BelAir
Great Ballets from the Bolshoi box set. This box has four ballets from the Bolshoi. All have been released individually, and we already have done reviews with screenshots and grades for all of them. Following are links to more information and our grade for each title:
💓 Minkus La Bayadère A+
Auber Marco Spada A+
Tchaikovsky Swan Lake D+
Shostakovich The Golden Age B+
Released 2018. Combined Grade: B+
Read MoreMauricio Sotelo El público (The Audience) opera to a libreto by Andrès Albáñez based on a play by Fredrico García Lorca. Directed 2015 by Robert Castro. Stars José Antonio Lópes (Director (Enrique) / Vine Leaves Figure), Thomas Tatzl (First Man (Gonzalo))/Bells Figure/Red Nude), Arcángel (First Horse), Jesús Méndez (Second Horse), Rubén Olmo (Third Horse), Josep Miquel Ramón (Second Man/First White Horse/Centurion), Antonio Lozano (Third Man/Black Horse/Idiot Shepherd), Gun-Brit Barkmin (Helen/Lady), Erin Caves (Emperor/Magician), Isabella Gaudí (Juliet/Boy), José San Antonio (Manservant/Male Nurse), Harold Torres and Antonio Magno (Two Students), Haizam Fathy (Pierrot Costume and Shadow), Leonardo Tremaschi (Ballerina Costume and Shadow), Carlos Rodas (Pajamas Costume and Shadow), and Daniel Kone & Samuel Echardour (Two Elves). Pablo Heras-Canado conducts the Klangforum Wien and the Coro Titular of the Teatro Real (Andrés Máspero Chorus Master). Special instrumental guests are guitar soloist Cañizares and percussionist Agustín Daissera. Sets by Alexander Polzin; costumes by Wojciech Dziedzic; lighting by Urs Schönebaum; choreography by Darrel Grand Moultrie. Directed for TV by Jérémie Cuvillier; produced by François Duplat and Xavier Dubois. Sung in Spanish. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B- with the ‽ designation.
Lorca (1898 to 1936), perhaps Spain's most celebrated 20th century poet and dramatist, was from wealthy, conservative roots. But he was also gay. So he fell in with the Spanish avant-garde and surrealists who gave him a platform to criticize bourgeois conventions. In 1936 he was murdered, it seems, by a Falangist death squad.
Read MoreRomeo and Juliet ballet. Music by Prokofiev. Libretto by Leonid Lavrovsky, Adrian Piotrovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and Sergei Radlov. Choreography by Vyacheslav Samodurov (assisted by Klara Dovzhik) in 2019 at the Ural Opera Ballet at the Ural Opera Theater in Ekaterinburg. Stars Ekaterina Sapogova (Juliet), Alexandr Merkushev (Romeo); Igor Bulytsyn (Mercutio); Gleb Sageev (Benvolio), Vadim Eremin (Tybalt), Victor Mekhanoshin (Lord Capulet), Elena Safonova (Lady Capulet), Nadezhda Shamshurina (Nurse), Rafaela Hernandes Morel (Rosaline), Andrei Veshkurtsev (Rosaline’s Suitor), Maxim Kletkovkin (Paris), Ivan Sobrovin (Friar Lawrence), Anton Guzeev (The Duke), and Sofiya Tyupa (he Duke’s companion). Additional dancers are:
Molls: Anastasia Bagaeva, Anna Domke, and Anastasia Rakitina
Folk dance soloists: Miki Nishiguchi, Kyonsun Pak, Alexei Seliverstov, and Tomoha Terada
Gavotte: Anna Kamchatnaya, Yulia Kruminsh, Renata Nizamutdinov; Anastasia Kerzhemankina, Gleb Alferov, Alexei Seliverstov, Mikhail Husutin, Tomoha Terada
Pavel Klinichev conducts the Ural Opera Ballet Orchestra. Sets by Anthony MacIlwaine; costumes by Irena Belousova; lighting by Simon Bennison. Directed for TV by Denis Caïozzi; produced by François Duplat. Released 2020, disc has PCM stereo sound. Grade: C
Russia is the second most important opera market in the world (after Germany), and they love ballet there too. The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow is the biggest ballet operation of all, and we have 2 extraordinary Blu-ray ballet discs from Bolshoi published by Bel Air. The Ural Opera Ballet is located in Ekaterinburg, the 4th largest city in Russia, and it is one of 4 ballet companies in Russia that gets special “federal” support.
