DVD Videos

Choreographer: Natalia Makarova

Marius Petipa’s exotic ballet, set in legendary India, is a story of love, death and vengeful judgement. Natalia Makarova’s sumptuous recreation of Petipa’s choreography, with atmospheric sets by Pier Luigi Samaritini and beautiful costumes by Yolanda Sonnabend, stars Tamara Rojo as the Bayadère (temple dancer) Nikiya, Carlos Acosta as Solor, and Marianela Nuñez as Gamzatti whose alluring presence challenges Solor’s love for Nikiya. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound.

‘There wasn’t a single physical gesture that didn’t mean something, that didn’t speak of love trying and failing to blossom.’ The Daily Telegraph

Extra features:

Tamara Rojo on dancing La Bayadère

Leanne Cope and Francesca Filpi on the corps de ballet

Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta rehearse with Alexander Agadzhanov

Natalia Makarova on choreographing La Bayadère

Region Code All regions

Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic

Sound format 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

Menu languages EN

Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES

Choreography and Stage Direction by RUDOLF NUREYEV

(based upon Marius Petipa’s ballet)

Set Design by ALEXANDRE BELIAEV

Costumes by ELENA RIVKINA

Fascinated by the knight with the unfortunate physique who goes out into the world with his servant Sancho Pansa to crusade against the deplorable state of society and to perform heroic deeds, Ludwig Minkus (1826-1917) created a ballet which had a very successful premiere in the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on 14 December 1869. At his side was the great French dancer and choreographer Marius Petipa (1818-1910), who was born in Vienna and worked as ballet composer at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre and at the Marientheater in St Petersburg and is considered the most important predecessor of Tschaikovsky. Our DVD presents the version choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev, which was performed in a new production by the Paris opera in April 2002 with an outstanding cast, among whom were Aurélie Dupont as Kitri and Manuel Legris as Basile. Rudolf Nureyev had himself danced the part of Basile in Leningrad when he was barely older than 21 years. After his spectacular request for asylum in France in 1961, he endeavoured to introduce this work to the West, which was frequently performed in the East. He created a new choreography in 1966 for a performance in the Vienna State Opera. On the whole he adhered to the original Petipa concept and merely reduced the five acts to three acts and one prologue.

Choreographer RUDOLF NUREYEV

So elaborate was Rudolf Nureyev's vision of the Cervantes classic that his lavish film ballet ultimately required the facilities of a gigantic Australian aircraft hangar to produce. Choreographed and co-directed by Nureyev, the film received its Sydney premiere in 1973, and a London Royal Gala presentation in 1974, and went on to travel briefly to New York. Despite rave reviews, prints gradually fell out of circulation and grew scarce. For 25 years, incomplete copies have been scattered across two continents, with the film developing a reputation as a fabled lost treasure. After a painstaking five-year process, Nureyev's DON QUIXOTE has at long last been reassembled, digitally remastered, and restored to its original glory. Starring Nureyev as Basilio, the production also features Nureyev's co-director Sir Robert Helpmann as Don Quixote and Lucette Aldous as Kitri.

Also features: “A Little Bit of Don Quixote”

Superb documentary footage detailing the restoration process of the original 35mm film from 1972.

Duration: Approx 127 mins

Full colour

NTSC 4:3 Full Screen

All Regions

L-PCM Stereo

Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound

Region codes: 2, 3, 4 and 5

Colour

Don Quixote: NTSC 4:3

La Bayadere: PAL 4:3

Romeo & Juliet: PAL 4:3

All choreography by Nureyev

Choreography and Staging: Rudolf Nureyev

Sets: Ezio Frigerio

Costumes: Franca Squarciapino

SYNOPSIS

Exotic and mysterious India serves as the backdrop to this story of doomed love. The bayadere Nikiya loves the warrior Solor and is loved by him in return. Solor however is obliged to become engaged to Gamzatti, daughter of a Rajah. Gamzatti, aware that Nikiya is her rival, sends her a basket of flowers, concealing a snake. Bitten by it, Nikiya dies, and Solor, driven to despair by her death, takes refuge in opium-induced thoughts. The ghosts of dead bayadères appear to him in the Kingdom of Shades – among them is Nikiya who forgives him.

Don Quixote retains its foothold in the standard repertoire through its colorful dances, a whimsical story and its brilliantly virtuosic last act pas de deux. Virtuosity is very much on display in this 1992 performance by the Tchaikovsky Perm State Ballet during the company’s Japanese tour. Nina Ananiashvili’s Kitri displays her astonishing technical gifts, her natural charm and a flair for comedy. Her long-time partner, Alexei Fadeyechev as Basil, is her perfect foil in all these respects. This video is the only record of Ananiashvili in one of her signature roles.

Color, stereo, 120 mins, all regions.

If there is one country in the world where classical ballet is still an art form for the people and by the people, it is Cuba A veritable artistic miracle, the Cuban National Ballet was born of the unshakeable will of a heroic woman.Alicia Alonso, founded this improbable ballet company in 1948, with the support of Fidel Castro, and 60 years later, the octogenarian former prima ballerina, whose sight started to fail aged 20, is still the director.

A star of the American Ballet Theatre, New York, in the ‘40s, first Westerner to dance at the Kirov and Bolshoi, she has produced such stars as Covent Garden's Carlos Acosta and created a culture where the ambition to star in such a very European choreographic tradition is akin to that of being a footballer in Brazil. Alicia Alonso is a tenacious warrior who has shared her passion with all the Cuban people, taking it to schools all over the country.

Bonus c30mins: Interviews and rehearsals with Alicia Alonso, filmed in the glass-roofed Grand Palais, Paris. Highlights from Giselle and Don Quixote, Alicia dancing & modern productions

Choreography and Stage Direction by RUDOLF NUREYEV

Set Design by EZIO FRIGERIO

Costume Design by FRANCA SQUARCIAPINO

Rudolf Nureyev’s version of La Bayadère, which takes up a whole evening, had its premiere at the Palais Garnier in Paris on 8 October 1992. Everybody who was anybody in French ballet and society was present, because after the performance Nureyev was to receive the highest cultural honour France had to bestow, the rank of ‘Commandeur des Arts et Lettres’ of the Legion of Honour. It was one of Nureyev’s last public appearances; he already showed the signs of AIDS and died a few weeks later, on 6 January 1993. La Bayadère proved to be the perfect piece for demonstrating the diverse talents of the Paris company, which had become the best ballet ensemble in the world since Nureyev had been appointed Artistic Director ten years earlier.

Choreography: Marius Petipa

TV Director: Brian Large

Decca’s association with arguably the world’s greatest ballet company continues with their colourful production of the Petipa classic.

A breath-taking ensemble performance of Petipa’s popular Don Quichotte, loosely based on Cervantes famous novel, from the world-renowned Mariinsky Ballet.

The Mariinsky’s top principal male, Leonid Sarafanov (the Prince in Decca’s Mariinsky Nutcracker, released in 2007) gives another virtuosic yet elegant performance as Basilio in this lively and colourful production.

Filmed in High-Definition widescreen, this film was recorded during the company’s successful visit to Vienna in 2006 and is part of Decca’s continuing association with this awesome ballet company, joining Swan Lake and the Nutcracker which were released in 2007.

Menus: English. Booklet Notes: English, French, and German