lidberg and Joakim Stephenson, with principal dancers Jenny Nilson, Nathalie Nordquist, Oscar Salomonsson and Nadja Sellrup from the Royal Swedish Ballet, interpret Ingmar Bergman through four unique dance performances reflecting on human relations and intense feelings. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Bergman’s birth, this movie is not only a tribute to the Swedish cineaste’s unique aesthetics, but also a way to deepen his search of the ineffable, his reflection on the visual poetry of movement, and on the emotional powers of silent contemplation. The movie won the Special Mention award at Golden Prague International Film Festival 2017 for exceptional artistic achievement.

Verdi’s third opera was created at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1842, in the epicentre of the “Risorgimento” and the capital of Italian nationalism, at a time where the supporters of Italian independence from Austrian occupation were starting to make their voices heard. The “Chorus of the Hebrew slaves,” a pivotal point in the third act where the Jews, exiled from Babylon by Nabuchodonosor, mourn their country, “so beautiful and lost,” immediately resonated with the Italian nationalists and has ever since been a symbol of Italian national identity. French director Arnaud Bernard goes as far as to center the entire opera during the popular uprisings of 1848 and in the insides of the Milanese opera house. A clever way to emphasize on the legends that have been building around Verdi’s operas and the role they played in the political process of uniting the Italian peninsula. Soprano Susanna Branchini steals the stage as Nabuchodonosor’s daughter Abigaille, while Israeli-born conductor Daniel Oren conducts with great panache this “lyrical epic” that holds such a special place in the heart of all Italians. As a film director, Ingmar Bergman was also a choreographer. His “invisible hand” is constantly directing the actor in a slow dance around the room. The renowned and innovative Swedish choreographers Alexander Ekman, Pär Isberg, Pontus Lidberg and Joakim Stephenson, with principal dancers Jenny Nilson, Nathalie Nordquist, Oscar Salomonsson and Nadja Sellrup from the Royal Swedish Ballet, interpret Ingmar Bergman through four unique dance performances reflecting on human relations and intense feelings. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Bergman’s birth, this movie is not only a tribute to the Swedish cineaste’s unique aesthetics, but also a way to deepen his search of the ineffable, his reflection on the visual poetry of movement, and on the emotional powers of silent contemplation. The movie won the Special Mention award at Golden Prague International Film Festival 2017 for exceptional artistic achievement.

Also available on Blu-ray

Opera in four parts and seven scenes. Original version (1868/1869)
Libretto: Modest Mussorgsky after Alexander Pushkin & Nikolai Karamsins

Stage direction: Calixto Bieito
Set design: Rebecca Ringst
Costume design: Ingo Krügler
Lighting: Michael Bauer
Dramaturgy: Andrea Schönhofer
HD recording: Bavarian State Opera, Munich, February 2013

Child murder, scheming monks and a Tsar lapsing into madness - Modest Mussorgsky spread the thematic arc wide in his choral opera, which he began to work on from 1868, and with which he attempted to awaken an awareness of his own time through the indirect route of a historic story.

As an artist of the 19th century, he was driven by the psychology of the masses. Thus, in 'Boris Godunov', alongside the hero of the title, the main role is actually taken primarily by the Russian people, rejoicing, starving, demanding and questioning. In conjuction with conductor Kent Nagano, Spanish stage director Calixto Bieito proposes an original reading of this brilliant work. The cast is led by Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Boris), with associates Gerhard Siegel (Schuisky), Markus Eiche (Chelkalov) and Anatoli Kotscherga (Pimen).

"A 'Boris Godunov' to die for...The bass Alexander Tsymbalyuk sings Boris with handsome, lean tone and ably conveys the Czar's mental disintegration'' NEW YORK TIMES

Director: Andy Sommer Length: 139 min.
Picture: NTSC, colour, 16:9
Audio: PCM Stereo, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: French / English / German
Region: All Region

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Opera in four parts and seven scenes, First version (1868/1869)
Libretto: Modest Mussorgsky after Alexander Pushkin & Nikolai Karamsins

Stage direction: Calixto Bieito
Set design: Rebecca Ringst
Costume design: Ingo Krügler
Lighting: Michael Bauer
Dramaturgy: Andrea Schönhofer
HD recording: Bavarian State Opera, Munich, February 2013

Child murder, scheming monks and a Tsar lapsing into madness - Modest Mussorgsky spread the thematic arc wide in his choral opera, which he began to work on from 1868, and with which he attempted to awaken an awareness of his own time through the indirect route of a historic story.

