Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake [Blu-ray]

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake [Blu-ray]
by Ross MacGibbon, Makhar Vaziev

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Alexandra Gronskaya, Andrei Ivanov, Danila Korsuntsev, Pyotr Stasiunas, Ulyana Lopatkina
Director: Makhar Vaziev, Ross MacGibbon
Composer: Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Conductor: Valery Gergiev
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Classical, Color
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 128 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-11-18
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Decca

Movie Reviews of Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: Any Point of View Would Do
Summary: 4 Stars

Valery Gergiev conducts Swan Lake for the forces of the Kirov, now once again called the Mariinsky Ballet. A new generation of talented dancers carries on the great tradition of the house, recorded in high resolution video and audio. During the overture we are treated to closeups of the instrumentalists who will accompany the onstage action. It is great to see them for once.
When the famous curtain goes up, a dolly shot gives a sweeping sense of the stage; so far so good. The opening scene belongs to the jester, who first intruded upon the court of Prince Siegfried here on this stage nearly sixty years ago. With the brilliant clarity of blu-ray picture one longs to look the jester in the eye (one imagines that a young Putin looked like this), but he does not stay in one place long enough for the camera to get a good shot of him. In fact, it soon becomes clear that the production is afflicted by too many cameras. It is great that the Kirov could afford seven camera set-ups but the editor must think he is Orson Welles or Dziga Vertov. During the jester's entry he makes a five-fold pirouette, broken up into three different camera shots. What's the point?
I have compared this video with the 1990 film of the same production on the same stage. Three cameras seem to tell the story better than seven. One small detail shows the difference. After the Prince finishes his drink he tosses the goblet to the jester, who catches it deftly in 1990. Watch as one might, one cannot tell how the Prince gets rid of his cup on the blu-ray video. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Kudos, then, to the conductor, orchestra, principal dancers, corps de ballet, sound engineers and producers of the blu-ray. As for the video editor, may he be banished to the frozen lake, not to return until he discovers a point of view. Any point of view would do.

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Summary of Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake [Blu-ray]

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Theatre give a definitive performance of this ballet classic. With an image up to six times sharper than conventional DVD and superior high-definition sound, Blu-Ray lets you watch opera and ballet performances from the front row of the theater. Experience every detail, no matter how small, in the highest quality possible. With five times the memory of standard DVDs, Blu-Ray is a completely new way to experience the theater at home.

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