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Set in the exotic surroundings of the Ottoman Empire and with a narrative encompassing abduction, murder and shipwreck, Le Corsaire is a swashbuckling pirate drama that delights for its spectacular nature and which includes some of the most bravura male dancing in the ballet repertoire. The work’s evolution has been a complex one, its libretto and choreography subject to numerous revisions since its first appearance in Paris in 1856, and in this English National Ballet production – the first British staging of the work – former-ballerina-turned-choreographer Anna-Marie Holmes adapts the 1974 Petipa-Sergeyev Kirov version to create ‘brisk, stylish entertainment’ (Guardian) that is visually enhanced by Hollywood designer Bob Ringwood’s ‘superb’ (Daily Telegraph) Orientalist sets and costumes. First-rate dancing by the company and its soloists – including Alina Cojocaru’s ‘radiant performance’ as Medora (Independent), Yonah Acosta’s ‘vividly drawn and villainous’ Birbanto (Financial Times) and Vadim Muntagirov’s ‘compelling’ (Daily Telegraph) portrayal of Conrad – underscores the ‘roaring, madcap success’ (Financial Times) of this production. Anna-Marie Holmes

LE CORSAIRE

Medora - Alina Cojocaru
Conrad - Vadim Muntagirov
Gulnare - Erina Takahashi
Lankendem - Dmitri Gruzdyev
Ali - Junor Souza
Birbanto - Yonah Acosta
Pasha - Michael Coleman

English National Ballet
English National Ballet Orchestra
Gavin Sutherland, conductor

Anna-Marie Holmes, choreographer (after Marius Petipa and Konstantin Sergeyev)
Bob Ringwood, set and costume designer
Neil Austin, lighting designer

Music:
Adolphe Adam
Cesare Pugni
Léo Delibes
Riccardo Drigo
Prince Pyotr van Oldenbourg
Ludwig Minkus
Yuly Gerber
Baron Boris Fitinhof-Schnell
Albert Zabel

Recorded live at the English National Ballet, August 2014

Bonus:
- Cast Gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 100 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)