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A Blu-ray video of a stunning 2014 performance choreographed by Belgian modern great Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, performed by members of the Paris Opera Ballet and set to Music for Eighteen Musicians, Steve Reich's major score composed in 1976. In tandem with the score rendered here by Ensemble Ictus and the Synergy Vocals ensemble, ‘Rain’ draws its spatial polyphony which manifests on the stage in a glorious pastiche of dancers and rhythm. Created by De Keersmaeker’s company, Rosas in 2001, “Rain” entered the Paris Opera Ballet's repertoire ten years later and reinforces her key role not just in the world of modern dance but in the worlds of contemporary art.

TCHAIKOVSKY The Nutcracker • Pavel Klinichev, cond; Nina Kaptsova ( Marie ); Artem Ovcharenko ( Nutcracker Prince ); Denis Savin ( Drosselmeyer ); et al.; Bolshoi Ballet; Bolshoi Th O & Children’s Ch • BELAIR BAC 073 (DVD: 103:00); BAC 473 (Blu-ray: 103:00) Live: Moscow 12/2010


"The Bolshoi Ballet is celebrating the 85th birthday of choreographer Yuri Grigorovich, a subject of veneration in his homeland even though his talent outside Russia has always been questioned. In addition to such original works as Spartacus and Ivan the Terrible , Grigorovich has also attacked several 19th-century classics with limited success, of which his Nutcracker is an example. It is difficult to know how much of Petipa and Ivanov’s choreography survives, as few versions are comparable, though one might assume that Balanchine comes close in many respects as do the versions that descend from Sergeyev’s notation. For some reason each of the character dances in the second act here is given to a couple, rather than varying between soloist, couple, or trio or larger group. The final pas de deux is—as usual in Soviet versions—disfigured by the use of a male corps that separates the dancers while hoisting them aloft for the music’s climax so that they are separated rather than joined in communion.


Within this framework, Nina Kaptsova and Artem Ovcharenko stand out for their enthusiasm and brilliance, while Denis Savin as Drosselmeyer is given far more dance movement than in other versions of the ballet. Pavel Klinichev and the Bolshoi Orchestra are entirely at home in this music, glowing throughout."

FANFARE: Joel Kasow

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On Christmas Eve, a young girl has a dream... Emotional awakening, physical transformation, childhood that slowly merges into adulthood... behind what seems to be a tale for children slowly emerges a danced initiatory journey. And while children revel in Drosselmeyer’s magic tricks and enjoy a good scare with the apparition of the Mouse King, the adults notice all the finesse that pervades this narrative and admire the virtuosity of the choreography. A first class company, the Ballet Company of the National Opera of Ukraine has toured all around the world: from the United States to Europe and Asia. Thanks to its rich classical heritage, the Company has managed to win the hearts of its audience thanks to its amazing technique and artistic maestria, and as in every good dance company, the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. The Company has also, over the years, establised itself as a unique talent pool, that has nurtured first class dancers such as Iana Salenko (Staatsballet Berlin), Alina Cojocaru (Royal Ballet), Maxim Beloserkovsky and Irina Dvorovenko (American Ballet Theater).

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Three romantic heroes each with a solitary destiny: Tatiana, a Romanesque young woman seeking absolution, Onegin, a distant dandy hiding emptiness under affected haughtiness, and Lenski, abandoned by his literary idol. Between these three, barren affections presage the inexorable social ruin. All the resources of the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow are brought to bear to ensure this opera performance is exceptional evening of theatre and song: a vocal line-up of the highest order with notably the baritone Mariusz Kwiecien and the Bolshoi Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Alexander Vedernikov. With a stage setting as sombre as it is effective - a great dining table appears in the middle of a salon - the director Dmitri Tcherniakov separates two different worlds and lends the drama a clarity rarely reached. 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 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its original release.

