Also available on Blu-ray

Joby Talbot
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND

Ballet in 2 Acts

Alice – Lauren Cuthbertson
Jack / Knave of Hearts – Sergei Polunin
Lewis Carroll / White Rabbit – Edward Watson
Mother / Queen of Hearts – Zenaida Yanowsky
Father / King of Hearts – Christopher Saunders
Magician / Mad Hatter – Steven McRae
Duchess – Simon Russell Beale

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Barry Wordsworth, conductor
Christopher Wheeldon, choreography

Bob Crowley, designs
Nicholas Wright, scenario
Natasha Katz, lighting design

Recorded live from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 9 March 2011.

Bonus:
- Cast Gallery
- Documentary – Being Alice

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 120 mins (ballet) + 30 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

R E V I E W:

A stimulating production.

It is a brave company that is prepared to take such a surrealist novel and turn it into a stage show. Where film can provide the visual trickery necessary to give visual magic, theatre machinery is cumbersome and pedantic in comparison. Yet the development of technical resources and video projection can help. With ballet, a large part of the stage must be kept free of obstructions to allow ballet routines to progress unimpeded.
To then faithfully transfer to a video medium without high level on-line visual trickery may not ideally help the viewer. So how then has Covent Garden fared in bringing about a stimulating production?

Very well, in fact. The prologue where Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) is taking photographs of the family group works excellently. It is set in a realistic deanery garden. Bob Crowley’s backdrop painting in faded Victorian hues is in keeping. In this opening scene we are introduced to the personalities that later appear as stereotypes in the fantasy world Alice uncovers. The only odd thing in a private deanery garden is having a nurse wheel a perambulator across the stage as if in a busy street.

Some of the settings contain more subtlety than might at first sight be noticed. Monotone backdrops, the Cheshire Cat and a paper boat are styled on the engravings found in Carroll’s first edition book. As the ballet progresses the settings become more flamboyant and graphically modern.

Particularly stunning is the Playing Cards scene. Choreography and costumes strike just the right note. A clever routine with a segmented Cheshire Cat allows believable animation.

As one might expect, the dancing is up to the exacting standards of the corps with a Covent Garden reputation. The problem of having Alice change size was well contrived and Lauren Cuthbertson’s acting is excellent. The character of the White Rabbit is extremely officious throughout I noticed, yet pales before the bombastic pomp of the Queen of Hearts (Zenaida Yanowsky).

The orchestra plays well under the secure direction of Barry Wordsworth, a conductor not seen enough of nowadays. Talbot’s music has facets of talent and although classical harmony is mainly maintained, it is heavy, strongly percussive and is often reminiscent of the fight scene of West Side Story. One could hardly call the music melodious which is a pity as it misses out in appealing to the younger generation for whom the story is intended. I find the scoring unnecessarily heavy and is an ill fit with the elegance of classical ballet choreography.

The DVD is divided into play chapters, and contains a gallery photographs of the key dancers. It has the bonus of a well compiled and informative BBC documentary ‘Being Alice’. In it we see the planning, realisation and execution of the staging through the eyes of the principal dancer, Lauren Cuthbertson. Subtitles are provided in English, French, German and Spanish. In-depth background production notes with synopsis by David Nice are written in English, French and German.

-- Raymond J Walker, MusicWeb International

The All-Star Orchestra gives you a front row seat to the world's greatest music, performed by top players chosen from over 30 great American orchestras. The programs feature complete performances of popular masterpieces and world premieres of new works by leading American composers. Filmed in High-Definition with 19 cameras during a once-a-year 'summit' in New York's historic Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center, the All-Star Orchestra celebrates the symphonic experience in the 21st century. Program #3 the New World and It's Music Inspired by American dreams and legends, Dvorák created some of his greatest works while living in the United States, above all the 'New World' Symphony. This program illuminates the multiple stories and influences Native American, African-American and Czech that Dvorák transformed in his most beloved work. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Avanti! Offers a contemporary interpretation of the American archetype of 'moving on.' Program #4 Politics and Art Music has sometimes reflected, and at other times challenged repressive ideologies. Shostakovich abandoned the premiere of his challenging 4th symphony for fear of reprisals from the Stalinist government. His triumphant 5th Symphony was next, and the authorities were pleased. To this day the 5th is Shostakovich's most popular symphony. What is it's message? What does 'political music' mean today?

