Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (DVD) – The Royal Ballet

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Artists: Natalia Osipova, Matthew Golding, Gary Avis, The Royal Ballet, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Boris Gruzin
Choreographers: Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov
Director: Anthony Dowell
Format: NTSC
Region: All Regions
Language: English (extra features)
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1
Label: OPUS ARTE
DVD Release Date: June 30, 2015
Run Time: 133 minutes; plus 18 minutes extra features

This magnificent Royal Ballet production of Swan Lake is an unforgettable experience. Anthony Dowell`s interpretation of Petipa and Ivanov’s 1895 St. Petersburg version set a standard and style that made it a “yardstick for others” (New York Times).

Wonderful choreography for the entire company includes the coveted double role of the gentle and vulnerable swan queen Odette and her predatory alter-ego, the black swan Odile. It is a challenge relished by principal ballerinas, and is danced here in a spell-binding performance by Natalia Osipova, partnered by Matthew Golding as a powerful and empathetic Prince Siegfried. Tchaikovsky’s glorious score shines, given the full force of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House conducted by Boris Gruzin, and Yolanda Sonnabend’s detailed, Fabergé-inspired designs evoke the atmosphere of Imperial Russia in the era of the ballet’s creation.

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