DVD Videos

Choreography by MAGUY MARIN

Sets & Costumes by MONTSERRAT CASANOVA

Lighting Design by JOHN SPRADBERRY

Maguy Marin‘s highly original and magical version of the Cinderella story was an unparalleled success through out its world tour. Anna Kisselgoff of the New York Times said that Marin‘s „vision reaches back into the universals of everyone‘s childhood - the hurts and joys resonate here with touching depth.“ Marin’s choreographic vision is so extraordinarily original and magical that it seems to evoke universally familiar images and memories of childhood. In her childlike approach to the work, the characters are presented as living dolls with real human feelings projected upon them in the way children like to identify with their toys. The fairy tale is set in a dolls’ house, the Fairy Godmother is a robot, Cinderella goes to the ball in a toy car and the Prince sets off in search of his beautiful but unknown guest astride a rocking horse…

Sound Format: PCM Stereo

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Running Time: 87 mins

FSK: 0

The Mariinsky label releases its second opera DVD & Blu-ray, Prokofiev’s 'The Gambler'. Filmed in the historic Mariinsky Theatre in 2010, it stars celebrated Russian tenor Vladimir Galuzin and bass Sergei Aleksashkin, and is conducted by Valery Gergiev. It is of fundamental significance that under Gergiev’s baton the Mariinsky Orchestra and opera company have performed all of Prokofiev’s symphonies, concerti and operas on numerous occasions.

Georgian director Temur Chkheidze, who also presented the Mariinsky’s last production in 1996 and directed the opera with critical success at the Metropolitan Opera in 2001, gives a fresh look to Prokofiev’s first opera.

Set in the fictional town of Roulettenburg in the mid-19th Century, 'The Gambler' is a four-act opera that displays the dramatic highs and lows involved in the game of chance. At the centre of the story is Alexei, who is in love with The General’s step-daughter, Pauline. All of the characters fall victim to the temptation of gambling, each one consumed by the obsession and greed that drives them.

Vladimir Galuzin, who plays the role of Alexei, is indisputably one of the world’s leading dramatic tenors, known for his unrivaled stentorious voice and extremely vivid characterisations of some of the most demanding roles. A Mariinsky soloist since 1990, he is much in demand internationally, performing regularly during the last two decades as a guest of most of the world’s most prominent opera houses, concert halls and festivals. The role of The General is played by Russian bass Sergei Aleksashkin. Three-time recipient of the Golden Sofit, St Petersburg’s most prestigious theatre prize, Sergei has been a Mariinsky Theatre soloist since 1989, singing title roles in Mussorgsky’s 'Boris Godunov' and Glinka’s 'Ruslan and Lyudmila'.

DURATION 2 hours 35'

Recorded at the Mariinsky Theatre, June 2010

Performed in Italian: subtitles in Russian, English, Japanese, German and French

Collection of four ballets performed by the Paris Opera Ballet and choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev. 'La Bayadere' contains the premiere performance of Nureyev's staging of the ballet and stars Isabelle Guerin and Laurent Hilaire. 'Picasso and Dance' features a performance of one of the ballets the painter Pablo Picasso created sets for during its original run. 'Romeo and Juliet' retells Shakespeare's most famous tragedy through dance, with music by Sergei Prokofiev. Finally, 'The Sleeping Beauty' stars Aurélie Dupont and Nathalie Aubin in an adaptation of Tchaikovsky's ballet based on the well-known fairytale.

Set and costume designer: Desmond Heeley, Lighting designer: Gil Wechsler & Stage director: Gina Lapinski

Karita Mattila gives a career high performance in Puccini’s passionate opera, Manon Lescaut conducted by James Levine – filmed live at the Metropolitan Opera in Hi-Definition.

Continuing its collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera and its Metropolitan Opera : Live in High-Definition series, EMI Classics is proud to release the METs classic 28 year old production of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut on EMI Classics DVD.

This release marks a special moment in the Metropolitan Opera’s history. It is the first time in 18 years since Puccini’s Manon Lescaut was last performed on its great stage.

Manon Lescaut, a French tale telling of a beautiful young woman destroyed by her conflicting needs for love and luxury, was Puccini’s first successful opera and the work that thrust him onto the international stage as Italy’s foremost opera composer.

Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, as Manon Lescaut, is the star of the performance. Her interpretation of the first of Puccini’s many archetypal heroines is ‘riveting’ – New York Times.

Interestingly Mattila waited until her voice had gained maturity and richness before, when she was nearly 40, she first portrayed her Manon Lescaut in 1999. She now returns – enticing James Levine to conduct the work for the first time since 1981.

After 35 highly successful years as Music director of the Metropolitan Opera, a relationship unparalleled and unique in the musical world today, James Levine leads a fresh and intelligent performance.