As an artist of the 19th century, he was driven by the psychology of the masses. Thus, in 'Boris Godunov', alongside the hero of the title, the main role is actually taken primarily by the Russian people, rejoicing, starving, demanding and questioning. In conjuction with conductor Kent Nagano, Spanish stage director Calixto Bieito proposes an original reading of this brilliant work. The cast is led by Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Boris), with associates Gerhard Siegel (Schuisky), Markus Eiche (Chelkalov) and Anatoli Kotscherga (Pimen).

"A 'Boris Godunov' to die for...The bass Alexander Tsymbalyuk sings Boris with handsome, lean tone and ably conveys the Czar's mental disintegration'' NEW YORK TIMES

Director: Andy Sommer Length: 139 min.
Picture: NTSC, colour, 16:9
Audio: PCM Stereo, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: French / English / German
Region: All Region

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Filmed at the Paris Opera with a cast including the great Mozart figures of our time, Giorgio Strehler’s legendary production is now available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray.

Any reprise of the Strehler Nozze di Figaro has to be a major event. And in 2010, thirty-seven years after its première, the work met with a fresh triumph at the Opéra Bastille, featuring a new generation of performers: Ludovic Tézier (Count Almaviva), Barbara Frittoli (Countess Almaviva), Ekaterina Siurina (Susanna), Luca Pisaroni (Figaro) et Karine Deshayes (Cherubino).

As musical director Philippe Jordan reveals the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra National de Paris at the height of their powers.

And as a bonus: an interview with Humbert Camerlo, who worked for many years with Giorgio Strehler and was the stage director for this reprise.

PRESS REVIEWS:
“Strehler’s Figaro shines again” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

“Fine Cast Revives Strehler’s Treasured Nozze di Figaro Production” OPERAWARHORSES.COM

Director: Don Kent
Bonus: Interview with Humbert Camerlo
Length: 178 min - Image: Coolor, 16/9, NTSC
Audio: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.0
Subtitles: French / English / German / Spanish / Italian

Recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in June 2004, this Le nozze di Figaro was unanimously acclaimed by public and critics alike as a Mozart opera landmark. Director Jean-Louis Martinoty brings an elegantly intelligent narrative sense to an interpretation in which the protagonists, against a backdrop of magnificent canvases of 18th-century inspiration, are dressed by Sylvie de Segonzac in a palette in which every shade is perfect. Hans Schavernoch’s set suggests an elitist society that is coming apart at the seams. René Jacobs’s conducting of Concerto Köln is meticulous and perfectly balanced, offering a ravishing use of tonal colour and orchestral dynamics. A veteran Almaviva, the excellent Pitero Spagnoli plays opposite Annette Dasch’s beauteous Countess. As Figaro and Susanna, Luca Pisaroni and Rosemary Joshua are a truly sparkling couple, while mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager embodies the most divinely troubling of Cherubino. The exceptional quality of this production, and the great success encountered by its first edition, inevitably led to the remastering in high-definition of this program, now and for the first time also available on Blu-ray.

Recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in June 2004, this Le nozze di Figaro was unanimously acclaimed by public and critics alike as a Mozart opera landmark. Director Jean-Louis Martinoty brings an elegantly intelligent narrative sense to an interpretation in which the protagonists, against a backdrop of magnificent canvases of 18th-century inspiration, are dressed by Sylvie de Segonzac in a palette in which every shade is perfect. Hans Schavernoch’s set suggests an elitist society that is coming apart at the seams. René Jacobs’s conducting of Concerto Köln is meticulous and perfectly balanced, offering a ravishing use of tonal colour and orchestral dynamics. A veteran Almaviva, the excellent Pitero Spagnoli plays opposite Annette Dasch’s beauteous Countess. As Figaro and Susanna, Luca Pisaroni and Rosemary Joshua are a truly sparkling couple, while mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager embodies the most divinely troubling of Cherubino. The exceptional quality of this production, and the great success encountered by its first edition, inevitably led to the remastering in high-definition of this program, now and for the first time also available on Blu-ray.

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REVIEW:

Everything about this production is excellent, so much so that is quickly become my favourite DVD version, and not just among the period performances, it not only offers an excellent singing cast, but it is well acted with all the participants actually looking the part as well as comfortable in bringing out he humour in their roles, something that some performances forget. If you are looking for a well sung performance of this masterpiece, one that is sympathetic to the spirit of the opera, well look no further.

