This ballet, choreographed and designed by Toer van Schayk, is set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Described by Wagner as a “grand apotheosis of the dance”, a celebration of man’s delight in his own physical energy, the symphony was composed in 1812, and van Schayk hears in the music the composer’s ecstatic longing for the sublime future he supposed would follow the Napoleonic Wars. 7th Symphony was recorded in studio and the music is played by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Haitink.
Still Life at the Penguin Cafe
The idiosyncratic music and imaginary world of Simon Jeffes, founder of the Penguin Café Orchestra, prompted David Bintley to create this ballet, set in a café where penguins resemble people and people resemble penguins. Here, an exuberant cabaret is presented by a succession of exotic creatures. The inventive and amusing choreography, enlivened by Hayden Griffin’s ingenious sets and costumes, also highlights the plight of the world’s endangered species. Recorded in studio.
Alice
Many creative talents have found inspiration in the books of Lewis Carroll, and Glen Tetley’s ballet on this theme is set to music by David Del Tredici. His multi-layered ballet presents many of the famous characters from the Alice books and also speculates on the relationship between Carroll and his real life muse, ten-year-old Alice Liddell. Music, dance and design are combined to great dramatic effect in this specially-staged studio recording, which stars prima ballerina Karen Kain.
La Ronde
Prima ballerina Karen Kain leads an outstanding cast in this studio recording of Glen Tetley’s probing dance drama, based on Schnitzler’s play La Ronde, which scandalised the public when it was premiered in 1903. It shows a linked series of sexual encounters exposing the decaying morals of Vienna at the turn of the nineteenth century. Set to Erich Korngold’s Sinfonietta, Tetley’s translates La Ronde into a stunning series of pas de deux, danced by ten characters, ranging from a prostitute to a count.
The Sleeping Beauty
The stylish grandeur of choreographer and artistic director Oleg Vinogradov’s production shows the entire company at its best. The superb tradition in dance continues with Larissa Lezhnina, one of Kirov’s stars at that time, brilliant as Princess Aurora, and Farukh Ruzimatov’s performance in the role of Prince Désiré demonstrates both power and grace. It may be a truism to say Russians interpret Russian music best, but based on this stunning Kirov Ballet performance it’s excitingly and exhilaratingly accurate. From the principal dancers to the last member of the ensemble, the grace and mastery of this world-class company is clearly in evidence. With its perfect fusion of music and choreographic ideas, “The Sleeping Beauty” is the quintessential romantic ballet, and it finds its spiritual home preserved in the outstanding classic traditions of the Kirov Ballet (now Mariinsky Ballet).
Swansong
Christopher Bruce’s ballet uses an inventive choreographic language to enact the horrors of a brutal interrogation. Two uniformed guards (Matz Skoog and Kevin Richmond) conjure up a terrifying music-hall double act, smiling maliciously as they torture their victim (Koen Onzia) who, in moments of respite, expresses his longing for freedom in passages of lyrical beauty. The piece is set to an original electronic score by Philip Chambon. This production was recorded in studio.
L’Histoire du soldat
Jirí Kylián feels a great affinity for Stravinsky, who, like himself, was forced to leave his homeland. He describes the composer’s music drama L’Histoire du soldat as a “”surrealistic fairy tale for grown-up children””. His version of the piece uses the original French version libretto by Charles Ferdinand Ramuz. With scenery and costumes by John MacFarlane, this studio recording features Nacho Duato as the soldier who sells his soul to the Devil for wealth, but is forced to wander the world.
The onset of the First World War and the Russian Revolution of 1917 had drastic consequences for Stravinsky in his Swiss exile: his property was confiscated, and he thereby lost the rights to his works and the associated income, leaving him in a situation which isolated him as an artist. L’Histoire du soldat, with its diversity, its structure, the switching between narration, action, mime and dance, and its elements from tango, English Waltz and Ragtime, could not have been categorised under any genre which existed at the time. It was premiered on 28 September 1918 and in this version is brilliantly reinterpreted by the Nederlands Dans Theater.
The Tale of a Manor
This studio recording of Pär Isberg’s ballet, created specially for television, is danced by the Royal Swedish Ballet. The work is based on a romantic adventure story by the great nineteenth-century Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf. An original score has been composed by Jan Sandström and it is performed by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jonas Dominique. With lavish period sets and costumes, designed by Bo-R uben Hedwall, this large cast ballet, starring Johanna Björnson and Martin Leander, tells a gothic tale reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast. At the end of the 1880s, Selma Lagerlöf’s family had to move from Mårbacka, the house where she had lived during her childhood. This event had a profound influence on her life and writing and is one of the sources of inspiration for The Tale of a Manor …
Folias
The Heinz Bösl Foundation Junior Company performs Hans Manniegel’s colourful ballet set to a score by Gregorio Paniagula. The music was composed after a famous melody that attained wide popular currency 1500-1700 and to which the wild Portuguese folia was danced. Manniegel’s theme is the madness of dancing till you drop and the often humorous choreography demands exact timing and precise rapid footwork. The fluent mixture of neo-classical and contemporary movements creates an exciting work.
Dark
Carolyn Carlson: Her body is long and slender – emaciated, almost. But certainly not lacking strength. Those distinctive lines – once in motion – are reminiscent of the rapid strokes of a calligrapher’s brush moving across a sheet of paper. Yet for all the spontaneity, every detail is considered. Nothing is left to chance. And the observer is given complete freedom to interpret the message the choreographer communicates in partnership with her performers, the composer and the designers of set, costume and lighting.
Carolyn Carlson is a magician of ambiguity who transports her audience into a netherworld where life meets death. Her characters (or choreographic structures) are subject to constant metamorphosis. For the inspiration she offers, modern and contemporary dance owes a debt of gratitude to this purist of simplicity.
The piece is set to an original score by Joachim Kühn, played on a piano, modified via a digital console. A company of eight dancers, including Carlson herself, perform Dark for this specially-shot studio recording.