The All-Star Orchestra gives you a front row seat to the world's greatest music, performed by top players chosen from over 30 great American orchestras. The programs feature complete performances of popular masterpieces and world premieres of new works by leading American composers. Filmed in High-Definition with 19 cameras during a once-a-year 'summit' in New York's historic Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center, the All-Star Orchestra celebrates the symphonic experience in the 21st century. Program #5 Relationships in Music Robert Schumann's wife Clara was herself a gifted pianist and composer. She became a lifelong friend and source of inspiration for Schumann's protégé Johannes Brahms. This program will explore the turbulent musical and emotional relationships between these three, and the masterpieces that they produced. Program #6 the Living Art Form This program explores the creation of new concertos and the artistic process. Outstanding young soloists and leading American composers are featured in performance and in interviews.

The All-Star Orchestra gives you a front row seat to the world's greatest music, performed by top players chosen from over 30 great American orchestras, and conducted by Gerard Schwarz. The programs feature complete performances of popular masterpieces and world premieres of new works by leading American composers. Filmed in High-Definition with 19 cameras during a once-a-year 'summit' in New York's historic Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center, the All-Star Orchestra celebrates the symphonic experience in the 21st century. Program #1 Music for the Theatre (Igor Stravinsky: Suite from the Firebird; Maurice Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2; Bright Sheng: Prelude to Black Swan) the legendary impresario Serge Diaghilev of Les Ballet Russes commissioned from Stravinsky and Ravel some of the greatest music for the ballet. His influence stretched from St. Petersburg to Paris to the New York City Ballet founded by Diaghilev's collaborator Georges Balanchine. Former NYCB Composer in Residence Bright Sheng captures the beauty of the dance with his Prelude to Black Swan. Program #2 What Makes a Masterpiece? This program is an exploration of the creative process, tracing the genesis of Beethoven's iconic symphony, and the development of a new work by a modern master. Introductory features will demonstrate how short rhythmic and melodic motives evolve into vast symphonic organisms. Interviews include leading Beethoven scholars and the All-Star musicians.

The All-Star Orchestra gives you a front row seat to the world's greatest music, performed by top players chosen from over 30 great American orchestras. The programs feature complete performances of popular masterpieces and world premieres of new works by leading American composers. Filmed in High-Definition with 19 cameras during a once-a-year 'summit' in New York's historic Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center, the All-Star Orchestra celebrates the symphonic experience in the 21st century. Program #7 Music's Emotional Impact This program delves into Tchaikovsky's dramatic personal life, his brief marriage, and his intense correspondence with his patroness Nadezhda von Meck whom he never met, and to whom he dedicated his 4th Symphony. The dramatic brass fanfares that for Tchaikovsky symbolized Fate find a modern echo in David Stock's Blast! Program #8 Mahler: Love, Sorrow and Transcendence Mahler's turbulent passions are expressed through his music. His settings of poems by Friedrich Rueckert explore themes of love, nature, and otherworldliness. Mahler was haunted throughout his life by the premonition of his own death. The first movement of his 2nd Symphony, which Mahler called 'Totenfeier' ('Funerary Rites'), draws stark contrasts between the composer's premonition of doom, and his vision of life. Modern reflections on these themes can be found in 'Adieu' by Bernard Rands and 'Of Paradise and Light' by Augusta Read Thomas.

The American Muscle Car series relives that incredible time when Detroit produced the most outrageous cars ever to hit the street. From the car that started it all, the 1964 Pontiac GTO, experience the glory days of power and speed through the stories of those who lived and breathed it. Includes Seasons 1-3 on 6 discs.

This is a DVD-Audio disc. The DVD-Audio content can only be read by a DVD-Audio player. The Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS audio tracks provided on this disc will play on a standard DVD player.
In the early 1970s, the Manhattan Transfer made their mark on the American music scene by mixing an encyclopedic knowledge of pop styles from nearly all eras with jazz. With AMONG FRIENDS, one of the quartet, vocalist Cheryl Bentyne, steps into the solo spotlight for a looser, slightly less formal recital (accompanied by a jazz quartet, including the fine guitarist Grant Geissman) with this high-quality DVD-Audio release.
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
24 Bit/96 Khz PCM Stereo - English
24 Bit/48 Khz Dolby Digital 5.1 - English

An Evening with the Royal Ballet brings together a fabulous collection of some of the world's most beloved ballets. This disc showcases the outstanding productions from the stage of the Royal Opera House including Coppelia, Giselle, La fille mal gardee, Romeo & Juliet, Swan Lake, Sylvia, The Firebird, The Nutcracker, and The Sleeping Beauty.

