Tchaikovsky and Petipa’s timeless ballet - acknowledged to be the most pure and demanding piece in the classic romantic repertoire – brings out Petipa’s rich dance vocabulary with the sparkling virtuosity a superb performance needs.

Recorded at Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam with The Dutch National Ballet in 2004. Choreographer Sir Peter Wright’s sensitive staging closely reflects Marius Petipa's original work. Philip Prowse’s ravishing Baroque sets and costumes add the glamour and grandeur essential to a ballet intended for the court of the Russian Tsar.

Sofiane Sylve, Gael Lambiotte, Sarah Fontaine, Enrichetta Cavallotti
Holland Symfonia / Ermanno Florio
Stage Director Sir Peter Wright

Plus

WE ALL LOVE MAGIC - Featurette about fairy tales .
THE STORY IS IN THEIR HANDS - Sir Peter Wright describes the use of mime.
A CRYSTAL-CUT DIAMOND - Sir Peter Wright on rehearsing The Sleeping Beauty.
I GOT STUCK - A portrait of Sofiane Sylve.
Cast Gallery.


Reviews
‘The new DVD of Peter Wright's Sleeping Beauty is more than welcome. The production looks sumptuous. The 2 DVD set includes extra features on fairies and interview with Peter Wright and footage of him rehearsing the ballet and a portrait of Sofiane Sylve. Plenty to keep the ballet enthusiast absorbed for hours.’
Dance Europe

‘Whilst there are a ton of dance DVDs to be had, most are simply re-packaged versions of programmes previously issued on videos. New recordings are a rarity so bouquets to Opus Arte for filming the Dutch National Ballet in Peter Wright’s The Sleeping Beauty with Sofiane Sylve and Gaël Lambiotte. Beauty preserves the performances of some of today’s wonderful dancers for posterity.’
Dance Europe

‘This is indeed, as promised, a sumptuous realisation of Tchaikovsky and Petipa’s ever popular ballet, and the first thing to say to readers of Musical Pointers is that its remarkable score can rarely, if ever, have sounded better in a theatre performance. Ermanio Florio paces the music with a seeming flexibility despite the constraints demanded to accompany dance and the Holland Symfonia is world class.
The revival by Sir Peter Wright (who has produced The Sleeping Beauty many times, including at Covent Garden) takes full advantage of the large stage in Amsterdam’s new theatre, creating an evocation of an 18th century French court, with magnificent costumes in period fashion, and sets by Philip Prowse suggesting those seen at the Maryinsky Theatre.
The live filming gives a proper sense of tension – Sofiane Sylve…is in full command and portrays well the 14 year old girl bleeding for the first time, and the woman waking to fulfilment 100 years on.
Sofiane Sylve, leaving Amsterdam for New York, gives a daunting account of the unenviable sacrifice of normal life to the rigours of her profession and Sir Peter Wright, in his talks included amongst the interesting and useful Extras, gives us a perspective which enhances enjoyment considerably. He emphasises the essential classical simplicity of Petipa’s concept, which he has tried to revive, albeit with dances and effects as lavish as you could wish. In rehearsal context he talks about how and why Petipa used mime in his productions.
An inspiring glimpse of imaginative community outreach at its best is given by Un van Ellinckhuijsen in her dance workshop. She teaches kids, many of whom has never been to a theatre, some examples of the mime conventions; we subsequently see 1,600 of them (!) practising what they’d learnt at a special matinee in the theatre – we watch them gesturing with enthusiasm and ‘dancing’ in their seats to Tchaikovsky’s music played live by the orchestra. Wonderful!’
Musical Pointers

’Nobility and refinement in a unique production... With it’s lush sets and costumes, and the gold covered glittering castle, The Sleeping Beauty is still the most beautiful thing ever to appear on Dutch stages.’
NRC Handelsblad, NL

’Dazzling Sleeping Beauty! Sylve has everything for the role of Aurora; a disarming playfulness as the young princess on the threshold of adulthood, but also the lyrical passion belonging to a first love affair...brilliant and moving… Together with Gaël Lambiotte she forms the ideal pair. He is a fantastic partner, supporting and stimulating, and, above all, radiating aristocratic allure in his astounding solo’s...’
De Telegraaf, NL

CAT NO: OA0904D
FORMAT: All Formats
REGIONS: All Regions
PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
LENGTH: 180 MINS
SOUND: DTS SURROUND / LPCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES
RELEASED: 01/10/2004
NO OF DISCS: 2