DVD Videos

Choreography, Stage Direction & Lighting Design by John Neumeier

Set & Costume Design by Yannis Kokkos

The longstanding and enormously successful director of the Hamburg Ballet, John Neumeier, created his famous adaptation of Sylvia at the invitation of the Paris Ballet. Arthaus presents a recording of this choreography from the Opéra de Paris with a line-up of soloist that includes some of the world’s best dancers, indeed stars on the international dance scene.

Sylvia has a long history connected to the Opéra de Paris and has transcended the metamorphoses of dance throughout the twentieth century to be revived again and again right up to John Neumeier’s refreshingly contemporary version. As a choreographer infused as much with the culture of the repertoire as with a spirit of creativity, he seemed preordained to offer a new version of this “classic”. Supported by the cautiously simple but very effective stage and costume design by the Greek painter Yannis Kokkos, emphasising the dancing rather than dominating it, John Neumeier has created a ballet that is as timeless as the mythological fable it portrays and at the same time very close to audiences today.

BONUS: Interviews with the artists

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.0, DTS 5.0

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Subtitle Languages: GB, DE, F, ES, IT (Bonus)

Running Time: 136 mins

FSK: 0

Choreography by ARTHUR SAINT-LÉON

Directed for Stage by PIERRE LACOTTE & CLAUDE BESSY

The young ballet dancers of the L’Ecole de Danse de l’Opéra de Paris move elegantly and quickly through the rehearsal rooms of the house. The slight tension that spreads among the young girls, the oldest of whom is just 17 years of age, pervades the atmosphere – an atmosphere made, as it were, for the painter Edgar Degas. On the programme this evening is Coppélia, or the girl with the enamel eyes by Léo Delibes. The excitement among the girls is great because today they will be performing in the (reproduced) scenery and costumes which at the premiere on 25 May 1870 had delighted Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress.

The first choreography of the work was undertaken by Arthur Saint-Léon (1821-1870), a violin and dance virtuoso famous at that time. He died of a heart attack at the age of 49, only a few months after the premiere. Over the years many arrangements and choreographies have been made of the piece. The version on this DVD is by Pierre Lacotte, the great ballet expert who has received many honours, and Claude Bessy, the long standing director of the ballet school at the Paris opera.

Special Feature: Les Enfants de la Danse - Documentary on the École de Danse de l’Opéra national de Paris.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Subtitle Languages: GB, DE, ES, IT, CN (Bonus)

Running Time: 67 mins & 52 mins (Bonus)

FSK: 0

Choreography Patrice Bart

Director Koen Kessels

Premiered by the Opera De Paris in 1870, and inspired by the fantastical writings of E.T.A. Hoffmann, Coppélia tells the story of a young man who becomes besotted with an exquisite automaton and is finally brought to his senses by his fiancée. In their production from the magnificent Palais Garnier, choreographer Patrice Bart in his final production and designer Ezio Toffolutti explore the story’s darker side while doing full justice to the exuberance and elegance of Delibes’ glorious score.

This production was screened in cinemas worldwide in March 2011

‘’The Paris Opera orchestra played sensuously for the conductor, Koen Kessels...costumes were extremely attractive, set theatrically striking. The dancers were models of self-presentation’’ New York Times

Extra features:

The mystery of Coppélia

Running time 124 mins approx

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

Jeanne Demessieux was one of the greatest organ personalities of the 20th Century. She was endowed with an astonishing technique and after her debut at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in 1946 she soon became one of the best-known organists in the world. This DVD presents for the first time on video her complete works for solo organ, including the spectacular Etudes, the Méditations sur le Saint-Esprit, the complete series of the Choral-Preludes and the less-known Répons pour les Temps Liturgiques. Played by the French virtuoso organist Maxime PATEL on the large organ in the Waldsassen Basilica, this video constitutes a unique document of the genius of Jeanne DEMESSIEUX and is at the same time a remarkable testimonial of the French art of organ playing in the 20th Century.

Video: 59 minutes, Audio: 50 minutes<br /><br />My Cinema for the Ears is a 59 minute film by Uli Aumüller. An impressionistic, wryly humorous look at nature and the creative process, the film features two composers, Francis Dhomont and Paul Lansky - and follows their search for an art that emanates

from their surroundings.

The DVD My Cinema for the Ears is in French and English with German, French and English subtitles. Besides the original composition Un Autre Printemps, by Francis Dhomont, and visualized by the video artist Robert Darrol, this DVD also features audio tracks of Dhomont's piece, En Cuerdas, and Paul Lansky's Night Traffic, Table's Clear, and Idle Chatter Junior.