Blu-ray
Tchaikovsky: Cherevichki (The Tsarina's Slippers) (The Royal Ballet)
Larissa Diadkova (Solokha); Maxim Mikhailov (The Devil); Vladimir Matorin (Chub); John Upperton (Panas); Olga Guryakova (Oxana); Vsevolod Grivnov (Vakula);
"Its pretty as a picture, no question - an animated pop-up book of naïve and colourful charm." (The Independent)
Tchaikovsky: La Reine Morte (The Dead Queen) (Théâtre du Capitole)
Artjom Maksakov (Roi Ferrante); Maria Gutierrez (Dona Ines De Castro); Davit Galstyan (Don Pedro); Juliette Thelin (L'Infante); Takafumi Watanabe (Bouffon); Matthew Astley (Bouffon/Conseiller); Kayo Nakazato (Bouffonne/Mariée défunte); Caroline Betancourt (Bouffonne/Mariée défunte); Demian Vargas (Proche conseiller du roi);
"Set skilfully to various Tchaikovsky extracts, Kader Belarbi's ballet recreates a tragic and even bizarre episode of 14th century Portuguese history. Strikingly set and accessibly choreographed, the ballet offers a succession of striking visual images. The Toulouse company's performance, expertly captured in this recording, could hardly be bettered." (Musicweb International - Critic's choices for Pick of 2016)
Tchaikovsky: Lac after Swan Lake (Les ballets de monte carlo)
Anja Behrend (Le Cynge Blanc); April Ball (Le Cynge Noir); Stephan Bourgond (Le Prince); Alvaro Prieto (The King); Mimoza Koike (The Queen); Jeroen Verbruggen (Le Confident du Prince); Bernice Coppieters (Sa Majesté la Nuit);
"Swan Lake has never cast such a chill" (Suddeutsche Zeitung)
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker (San Francisco Ballet)
Damian Smith (Drosselmeyer); Elizabeth Powell (Clara Stahlbaum); Davit Karapetyan (Nutcracker); David Arce (King of the Mice); Yuan Yuan Tan (Queen of Snow); Vanessa Zahorian (Sugar Plum Fairy);
"The opulent new version of the seasonal classic, launched spectacularly by the San Francisco Ballet, is every parents dream of a holiday treat. It looks scrumptious, tastes delicious, offers substantial nourishment and wont cause cavities." (San Francisco Examiner)
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (Ballet de L’Opéra National de Paris)
Agnès Letestu (Odette); José Martinez (Prince Siegfried); Karl Paquette (Wolfgang / Rothbart);
"This Parisian Swan Lake offers the reworked choreography which Nureyev devised for his 1984 production of the ballet and which has remained a favoured recital ever since ... Readers used to traditional views of the ballet should see this gripping newcomer." (The Penguin Guide)
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (The Royal Ballet)
Marianela Nuñez (Odette); Thiago Soares (Prince Siegfried); Christopher Saunders (Rothbart);
"Anthony Dowells production...offers the ultimate classical experience, with the sights and sounds of a proud 19th century tradition running at full throttle. Fancy a romantic tragedy in a tutu? Then this is the ballet for you...The production as a whole is beautifully formed and dramatically convincing...And praise, too, for the corps, who made us feel the sorrow and anger of the swans collective misfortune." (The Times)