The Firebird / Les Noces (complete ballets recorded in 1996)
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STRAVINSKY
The Firebird / Les Noces (complete ballets recorded in 1996)
The Royal Ballet / Leanne Benjamin / Jonathan Cope / Zenaida Yanowsky / John Carewe (cond)
[ Opus Arte DVD / DVD ]
Release Date: Friday 1 November 2002
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
G - 'The Firebird and Les Noces in revelatory and near definitive versions…' Best DVDs of the Year 2002 The Independent
G:
Regular 4:3 - Dolby Digital 5.1 / PCM Stereo - Colour - 141 Minutes - PAL
Includes:
• BBC Archives 1960s recording of Stravinsky conducting The Firebird
• David Drew on Nijinska
• Behind-the-scenes rehearsal of The Firebird and Les Noces
A double bill featuring the Russian composer's best-loved ballet, The Firebird, in two special productions spanning 40 years. The modern Royal Ballet production, with Leanne Benjamin as the Firebird, filmed in widescreen with Dolby Surround, is presented alongside the 1960s television recording conducted by Stravinsky himself. The production of Les Noces, plus a new interview with David Drew, who danced in Nijinska's original production, together with exclusive rehearsal footage of The Firebird and Les Noces, completes this extra-value title.
'. . . Dowell's final months with the Royal [Ballet] turned out to be a rather classy farewell season, with some exemplary programming (especially the superb Stravinsky Staged) . . .'
-Saturday Review, The Guardian
'The Firebird and Les Noces in revelatory and near definitive versions…' Best DVDs of the Year 2002 The Independent
'More gaping is required with the DVD of two ofsssss Stravinsky's early ballets…captured onstage at Covent Garden last year…Many music lovers may think that they know The Firebird inside out. But without reproductions of the original choreography and the sets and costumes' extraordinary spangle and splash, they have enjoyed only half the experience. Here again are those stabbing notes…but now we see the spectacle they accompany, with dancer David Drew's spindly fingers stretched out, the costume fantastical, gestures tearing the air. The folk rituals of Les Noces, danced against the sparest décor, offer a far different experience, no less enthralling. The joy of this DVD stretches beyond the images. John Carewe brings to his conducting vast experience and love of these pivotal 20th-century scores. And the Royal Opera House Orchestra play like angels, or devils (the music demands both), on top of every nuance, riding every thwack and thrust.'
The Times