Read MoreBenjamin Britten Billy Budd opera to a libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier. Directed by Deborah Warner at the Teatro Real. Stars Jacques Imbrailo (Billy Budd), Toby Spence (Edward Fairfax Vere), Brindley Sherratt (John Claggart), Thomas Oliemans (Mr. Redburn), David Soar (Mr. Flint), Torben Jürgens (Lieutenant Ratcliffe), Christopher Gillet (Red Whiskers), Duncan Rock (Donald), Clive Bayley (Dansker), Sam Furness (Novice), Francisco Vas (Squeak), Manel Esteve (Bosun), Gerardo Bullón (First Mate), Tomeu Bibiloni (Second Mate), Borja Quiza (The Novice's Friend), Jordi Casanova (Maintop), and Isaac Galán (Arthur Jones). Ivor Bolton conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Real de Madrid (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Stage design by Michael Levine; costume design by Chloe Obolensky; lighting design by Jean Kalman. Directed for TV by Jérémie Cuvillier. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreIngmar Bergman –Through the Choreographer's Eye dance film directed and produced by Fredrik Stattin in July 2016 as part of the Bergman Week Festival. Features four short dance pieces (51 minutes total) inspired by the films of Ingmar Bergman and recorded on the Swedish island of Fårö at an dilapidated airplane hanger near Hammers, Bergman's home. There is also an interesting 39-minute "Behind the Scenes" bonus. The executive producers were Ingmar Bergman Jr. and Marie-Louise Sid-Sylwander of the Swedish Royal Ballet. Released 2018, disc has 2.0 PCM stereo sound. Grade: B+
Read MoreMozart Lucio Silla opera to libretto by Giovanni de Gamerra. Directed 2017 by Claus Guth at the Teatro Real. Stars Kurt Streit (Lucio Silla), Patricia Petibon (Giunia), Silvia Tro Santafé (Cecilio), Inga Kalna (Lucio Cinna), María José Moreno (Celia), and Kenneth Tarver (Aufidio). Ivor Bolton conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Real de Madrid (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Assistant stage direction by Tine Buyse; set and costume design by Christian Schmidt; original lighting design by Manfred Voss; revival lighting design by Jürgen Hoffman; dramaturgy by Ronny Dietrich; directed for TV by Jérémie Cuvillier; produced by Xavier Dubois & Natalia Camacho. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRimsky-Korsakov Le coq d’or orThe Golden Cockerel opera to a libretto by Vladimir Belsky. Directed 2016 by Laurent Pelly at la Monnaie, Brussels. Stars Pavlo Hunka (Tzar Dodon), Alexey Dolgov (Tzarevich Gvidon), Konstantin Shushakov (Tzarevich Afron), Alexander Vassiliev (General Polkan), Agnes Zwierko (Amelfa), Alexander Kravets (Astrologer), Venera Gimadieva (Tzaritsa of Shemakha), and Sheva Tehoval (Little Golden Cockerel), John Manning and Marcel Schmitz (Boyars), and Marc Coulon (Man of the People). Alain Altinoglu conducts La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Martino Faggiani) and the MM Academy Chorus Academy (Chorus Master Benoît Giaux). Set design by Barbara de Limburg; costume design by Laurent Pelly and Jean-Jacques Delmotte; lighting by Joël Adam; choreography by Lionel Hoche. Directed for TV by Myriam Hoyer. Sung in Russian. Released in 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Le nozze di Figaro opera to libretto by Lorenza da Ponte. Directed 2004 by Jean-Louis Martinoty at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées. Stars Pietro Spagnoli (Il Conte d'Almaviva), Annette Dasch (La Contessa d'Almaviva), Rosemay Joshua (Susanna), Luca Pisaroni (Figaro), Angelika Kirchshlager (Cherubino), Sophie Pondjiclis (Marcellina), Alessandro Svab (Antonio), Antonio Abete (Bartolo), Enrico Facini (Don Basilio), Pauline Courtin (Barbarina), and Serge Goubioud (Don Curzio). René Jacobs conducts the Concerto Köln and the Chœur du Théâtre des Champs Elysées. Set design by Hans Schavernoch; costume design by Sylvie de Segonzac; lighting design by Jean Kalman; choreography by Cookie Chiapalone. Produced by François Duplat; directed for video by Pierre Barré. Released 2017, has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreParis Opera Ballet box set released 2017. Below are the discs. Each of them has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