Featuring Carlos Acosta, Tamara Rojo, Lauren Cuthbertson, Marianela Nunez, The Royal Ballet.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 95 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Take a seat in the stalls at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, for an unforgettable evening of ballet and opera highlights performed by world-renowned stars of The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet past and present. This special video release features opera arias, duets, and choruses, as well as ballet solos, pas de deux and ensembles, drawn from the repertory of two of the world's greatest artistic companies and performed in one of the world's most loved opera houses. Ballet features include selections from Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, The Firebird, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Giselle, and others, and opera features include selections from Il barbiere di Siviglia, La traviata, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflote, and many more.

Royal Ballet Principal Natalia Osipova dances the title role in Kenneth MacMillan's haunting ballet, to atmospheric music by Tchaikovsky and Martinu. Anastasia tells the story of Anna Anderson who, following the Russian Revolution and the murder of the royal family, claimed she was the surviving Grand Duchess Anastasia. Many believed her to be an imposter; others hoped she was Anastasia, a remnant of a lost world. A powerful, psychological challenge for the lead dancer, Anastasia explores one of the great historical mysteries of the 20th century, only recently solved, and the distorting mirror of memory, time and place. 'Natalia Osipova... technical perfectionism' (The Stage) 'I salute Osipova, the entire company performance, Crowley's magnificent designs, and Simon Hewett's notable account of the Tchaikovsky/Martinu scores.' (The Financial Times 5 Stars) '- convulsive jitters, turned-in feet, violence, grief, and fear - is no surprise, either... Osipova's magnetic performance.' (The Arts Desk 4 Stars)

A film by Lillian Birnbaum and Peter Stephan Jungk

With:
André Previn, Mia Farrow, Renée Fleming, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Tom Stoppard, David Finck, and others

Bonus:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat major, K. 493
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K. 478


André Previn, piano
Rainer Küchl, violin
Günter Seifert, viola
Franz Bartolomey, cello

André Previn is one of the leading musicians of our day. The eighty-one-year-old cosmopolitan pianist, conductor and classical composer has not only received no fewer than four Academy awards for his film adaptations but was also one of the most influential jazz musicians of the fifties and sixties. A Bridge Between Two Worlds is a portrait of Previn's fascinating musicianship and also looks candidly at his private life, including his relations with his two ex-wives, Mia Farrow and Anne-Sophie Mutter. As a bonus, this release features Mozart's two Piano Quartets K. 478 and K. 493 with André Previn at the keyboard.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo 2.0 / Dolby Digital 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 52 mins (documentary) + 55 mins (performance)
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

Please note: the audio narration for this program is in French, with English subtitles.

In his Parisian living-room, music critic André Tubeuf (1930-2021) tells, with his knowledge, his language and his memory, the story of the German Lied. From Mozart and Beethoven to Mahler and Strauss, through Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Wolf, a major part of the European culture and of music history is reborn before our eyes and ears. A series in seven episodes by Martin Mirabel. “Of course, there is much grander music, more sublime music, but there is no music that is more direct or intimate. That is to say, there is nothing we need more.’’ (André Tubeuf)

Andris Nelsons: Genius on Fire
52-minute documentary and bonus material, 3 excerpts (16 minutes)

Andris Nelsons has never 'done' indifference: as a child he practised the trumpet until his lips bled; as a youth he studied singing and learnt taekwondo; he became an orchestral trumpet player and at 24 was appointed the General Music Director of the Latvian National Opera in Riga. Seven years later he was elected Chief Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He thus stands today on the podium of the orchestra that Sir Simon Rattle moulded for almost 20 years. Their repertoire has acquired new, brilliant additions under Nelsons: highlights being, for example, his Tchaikovsky and Strauss [recorded for Orfeo]. He is also a regular guest conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic and has conducted just about every great orchestra in the world. From the 2014/15 season onwards Nelsons will be the Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and will thus be at the head of one of the USA’s “big five” orchestras. Who is this man who has enjoyed such an astonishing career so early? This is the topic of the film “Genius on fire”. “He doesn’t do things by halves, not in rehearsals either. He is always full of intensity” says the trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger of the conductor. “Every single note in the score is turned into music. With him, everything is important”. During orchestral rehearsals, Andris Nelsons speaks or sings, in his trained bass voice, in an English-German onomatopoeic linguistic mishmash. To describe the basic atmosphere of a musical motive he constructs verbal pictures and tells stories, clever, witty stories. He uses his hands vigorously – his whole body in fact – in order to make clear to the orchestra what he wants. As a conductor without the affectations of a 'maestro', Andris Nelsons stands for a new generation whose leadership qualities lie in their ability to sweep people off their feet. For two years, the film director Astrid Bscher and her camera followed this exciting, young artist. She travelled with Andris Nelsons to his home city of Riga, met his parents, his friends, his partner Kristine Opolais and experienced the conductor on his worldwide search for a new home. The result is a 52-minute portrait that tells not just of music, but of how what we experience is reflected in it. It shows how a serious young man deals with the hype surrounding him, and how he grows and develops as a human being.