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Giacomo Puccini wrote what was supposed to be his last opera at a time where, riddled with disease and old age as he was, he felt like his own turmoil was reflected in the outside world: itself staggering, unsteady, overwhelmed and smashed by the chaos of European diplomacy. In spite of these obstacles, he persevered and worked until the very end of his life on this opera that he left unfinished but that proved to be a “way out” for him in many ways. Drawn from an ancient Persian epic from the 13th century, Turandot was indeed an excuse to escape into a new dramatic universe, one made of unexpected sounds and symbols. Here, in a world removed both geographically and chronologically from his own reality, he gave into the seductive powers of exoticism and eroticism, just as his own heroin Princess Turandot abandons herself to the mysteries of love and forgiveness. After twenty years of absence, Puccini’s Turandot was revived on the stage of the Teatro Real in a new production by American stage director Robert Wilson. One of the most important theatre and visual artist of our times, the director who gave life to Philip Glass’s Einstein of the Beach and who reinvented Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande hadn’t worked on a Puccini opera in twenty-five years, since his ground-breaking Madama Butterfly commissioned by the Paris Opera in 1993. This new encounter between his powerful visual universe and Puccini’s evocative music was bound to be an outstanding event. Carried out by a brilliant cast of singers, dominated by Irene Theorin as Turandot, Gregory Kunde as Calaf and Yolanda Auyanet as Liù, this magnificent production is conducted by the Teatro Real’s associate musical director Nicola Luisotti - and has been met with universal acclaim.

Snegurochka (Snowmaiden), the daughter of Spring and Winter, dreams of a life amongst the humans; but the bitter Sun, looking for revenge, plans to use the fire of love to make her melt away... The Snow Maiden, Rimsky-Korsakov’s third opera, draws its focus from playwright Alexander Ostrovsky’s eponymous play, itself inspired from National folk tales. This literary work was quite unexpected, given that Ostrovsky was better known for his political satires rather than his interest in fairy tales. But the composer found a clever way to spin this paradox, and applied himself in turn to reconcile traditional singing with a creative orchestration, bringing together heritage and modernity. Stage director Dmitri Tcherniakov, a highly regarded specialist in Russian opera, humanizes this marvelous and cruel coming-of-age tale, under the surface of which innocent eroticism and bitter jealousy boil furiously. He also uses this production to draw a parallel between this paradoxical work and the contradictions of modern-time Russia, by transposing the action into an intriguing backward-looking community which, and quite unlike Snowmaiden, does not seem to be quite ready to face the unknown yet…

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Two lovers, united by fate but kept apart by an old family feud, who can only be together in death: Shakespeare’s timeless tale, set to ballet music by Sergey Prokofiev in 1935, needs no introduction. However, this production from the Ural Opera Ballet in Ekaterinburg, which won the prestigious Golden Mask Prize as “Best Ballet” in 2017, adds interesting twists to this well-known frame, as choreographer Vyacheslav Samodurov sets his performance in a dance studio, during a rehearsal of the Romeo and Juliet ballet. This way, the characters of the play are placed out of a specific country or era: the action could take place anytime and anywhere. It could even be happening in front of your window right now: it is not by chance that the dancers reminded the audience of today’s ‘boys and girls from the Uralmash district’, as some viewers have noted in social media. The motive of struggle between the two clans disappears from the performance – it does not matter which families the street fighters belong to. The concept of repetition and inexorability of the theatrical ritual plays a central part: a tragedy is about to happen and the lovers will die today, but afterwards everyone will go home, a new rehearsal will start tomorrow, and the story will be repeated again from the start. With outstanding performances from principals Ekaterina Sapogova and Alexandr Merkushev, choreographer Vyacheslav Samodurov creates an intricate and surprisingly modern choreographical language that draws from classical movements but also from pantomime to best express the feelings and the drama at play in this eternal masterpiece.

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Are we ever honest enough to be unaffected by lies? This is the question asked by Henrik Ibsen’s drama Ghosts (Gengangere). Oswald Alving returns from a bohemian existence in Paris to small-town Norway. Encountering people who do not communicate, Oswald responds by becoming ironic and distant. He gradually learns more of the secrets that weigh on his family, as well as those inside himself. His mother, Mrs Alving, welcomes her much-missed son home – and slowly understands what, or whom, he has brought home with him. «Ghosts is a psychological thriller in which the characters learn more and more about their own stories,» says director Marit Moum Aune. «It’s about how the unsaid can grow to become insuperable. Immense courage is required to make peace with one’s illusions.» Together with the young, critically acclaimed choreographer Cina Espejord, she retells Ibsen’s play as a ballet. The pair feel the story is suited to dance because both its inner and outer brutality can be pitted against the power of dance. Ibsen’s Ghosts is an evocative production in a modern dance style. Nils Petter Molvær has composed new music, which he performs on-stage together with Jan Bang.