Midsummer Night's Dream ballet choreographed 2015 by Alexander Ekman, with assistant ballet director Mikael Jönsson, for the Royal Swedish Ballet. Music by Mikael Karlsson; lyrics by Mikael Karlsson and Anna Von Hausswolff. Performance seen here was staged in September 2016 by the Royal Swedish Ballet at the Stockholm Opera (Artistic Director Johannes Öhman). Stars Dragos Mihalcea (The Dreamer), Jenny Nilsson (Hostess), Sarah-Jane Brodbeck (Mistress), Lea Ved, Ross Martinson, Amanda Åkesson, Devon Carbone (Love Couples), Daria Ivanova, Desislava Stoeva (The Dreamwomen), Johnny Mcmillan (Mr Canon), Ross Martinson (A Bubbler) and Daniel Norgren-Jensen (A Chef On Pointe), Clyde Emmanuel Archer (Man with the Flag), Preston McBain, Devon Carbone (Headless Men), and Anna Von Housswolff (A Singer). Also features string quartet Dahlkvistkvartetten, percussionist Niklas Brommare, and pianist Henrik Måwe. Set design by Alexander Ekman; costume design by Bregje Van Balen; lighting design by Linus Fellbom; live processing by Roger Bergström and Maria Grönlund; sound design by Lars-Göran Ehn and Andrea Rea; makeup by Betina Stähle and Virginia Vogel; production manager was Ann-Christin Danhammar. Film directed by Tommy Pascal; Director of Photography Charles Sautreuil; produced by Xavier Dubois; line producer Coline Jolly. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B-
Read MoreThe Golden Age ballet. Music by Dmitri Shostakovich. Choreography by Yuri Grigorovich to libretto by Isaak Glikman and Yuri Grigorovich. Staged 2016 at the Bolshoi Ballet. Stars Nina Kaptsova (Rita, a young girl), Ruslan Skvortsov (Boris, a young fisherman), Mikhail Lobukhin (Yashka, gang leader), Ekaterina Krysanova (Lyuska, Yashka’s accomplice), and Vyachslav Lopatin (night club compere). Pavel Klinichev conducts the Corps de Ballet and Orchestra of the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. Lighting design by Mikhail Sokolov; sets and costumes by Simon Virsaladze; choreography assistants Regina Nikiforova and Andrey Melanin. Produced by François Duplat; filmed by Vincent Bataillon. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+
Read MoreBellini I Puritani opera to libretto by Carlo Pepoli. Directed 2016 by Emilio Sagi at the Teatro Real de Madrid. Stars Miklós Sebestyén (Lord Gualtiero Valton), Nicolas Testé (Sir Giorgio), Javier Camarena (Lord Arturo Talbo), Ludovic Tézier (Sir Riccardo Forth), Antonio Lozano (Sir Bruno Robertson), Annalisa Stroppa (Enrichetta di Francia), and Diana Damrau (Lady Elvira Valton). Evelino Pidò conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Real de Madrid (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Stage design by Daniel Bianco; costume design by Peppispoo; lighting design by Eduardo Bravo; filmed and edited by Jérémie Cuvillier. Producer Xavier Dubois; Executive Producer François Duplat. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreThe Art of Svetlana Zakharova 4 Disc Set released 2017. Below are the discs for four ballets featuring Svetlana Zakarova at the Bolshoi. Each of these has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
Swan Lake. Tchaikovsky. 2015. (Grade: D+)
La Bayadère Minkus. 2013. (Grade: A+)
The Sleeping Beauty. Tchaikovsky. 2012. (Grade: A+)
La fille du pharaon. Pugni. 2010. (Grade: A)
The Art of David Hallberg 2 Disc Set released 2017. Below are the discs for two ballets featuring David Hallberg at the Bolshoi. Both have already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
Marco Spada. Daniel-François-Esprit Auber. 2014. (Grade: A+)
💓 The Sleeping Beauty. Tchaikovsky. 2012. (Grade: A+)
Hard to image a more delightful 2-disc combo than this one. We have compelling reviews up for each of these titles. With any sort of discount this combo pack becomes irresistible.
But note this title is similar to the Art of Svetlasa Zakharova box in that both boxes have the same The Sleeping Beauty disc.
Read MoreAlban Berg Lulu opera to libretto by the composer (3-act version completed by Friedrich Cerha in 1979). Directed 2015 by Dmitri Tcherniakov at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Stars Marlis Petersen (Lulu), Bo Skovhus (Dr. Schön/Jack the Ripper), Daniela Sindram (Gräfin Geschwitz), Matthias Klink (Alwa), Rainer Trost (Der Maler (Painter)/Ein Neger (Negro)), Martin Winkler (Ein Tierbändiger(Animal Trainer)/Ein Athlet), Pavlo Hunka (Schigolch), Christian Rieger (Der Medizinalrat/Der Bankier/Der Professor), Rachel Wilson (Eine Theater-Garderobiere/Ein Gymnasiast/Ein Groom), Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Der Marquis), Christoph Stephinger (Der Theaterdirektor), Elsa Benoit (Eine Fünfzehnjährige (15 year-old girl)), Cornelia Wulkopf (Ihre Mutter (Mother of the Girl )), Heike Grötzinger (Eine Kunstgewerblerin (Gallery Owner)), John Carpenter (Ein Journalist), Leonard Bernad (Ein Diener (Servant)), and Nicholas Reinke (Der Polizeikommissär). Kirill Petrenko conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Costume designs by Elena Zaytseva; choreography by Tatiana Baganova; set design by Dmitri Tcherniakov; lighting design by Gleb Filshtinksy; video direction by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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