Andris Nelsons and the Wiener Philharmoniker explore the brilliance of Bela Bartok's Piano Concerto No. 2 and the emotional depths of Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony. Passionate but restrained, Andris Nelsons conducts both masterpieces with superb clarity and precision: Mahler's famous Adagietto unfolds with "unreal shimmer and dark glow" (BR Klassik). Yefim Bronfman is the soloist in one of the most difficult piano concertos ever written and impresses with "impeccable technique, expressive power, and a touch of swing" (Der Standard). The concert is part of the Wiener Philharmoniker's Mahler cycle with Andris Nelsons.

In this concert, the Wiener Philharmoniker, conducted by Andris Nelsons, present a "heavenly" pairing: Alban Berg's "Violin Concerto, To the Memory of an Angel", alongside Mahler's Fourth Symphony, whose final movement sets "Das himmlische Leben" (Heavenly Life) to music. With this performance, young German-American violinist August Hadelich gave his debut at the Salzburg Festival and thrilled the press: "The fabulous Augustin Hadelich filled the difficult solo part with emotion and fragility, his performance was sensitive and yet glowing." (Die Presse). With Mahler's Fourth, Andris Nelsons creates "a Mahler miracle of quiet tones" (Volksblatt), joined by German soprano Christiane Karg as the soloist of the finale. The concert is part of the Wiener Philharmoniker's Mahler cycle with Nelsons. Program: Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 4 Alban Berg: Violin Concerto "To the Memory of an Angel"

Among the most powerful works by Gustav Mahler and one of the longest symphonies of the Romantic period, the Symphony No. 3 is performed by Andris Nelsons and the Wiener Philharmoniker as part of their Mahler cycle. The composer's intention to create a musical reflection of the world is perfectly caught by Nelsons, who shapes the work's immense forces into a compelling narrative, from primordial darkness to transcendent affirmation. With Violeta Urmana as soloist, the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Salzburger Festspiele und Theater Kinderchor, the performance unfolds with luminous transparency and emotional depth. 'A melancholic giant, unleashed' (Der Standard) Program: Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 3

This new DVD release celebrates one of the largest open-air theaters in the world, the Arena of Verona. This documentary contains interviews with the famous directors, conductors, and singers who appeared at the Arena in the early 1980s, including Sherrill Millnes, Rajna Kabaiwanska, Fiorenza Cossotto, and many more. Also included are excerpts from performances of Rigoletto, Aida, Traviata, and Nabucco. Subtitles are available in Italian, English, French, German, Japanese, and Korean.

For their 88th year the prestigious Arena di Verona Festival paid tribute to internationally acclaimed Italian stage director Franco Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli delivers an opulent staging of the fairy-tale story of the Chinese Princess Turandot, who will only marry a prince capable of solving her riddles. Russian soprano Maria Guleghina gives a brilliant rendition of Turandot. Salvatore Licitra's trump card is his imposingly radiant tenor voice of which he remains in sovereign control even in the role's much-feared highest register. The soprano Tamar Iveri is a beautiful and sensitive Liù. Romeo et Juliette had not been performed at the Arena since 1977. The new production was entrusted to Italian director Francesco Micheli, who opted for a personal, highly original version: 'An arena within the Arena, like a blood-red Elizabethan theatre. A senescent world that will not let it's own children live.' Juliette is sung by Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze, returning to one of her early roles at the Salzburg Festival. Stefano Secco, often heard at the Opera Bastille in Paris and other international venues, is Romeo. Artur Rucinski interprets Mercutio, Romeo's friend and the rival of Jean-Francois Borras's Tybalt. The page Stephano is sung by soprano Ketevan Kemoklidze. Aida To celebrate the bicentennial of Giuseppe Verdi's birth, La Fura dels Baus opens the 'Centenario Festival 2013' of the Arena di Verona. Carlus Padrissa and Alex Olle sign a brilliant new version of Aida. Aida is the most popular opera at the Verona Festival, the only one performed every year, 17000 spectators enjoy the show every evening. This new production is designed by La Fura dels Baus. They transform the arena into a huge desert, creating mechanical animals and manufacture a solar power plant. They use their experience in leading large-scale shows and opera to create the Aida of the XXIst century splendidly conducted by a young talented conductor : Omer Meir Wellber.

