DVD Videos

Stage Director: John Cox

The 1993 Winter Gala Concert from the stage of the Royal Opera House sees a stellar array of the world’s greatest artists celebrate the music of Tchaikovsky – composer of many of the all-time opera, concert and ballet favourites, including The Queen of Spades, the 1812 Overture and The Nutcracker.

‘…a dazzling evening in the company of a galaxy of stars from The Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera. …an unsurpassable celebration of opera and ballet.’ Daily Telegraph

Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson

This visually stunning, all-new production of Nutcracker, choreographed by Helgi Tomasson (artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet) is a graceful and timeless adventure on a grand scale. The scenic design by Michael Yeargan, setting the tale at the time of the 1915 San Francisco World Fair, is sensational. From the lovely Waltz of the Flowers to the crystalline beauty of the stunning Snowflake Waltz, each scene is more breathtaking than the last, bringing to life all the well-known and beloved characters with fresh sparkle and compelling originality. Recorded in High Definition video and true surround sound, this age-transcending production offers a dazzling magical journey which is garnering critical acclaim throughout the world.

Bonus material:

Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery.

Interviews with Helgi Tomasson, Michael Yeargan and Martin Pakledinaz.

Documentary: 1915 World's Fair.

‘The opulent new version of the seasonal classic, launched spectacularly by the San Francisco Ballet, is every parent’s dream of a holiday treat. It looks scrumptious, tastes delicious, offers substantial nourishment and won’t cause cavities.’ San Francisco Examiner

Hailed by the press as “the definitive video production” of Tchaikovsky’s music, this exceptional concert series, recorded live from the Alte Oper Frankfurt, features the leading Russian conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. Fedoseyev’s perceptive reading of the works of his fellow countryman, the masterly playing of the orchestra and guest soloists combine to produce performances which are revelatory in their execution and understanding of Tchaikovsky’s music and the Russian heritage.

They are joined by international guest soloists who include the brilliant Japanese violinist Kyoko Takezawa, Brazilian cellist and Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medallist Antonio Meneses, acclaimed Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev, soprano Lydia Shernikh and baritone Alexander Nenaovsky.

This legendary quartet has been the authority on Russian string quartet repertoire for more than 60 years. Founded in 1945 and renamed in 1955 after Russian chamber music composer Alexander Borodin, the quartet was so sought after, that even in its early career, it played at Stalin's and Prokofiev's funerals on the same day in 1953! The quartet had a close working relationship with Dmitri Shostakovich, who personally consulted with them on each of his quartets. In this two-hour programme - recorded in 1987 - the quartet presents his string quartets Nos. 3 and 8, written in 1946 and 1960, respectively.These are juxtaposed by two of the three string quartets of Tchaikovsky, works that unjustifiably belong to the less frequently played part of the composer's oeuvre. As one of the longest lasting string quartets, the Borodin Quartet shine with clarity, unity and beauty of sound, whenever and wherever they perform.This DVD provides the opportunity for a close study of important chamber music by their most illustrious interpreters.

Choreography and Stage Direction by RUDOLF NUREYEV

Set Design by EZIO FRIGERIO

Costume Design by FRANCA SQUARCIAPINO

During his time as Artistic Director Nureyev created a number of magnifi cent choreographies for the ballet ensemble at the Paris Opera. One of his last ballet productions, which was performed only a few months before he had to relinquish his position as director, was Sleeping Beauty, which he choreographed in the style of Marius Petipa. The fairy tale of the beautiful Princess Aurora, who falls into a deep sleep after the wicked fairy Carabosse has put a curse on her, from which she was awakened only a hundred years later by Prince Desiré’s kiss, became a masterwork of the classical ballet and one of the most popular works of ballet literature. Sleeping Beauty was the brilliant result of the co-operation between the French choreographer Marius Petipa (1818-1910) and the Russian composer Peter I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). The theatre director Ivan Wsewoloschki suggested this ballet, which had its premiere in the Marinsky Theatre in St Petersburg in 1890. Not without reason is Sleeping Beauty the highlight and opus magnus of Petipa’s work.

Music by Tchaikovsky

Direction & Sets: Dmitri Tcherniakov

Bonus: Onegin at the Palais Garnier

Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, recognised as one of the leading baritones before the public today, opened the 2008-2009 season in Paris with his Bolshoi Theatre debut, performing the title role in Eugene Onegin, which he reprised later in the season with the Bavarian State Opera, replacing an indisposed Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Last Autumn he performed the title role in Don Giovanni at Covent Garden, followed by Enrico in Lucia and Marcello at the Met, where he appears frequently. Future engagements include a new production of Szymanowski's King Roger at the Bastille in June and July 2009 and Count Almaviva at Covent Garden in June 2010.

"Kwiecien is scoring a triumph in the title role, a part everywhere identified with his immediate predecessor, Siberian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky…Kwiecien commands the stage with his good looks, rich and resonant voice and the volatile intensity with which he throws himself into the role of the aloof Russian playboy." Chicago Tribune

The Places

The musical tour starts in the Bernese Alps, which offer some of the finest scenery in Switzerland, with glaciers and snow-covered expanses, and the towering Matterhorn. The Nymphenburg Palace and Park, near Munich, present a contrast, in their baroque elegance.

The Music

Music for the tour is taken from Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, one of the best known of all romantic concertos. This is followed by his Souvenir d’un lieu cher, three pieces originally for violin and piano, but here orchestrated by the composer Glazunov.

These two pioneering films will both be shown in the second Christopher Nupen season to be broadcast by the BBC on Friday evenings, starting on 15 January. The series will also include the two Sibelius films and his Schubert film, all available on DVD and distributed by Select.

The Tchaikovsky films are unusual in that they do not use actors to represent the composer but are made entirely of Tchaikovsky’s own words and music plus the words of a few of his closest companions. The result gives an exceptionally intimate picture of the inner landscape of Tchaikovsky’s work and artistic preoccupations. They are essential viewing for Tchaikovsky fans.

The first film, Tchaikovsky’s Women (70'15"), looks at the women both in his private life and in his early music. Almost all of his best early work was inspired by deep identification with the plight of his suffering young heroines, an identification so complete that it spilled over repeatedly into his personal life with dramatic consequences: on one occasion leading to attempted suicide. This predeliction began, when Tchaikovsky was 24 years old,

with Katerina Kabanova in The Storm. It continued in full flood with Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Francesca da Rimini, Odette in Swan Lake and, above all, Tatyana in Evgeny Onegin. All of these young women make appearances in the film.

The second film, Fate (85'35"), looks at Tchaikovsky’s strange relationship with Nadezhda von Meck, the most important attachment of in his life, after his mother, while also following his increasing concern with the idea of fate as a controlling influence in his own life and as a motivating force in his later symphonies. What he did not know, despite all his concern and forebodings, was that fate would overtake him, at the age of 53, more tragically than even Tchaikovsky could have foreseen.

“Christopher Nupen: King of the music documentary” Gramophone Magazine and winner of the Documentary DVD of the Year at Midem in Cannes 2005, 2006 and 2008.

“The master of the music doc.” Norman Lebrecht, The Evening Standard

“Tchaikovsky ...constant delight and variety.” Peter Waymark, The Times.

Picture format: 4:3

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo

Subtitles: DE/ES/FR/ IT/

Running time: 2 hours 36 mins

Director: Oleg Moralev

Production Design: Nikolay Zoloatarev

Video Director: Alexander Barannikov

Camera: V. Berdnikov

92 minutes, colour, mono, subtitles in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Romanized Russian; all regions