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

Also available on standard DVD
Are we ever honest enough to be unaffected by lies? This is the question asked by Henrik Ibsen’s drama Ghosts (Gengangere). Oswald Alving returns from a bohemian existence in Paris to small-town Norway. Encountering people who do not communicate, Oswald responds by becoming ironic and distant. He gradually learns more of the secrets that weigh on his family, as well as those inside himself. His mother, Mrs Alving, welcomes her much-missed son home – and slowly understands what, or whom, he has brought home with him. «Ghosts is a psychological thriller in which the characters learn more and more about their own stories,» says director Marit Moum Aune. «It’s about how the unsaid can grow to become insuperable. Immense courage is required to make peace with one’s illusions.» Together with the young, critically acclaimed choreographer Cina Espejord, she retells Ibsen’s play as a ballet. The pair feel the story is suited to dance because both its inner and outer brutality can be pitted against the power of dance. Ibsen’s Ghosts is an evocative production in a modern dance style. Nils Petter Molvær has composed new music, which he performs on-stage together with Jan Bang.

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

Also available on standard DVD

Giacomo Puccini wrote what was supposed to be his last opera at a time where, riddled with disease and old age as he was, he felt like his own turmoil was reflected in the outside world: itself staggering, unsteady, overwhelmed and smashed by the chaos of European diplomacy. In spite of these obstacles, he persevered and worked until the very end of his life on this opera that he left unfinished but that proved to be a “way out” for him in many ways. Drawn from an ancient Persian epic from the 13th century, Turandot was indeed an excuse to escape into a new dramatic universe, one made of unexpected sounds and symbols. Here, in a world removed both geographically and chronologically from his own reality, he gave into the seductive powers of exoticism and eroticism, just as his own heroin Princess Turandot abandons herself to the mysteries of love and forgiveness. After twenty years of absence, Puccini’s Turandot was revived on the stage of the Teatro Real in a new production by American stage director Robert Wilson. One of the most important theatre and visual artist of our times, the director who gave life to Philip Glass’s Einstein of the Beach and who reinvented Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande hadn’t worked on a Puccini opera in twenty-five years, since his ground-breaking Madama Butterfly commissioned by the Paris Opera in 1993. This new encounter between his powerful visual universe and Puccini’s evocative music was bound to be an outstanding event. Carried out by a brilliant cast of singers, dominated by Irene Theorin as Turandot, Gregory Kunde as Calaf and Yolanda Auyanet as Liù, this magnificent production is conducted by the Teatro Real’s associate musical director Nicola Luisotti - and has been met with universal acclaim.

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 Norwegian National Ballet’s Hedda Gabler is Henrik Ibsen’s drama retold in a way you’ve never seen it before. After the premiere in 2017, both Norwegian and international critics praised director Marit Moum Aune’s dance production, set to music by Nils Petter Molvær. Hedda is furious, on the verge of being consumed with disappointment. After a six-month honeymoon in Europe she has returned home to set up home with her husband, Jørgen – but nothing has turned out the way she intended. And when her former lover Eilert Løvborg enters the picture, she reacts in a way that proves perilous for everyone – including herself. Hedda Gabler is one of world theatre’s most well-known characters – an icon created by Henrik Ibsen. Is she cowardly or brave? Spoilt or stuck? Wicked or desperate? Our greatest actors have always found new ways to interpret this psychologically complex role. Now the talented dancers of the Norwegian National Ballet provide their own interpretation, adding another dimension to the drama. While the original play is an intense chamber play in which a lot is left unsaid, Moum Aune paints with a broad brush. Hedda’s world opens up as we delve deeper into her relationships and background. We get to see major scenes that are only hinted at in Ibsen’s text. The dancers in the eight central roles have all contributed to their own choreography, with each movement crucial in the telling of this intense story. Hedda Gabler is the follow-up to Moum Aune’s first success with Ibsen as dance, in which she directed and choreographed Ibsen’s Ghosts together with Cina Espejord. Both productions are among the Norwegian National Ballet’s greatest successes, and are in high demand around the world. BONUS : Hedda Gabler, The Other Side A 52 min. Documentary behind the scenes of the Norwegian National Opera

