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Ballet on your screen: building a DVDs library

The Sleeping Beauty
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsy
Het Nationale Ballet
Choreoography: Marius Petipa, Sir Peter Wright
DVD © Opus Arte 2004
OA 0904D (two discs)

Although there is a number of  Sleeping Beauty DVDs and videos available on the market, a truly satisfactory one has yet to be seen around. Do not get me wrong, what is available is good stuff, but no filmed production reaches the “ideal” level.  The Kirov ballet, for instance, lacks some of the grandeur the ballet calls for, and has some performing weaknesses, particularly as some of the secondary roles are concerned. Similarly, the Royal Ballet one suffers from uneven dancing, a Prince that expresses his feelings by pulling the most incredible faces and indulging in all sorts of silent movie acting, and, above all, a rather debatable production, in which ridiculously designed sets and costumes get constantly in the way, distracting the viewer from appreciating the ever so splendid traditional choreography. An excessively coloured or over the top production is indeed a recurring problem. Those who have found the Australian Ballet video or DVD of the classic, might agree that some solutions in the filmed production are a tad too garish, and the whole thing suffers indeed from proverbial “chocolate box”, and somewhat cartoonish, designs.

The latest Sleeping Beauty DVD that landed on my desk, is not an ideal one either, but stands out from the rest for a number of reasons. This Opus Arte DVD is a cleverly filmed performance of Sir Peter Wright’s sumptuous version, danced here by the Het Nationale Ballet.  Excellent sound and vivid images contribute greatly to the success of this DVD, even though the camera flirts too much with the extras and all those who frame the dance action, forgetting the dancing itself. Sofiane Sylve is a splendid Aurora, even tough a slightly cold one at times. Her sense of style is impeccable and so is her technique (when was the last time you saw someone “descend” from her pointes with the same smooth control?). One wishes her Prince Florimund (please note this is a British based version, hence the historically incorrect name of the male protagonist, originally called Desiré) was a suitable match. Although Gaël Lambiotte has all the qualities a danseur noble ought to have, his acting looks totally over the top and , at times,  out of context. Pity, for his technical rendition is fine, and his handsome presence, when he is not trying to convey any feeling, is an added bonus.

The rest of the cast is good too, wit a superbly mimed Crabosse, Enrichetta Cavallotti and a truly “aerial” Bluebird, Sefton Clarke. Philip Prowse’s designs are, arguably, among the best ever designed in the second half of the 20th-century. The production is lavish and sumptuous, but the lighting used for the filming flattens the baroque richness of the colours, with often dire results. The contrasting use of colours such as black, pink and gold – not normally associated with the ballet, and ingeniously used by Prowse - does not thus come fully across.

The sound is exceptionally good, thanks also to Ermanno Florio’s thoughtful and sparkling conducting. The tempi are only occasional too fast, but the overall effect is inebriating. The actual glory of the DVD set is, however, the number of informative and thought-provoking extra features that accompany the ballet. Two in particular make the whole set a must-have:  “The story is in their hands” and “A crystal-cut diamond”, both starring Sir Peter Wright. The former focuses on ballet mime and is, arguably, one of the best filmed documents on the topic. The latter allows the viewer to appreciate in full Wright’s vision and understanding of the 1890 work. If you want a good Beauty on your shelves, go for this one, even though the accompanying printed notes are not as informative as one would like them to be and the full cast is only available as an extra feature on the first of the two discs.

(if you want to submit a DVD, a CD or  a book  for review, please contact Giannandrea Poesio at: giannandrea_reviews@yahoo.co.uk )

Posted by Giannandrea at November 4, 2004 08:41 AM