In her twenty years with The Royal Ballet, Argentine dancer Marianela Nuñez has excelled in iconic ballet classics, Company heritage works and modern creations. A Company Principal for 16 years, she has performed all the leading roles in the classical, dramatic and contemporary repertory. This collection showcases her exceptional mastery in four quintessential roles. In Swan Lake, she brings to life the beautifully tragic Odette and her rival Odile. She perfectly portrays the young lover Lise in La Fille mal gardée, and brings bravura and vivacity to the role of Kitri in Carlos Acosta's production of the classical Don Quixote. She is transcendent as Giselle, one of the most challenging and demanding roles in the repertory. With peerless technical skill and compelling performances by the whole Company, this collection celebrates an exceptional dancer in her prime. ".. a jovial and entertaining showcase for classical dancing at it's most demanding and exuberant. One of the pleasures of this ballet is to be tickled by Minkus's infectiously melodious score... Marianela Nuñez and Acosta delivered sparky, engaging performances" (The Times (Don Quixote)) "If the acting is superb, it's given real authority by the dancing. Muntagirov and Nuñez are technically thrilling; she, at her finest moments, can combine an absolute mastery of the choreography, with the illusion that she's dancing it for the first time." (The Guardian (Giselle))

Known for their incredible musicianship and rich arrangements, this hugely talented group have taken some of the greatest love songs of all time and given them the Annie Moses Band treatment. Filmed live at the iconic Grand Ole Opry, and backed by a full symphony orchestra, they present classic love songs, famous the world over, in their inimitable style, including The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Let's Stay Together, And I Love Her and Evergreen.

An all-Ashton DVD is a treat, for apart from several full-length ballets we have been lacking examples of the choreographer’s work in shorter pieces. Les Patineurs is a hardy classic, dating from 1937, and makes a wonderful introduction to the work of one of the major choreographers of the 20th century. Meyerbeer’s catchy music inspires Ashton not only in the pas de deux with its fan lifts, but also the male solo, which is as virtuoso as can be. The dancers maintain a skating step throughout, but it is the variety of which Ashton is master that continues to astound us. The dueling girls who try to outdo one another offer further examples of virtuosity, which make us wonder at the qualities of the dancers of 75 years ago. Today, with Stephen McRae as the Blue Boy and Sarah Lamb and Rupert Pennefeather as the Lovers, we can still sense the excitement of balletgoers of an earlier epoch.



Scènes de Ballet is a postwar creation that has never achieved the widespread currency of Patineurs , yet remains a signal piece in Ashton’s oeuvre, much as Symphonic Variations, of which we desperately need documentation. A lead couple is supported by four men and a corps of women, and the choreographer continually astounds us with the patterns he weaves. His response to Stravinsky is perhaps not as direct as that of Balanchine, but then Mr. B never gave us his version of this “dancy” work. It is nonetheless fascinating to watch the Ashtonian sensibility at work, while Miyako Yoshida and Ivan Putrov show off both the music and the choreography. Ashton’s delicate references to such classics as the Rose Adagio from Sleeping Beauty cannot be missed. André Beaurepaire’s sets and costumes are the only things that appear dated in what is otherwise a major contribution to the repertoire of the Royal Ballet.


The divertissements show Ashton’s craftsmanship in the “Awakening” pas de deux from Sleeping Beauty with the ravishing Darcey Bussell and Jonathan Cope; two excerpts from a wartime ballet created for American Ballet Theatre; Devil’s Holiday , especially the man’s solo eloquently danced by Viacheslav Samodurov; and three pièces d’occasion : a duet to the Méditation from Massenet’s Thaïs (Mara Galeazzi and Thiago Soares), Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan (Tamara Rojo), and the Voices of Spring pas de deux (Leanne Benjamin and Carlos Acosta). The Brahms is the most interesting of the lot as Ashton had seen Duncan when he was a young man, and later created his own work for Lynn Seymour. Rojo is astounding in this re-creation, as she conveys Ashton’s own impressions but also embodies much of what one has read about Duncan in other sources.


FANFARE: Joel Kasow

This recording includes an amazing vocal performance of Orlin Anastasov, recorded at the very impressive medieval stronghold of Tsaverets (Bulgaria). As Benjamin Lumley wrote in his memoirs, perhaps no other opera by Verdi was received more enthusiastically or won the composer more laurels than Attila.