Since it was first published in 1731, L’Histoire du Chevalier Dex Grieux et de Manon Lescaut has been the object of numerous adaptations for both stage and screen. In the 19th century, Daniel-Francois-Esprit Auber, Jules Massenet and Giacomo Puccini used Abbe Prevost’s novel as the theme for their respective operas. After 1912, cinema transposed the story of Manon and the Knight into varying degrees of melodramatic intensity. In 1974 British choreographer Kenneth MacMillan in turn decided to focus on the two protagonists for an ambitious ballet that could translate the feelings and emotions of two souls abused by the accidents of life and their own personal weaknesses. In short, how a young girl on her way to a convent manages to elope with the young student with whom she has just fallen in love, only to leave him to escape destitution and finally allow herself to be persuaded by her brother Lescaut to yield to the advances of wealthy “protectors.” Rather than reuse the score of Massenet’s opera, MacMillan entrusted Leighton Lucas with the task of arranging a series of extracts taken from a selection of the French composer’s operatic, symphonic and vocal scores. The end result was a huge success from its debut performance in London in 1974 onwards. Sixteen years later, L’Histoire de Manon entered the Paris Opera Ballet’s repertoire.

This live recording was taken in the Theatre antique d’Orange in June of 2015, and features the Orchestre PHilharmonique de Radio France, conducted by Myung-Whun Chung. Classic favorites bookend this concert, beginning with Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture, and ending with Saint-Saens’s 3rd Symphony in C minor. Featured instrumentalists include pianists Martha Argerich, Nicholas Angelich, and organist Christophe Henry.

The Demonstrations of the Ballet School are a traditional checkpoint for the institution: they consist of a performance where the audience can appreciate the beautiful and rich education of classical dance taught at the Paris Opera. Considered as one of the School’s highlights, this moment unveils the teaching methods of a traditional artistic knowledge. Led by their teachers, the students display the different skills necessary to master the codes of classical dance and the French style. The Demonstrations also invite the public to discover other artistic disciplines or choreographic styles that complete the student’s training: contemporary, folk, baroque, and character dances, mime and music class. The Ballet School of the Opéra de Paris really is the school of dreams for each and every one of its students, that all wish to became professional dancers for the Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris. This intimate documentary film allows us to discover, through interviews and sneak peeks of the classes, their schedule, their day-to-day training, their passion, their hopes, their relationships with the teachers and ballet masters, and finally their ambition to become, one day maybe, an Étoile of the Ballet...

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Death is never far away in Leoš Janácek’s work: in The Cunning Little Vixen, the main character falls under the fire of a hunter, Katia Kabanova kills herself, Emilia Marty in The Makropulos Case has to deal with the hard consequences of eternal youth. From the House of the Dead makes no exception, especially since the composer knew he was living out his final days when he decided to adapt into an opera Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s eponymous novel, a literary work inspired by the time the novelist spent in a Siberian prison. This painful feeling of ineluctability pervades through his disillusioned and savage score, that recounts the hopeless life of the convicts of a Soviet concentration camp. In this place where life has already drawn out, in this no man’s land forsaken by civilization, Janácek portrays the anonymous and daily sufferings, the abuses, the corporal punishments, but also evokes fragments from the prisoners’ past, bringing them back to life for the duration of a game or of a story. Against this background that contrasts the empathic solidarity of simple men with the horrific brutality of the prison guards, stage director Frank Castorf - who created a memorable Ring Cycle in Bayreuth for the Wagner Bicentennial in 2013 - embraces the aesthetics of grotesque and absurd suggested by Janácek’s score, and chooses to crudely display, with stark realism, the physical and psychological violence at the heart of the opera. In the pit, conducting the house orchestra, Simone Young underlines the power plays and the overwhelming lyricism unleashed by Janácek’s music. As the main protagonists, Peter Rose, Charles Workman and Bo Skhovus, all familiar with Janácek’s subtleties, bring back to life these agonizing anti-heroic characters forsaken by God and men.

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REVIEW:

The singing is excellent. Bo Skovhus is brilliant: his Third Act account of Siskov’s killing is arguably the dramatic highlight of the opera. Peter Rose as Gorjanikov and Evgeniya Sotnikova as Aljeja are also thoroughly compelling in their difficult roles. Janácek’s music is not easy to sing, not least because its Czech language is unfamiliar to most opera singers, but this cast, featuring many non-Czechs, turn in fine, committed performances right down to the smallest roles.

Simone Young and the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra deliver a vital, spirited performance of the music, and the chorus turns in splendid work as well. Conductor Young employs very lively but not hasty tempos, and her deft phrasing otherwise captures the pointed character of Janá?ek’s imaginative writing. She fully grasps his style and draws the most from this fine score. The sound reproduction, picture clarity, and especially the camera work are all excellent.

– MusicWeb International