– MusicWeb International

Recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in June 2004, this Marriage of Figaro was unanimously acclaimed by public and critics alike as a Mozart opera landmark. Director Jean-Louis Martinoty brings an elegantly intelligent narrative sense to an interpretation in which the protagonists, against a backdrop of magnificent canvases of 18th-century inspiration, are dressed by Sylvie de Segonzac in a palette in which every shade is perfect. Hans Schavernoch's set suggests an elitist society that is coming apart at the seams. René Jacobs conducting of the Concerto Köln is meticulous and perfectly balanced, offering a ravishing use of tonal colour and orchestral dynamics. A veteran Almaviva, the excellent Pietro Spagnoli plays opposite Annette Dasch's beauteous Countesss. As Figaro and Susanna, Luca Pisaroni and Rosemary Joshua are a truly sparkling couple, while mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager embodies the most divine troubling of Cherubino.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD or HD DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Ballet in three acts
Music : Ludwig Minkus (1826-1917)
Libretto : Marius Petipa / Sergei Khudekov
Redaction : Yuri Grigorovich

With : Svetlana Zakharova, Vladislav Lantratov, Maria Alexandrova, Alexey Loparevich, Andrey Sitnikov

The Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Conductor : Pavel Sorokin
Choreography : Marius Petipa
New version : Yuri Grigorovich

Marius Petipa’s exotic ballet, set in legendary and mysterious India, is a story of love, death and vengeful judgement. Yuri Grigorovich’s sumptuous recreation of Petipa’s choreography, with breathtaking sets and costumes designed by Nikolay Sharonov, stars Svetlana Zakharova as the Bayadère Nikiya, Vladislav Lantratov as Solor and Maria Alexandrova as Gamzatti whose alluring presence challenges Solor’s love for Nikiya.

Length: 125 min
Zones: All Zones

Featuring Viengsay Valdès (Kitri), Romel Frometa (Basilio), Dayron Vera (Don Quixote) & Javier Sanchez (Sancho Panza).

Choreography by Alicia Alonso.

Sound: Dolby, DTS Surround Sound
Language: English
Subtitles: English, French
Region: All

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Leading Chopin interpreter Nelson Freire is the soloist in Chopin's lyrical and brilliant Second Piano Concerto. On the podium the young French conductor Lionel Bringuier makes his Proms debut conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and gives a sizzling performance of Roussel's Symphony no.3 and of Ravel's score for the ballet Daphnis et Chloé - Suite no 2.

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REVIEW:

French conductor Lionel Bringuier was still a month away from his 24th birthday when he had his Proms debut—and listening to the performances from that evening, it’s hard not to be blown away by his precocious talent. Or perhaps not quite “blown away.” That phrase suggests a hyperkinetic interpretive style; and while there is plenty of sheer power in the climaxes of Daphnis, what’s most conspicuous here is not a whiz-kid sensibility, but a rare sense of poise. Thus, in the Berlioz, we’re treated to an artful combination of the crisp and the supple, of rhythmic snap and lyrical indulgence, which—especially when combined with his fine ear for orchestral balance and his shrewd shaping of long-term dynamics—brings us along on a strong tide of rhetorical pressure without giving us the sense that we’re being hectored. His Roussel has a similar aplomb, revealing the music’s menacing edge without hardening its lines or brutalizing its rhythms. The dancy quality of the Vivace is especially effective. As for the Ravel: What you’re most likely to remember here is not the orgiastic conclusion, but the aching melodies of the sunrise music and the extreme subtlety of the Pantomime (listen, for instance, to the downy touch of the quieter string passages or the subtle control of the bass-line pizzicatos).

The Chopin gets a first-rate performance, too, although a slightly sober one, with the pianist clearly calling the shots. Stressing the music’s Sturm und Drang rather than its bel canto, Freire gives us a dark and intent reading, with a rich and generally bass-centered tone that, for the most part, lacks edge; the filigree, while never the slightest bit slack (much less mechanical), tends to avoid both glitter and whimsy. Thus, for all the expressiveness of his rubato, his finale doesn’t have much playfulness, much less the coltishness of Vladimir Ashkenazy’s famous early account, made during the 1955 Chopin Competition (see Fanfare 18:5). The resilience of Freire’s line is especially impressive in the recitative-like passage in the middle of the central movement. His encore performance of the once-commonplace Gluck-Sgambati is impressively cool and elegant.

Throughout the concert, the musicians seems genuinely engaged—and genuinely having a good time. Kudos, too, to the solo flute, who garners much well-justified applause after Daphnis. Any complaints? Well, poise is not an unmitigated virtue, and there are passages where the Roussel could be tougher—and places, especially in the second movement, where Bringuier could coax out more of its irony and ambiguity. Then, too, there is arguably too much control in the final pages of the Ravel. All in all, though, an impressive introduction to a striking new conductor—with vivid engineering (especially on the surround tracks, which give a wider soundstage and a greater sense of presence) and clear images. Recommended.

– Fanfare (Peter J. Rabinowitz)