Swan Lake

Starring: Daniel Barenboim, Oliver Matz, Steffi Scherzer Original UK Premiere: 1998 Dvd Release: 3rd July, 2000 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Widescreen, Region 0 Encoding

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Swan Lake is one of the most famous & critically-acclaimed ballets, with music by Tchaikovsky. It was first performed at full length in Saint Petersburg in Russia on February 17, 1895. Tchaikovsky was dead by then & it was based on an earlier, smaller-scale work, which had premiered on March 4, 1877. The choreography at the premiere was by Marius Petipa & Lev Ivanov & many later stagings have followed their work more or less closely. A single dancer dances the twin roles of Odette & Odile, which is one of the most taxing of all roles because it requires acting two entirely contrasting characters, as well as the strenuous showpiece dancing itself, including thirty-two fouettes. This feat was put into the choreography because it was a party piece of Pierina Legnani, first prima ballerina assoluta of the Maryinsky ballet. It concerns a prince, called Siegfried, who falls in love with a princess called Odette, who is in human form at night, but has been turned into a swan by day by the evil magician Von Rothbart. She has a retinue of other swan-maidens to attend her. Posters Of Swan Lake

DVD Extras: The generally excellent anamorphically enhanced picture is almost completely free of grain, a slight soft focus in mid & long shots probably more attributable to the live production being shot on video rather than any fault in the transfer. Mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, the sound mix is sensibly tied to the screen, the rear channels used to enhance live ambience, subtly establishing an effective sense of being there. The only special feature is a plot synopsis, however, the superior booklet also provides a synopsis, notes on Tchaikovsky & the writing of the ballet, the performance & the performers.

A disaster at its 1877 premiere, the fantastical Swan Lake was revived in 1895 & has since established itself as the most popular ballet ever. Daniel Barenboim, conductor of this sumptuous performance at Berlins Staatsoper Unter den Linden says Tchaikovskys Swan Lake is a masterpiece that transcends its time!. The production uses choreography adapted & subtly modernised by Patrice Bart from the 1895 staging, which combined with elegant costume & set design results in a very traditional & thoroughly engaging evenings entertainment. Barenboim ensures that Tchaikovskys score is a romantic delight, the ensemble dancing is highly polished, Oliver Matz passionately intense as Prince Siegfried, Steffi Scherzer making an enchanting fairytale heroine.

Daniel Barenboim is an Israeli pianist & conductor. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina ; his parents were Russian Jews. He is now also an Israeli national. Barenboim first came to fame as a pianist but is now best-known as a conductor. In 2001, he sparked a controversy in Israel by conducting the music of Wagner there. Barenboim started piano lessons at the age of five with his mother, continuing to study with his father who remained his only teacher. In August 1950, when he was only seven years old, he gave his first formal concert in Buenos Aires. In 1952, the Barenboim family moved to Israel. Two years later, in the summer of 1954, his parents brought him to Salzburg to take part in Igor Markevich s conducting classes. During that summer he also met & played for Wilhelm Furtwängler. In 1955 he studied harmony & composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Barenboim made his debut as a pianist in Vienna & Rome in 1952, Paris in 1955, London in 1956 & New York in 1957 under the baton of Leopold Stokowski. Posters Of Mozart

Editors Choice: Daniel Barenboim, Barenboim, Renee Fleming, Music Triennial 2, Berlin, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mozart, Swan Lake, View DVDology

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