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the following information has come to my attention:

1DVD Sound format: Enhanced Mono

DVD format: NTSC

Picture format: 4:3

Running time: 82’

Subtitles: n/a

Menu languages: English

Booklet languages: E/F/G

Region code: 0

Territory Restrictions: None

Treasures of the Russian Ballet

Russia’s two great ballet companies, the Bolshoi Ballet and the Kirov Ballet (now the Mariinsky) undertook their first major post war tours in the

early 1960s, exposing the West to the bravura and discipline of the Russian dancers

for the first time.

This DVD brings together performances by members of both companies, providing

rare footage of some of the most brilliant dancers of their time.

The Stone Flower features Yuri Soloviev, a dancer of great renown despite his tragically short life.

Famed for his extraordinary elevation, he was often compared to Nijinsky.

Soloviev was celebrated for his role of Danila in The Stone Flower, a ballet in which he

and Alla Sizova, who danced the role of Katerina, enjoyed immense success at Covent

Garden during the tour of 1960.

This BBC recording of Act 1 was a result of the enthusiastic response to the production.

The Pas de deux from Act II of Swan Lake comes from the Bolshoi’s famous 1956 debut tour to London. Specially shot for the BBC and produced by Margaret Dale, a renowned dancer and ballet producer, the broadcast drew 12 million viewers and became the first of many films for television that Dale made with the Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet companies.

The remaining four Bolshoi Ballet extracts - Cinderella, Giselle, Gayaneh and Don Quixote comprise shorter selections, specially filmed for the BBC in 1963, once again produced by Margaret Dale.

Each of the Bolshoi selections displays the eimmense versatility and virtuosity of the company’s principal dancers, a line up usually reserved for gala occasions.

This is the first DVD released of this material.

THE STONE FLOWER, ACT I

Soloviev

Sizova

Osipenko

CINDERELLA (EXTRACTS)

Struchkova

Lavrovsky

The Bolshoi Ballet

The Leningrad State Kirov Ballet

GISELLE (EXTRACTS)

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON,

Maximova

Liepa

The Bolshoi Ballet

JULY 1960

GAYANEH (EXTRACTS)

Timofeyeva

Fadeyechev

The Bolshoi Ballet

PAS DE DEUX FROM SWAN LAKE ACT II

Ulanova

Fadeyechev

DON QUIXOTE (EXTRACTS)

The Bolshoi Ballet

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON,

Plitsetskaya

Vasiliev

The Bolshoi Ballet

21 OCTOBER 1956

BBC TELEVISION CENTRE, 26 & 30 JULY 1963

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I had started a thread on this topic on April 3, thus:

http://balletalert.i...ian-ballet-dvd/

That said, I received my copy this past Monday. Wow! The 40+-minute Stone Flower AI segment, starring Soloviev, Sizova and Osipenko, alone is worth the price of the DVD. Extraordinary performances of these 1960s Kirov stars in their apogee, with good sharp camera work, including some lovely close-ups when appropriate. The Bolshoi segments are also terrific and, as far as I can remember, never-before released. Some are filmed in somewhat-cheesy TV-studio settings, such as Plisetskaya in fragments of DQ Act I, but the dancing is more important than the crappy settings. This DVD is a definite 'keeper.'

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