Customer Reviews

Lacotte - La Sylphide / Aurelie Dupont, Mathieu Ganio, Melanie Hurel, Jean-Marie Didiere, Ermanna Floria, Paris Opera Ballet

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When La Sylphide first premiered on March 12, 1832, Marie Taglioni made ballet history by dancing in the first white tutu and dancing the whole performance en pointe. It is considered the first Romantic ballet (not the court dances or court-inspired dances of the time of Louix the Fourteenth). For the first time, a world of whimsy and poetic imagery was staged. La Sylphide tells the story of a Scotsman who is married but falls for a mysterious aerial creature- La Sylphide. There is much plotless dancing and beautiful forest scenery. A villain- Madge, bent on ruining the lovers. This production from 2004 is performed by the Paris Opera Ballet company. It's beautifully re-created from the original choreography by Taglioni. The music is masterfully orchestrated and the bonus feature recounting the history is a fine addition. Own this DVD today if you love classic ballet.

We have recently bought this DVD and highly recommend it. Picture and sound quality are gorgeous. Aurélie Dupont's dancing is magnificent. She is elegant, weightless and she truly IS la Sylphide by expressing all her feelings and grace. Mathieu Gano is extremely elegant, athletic and very expressive. The "Corps de Ballet" is a model of precision and beauty. The forest décor with the flying Sylphides is magnificent. Lacotte's interview explains how he has succeeded in rebuilding the ballet as presented in 1832 from information painfully gathered over the years. A lovely moment for ballet lovers.

Wow! This was such a terrific ballet to watch. Costumes were wonderful, sets were beautiful. The Paris Opera Ballet did such an excellent job creating this production. It is somewhat of a reproduction piece, being pieced together from original choreography with some new added. The dancing definitely has an old world "period" feel to it - not a pyrotechnical crowd jumps to their feet kind of production. I was stunned by Ms Dupont and Mr Ganio. Dupont has the most beautiful feet I have ever seen - She's a beautiful dancer, but her feet were just exquisite. And Ganio was the most graceful male dancer I've ever seen. A lot of the dancing is somewhat plotless - lots of the guy dancing with sylphs in the woods, but it doesn't get boring because you keep saying wow about the dancers. This is a must own for ballet lovers. And the interview/making of/history of La Sylphide bonus was very educating.

This is a modern, more complete version of the previous video the Paris Opera Ballet came out with in the 1960's, which featured Ghislaine Thesmar and Michael Denard. This previous one had set the standard in some ways. To be sure, Ghislaine Thesmar coaches ballerinas in the POB for this part(see some of my reviews for the POB documentaries), so her stamp is still here! This newer version compares well with the older one. Most significantly, this one is a stage production, performed with a live audience, the older one was a movie, and we get a more complete choreography here, including many solos and small group dances not seen in the older one. This classic ballet is one of the most choreographically ambitious ballets in the classical repertoire and should not be passed up! Now, this dvd will set the standard for a long time to come for the Lacotte version.

Balletomanes, boys, and girls: I don't want to disillusion you, but what you see in this DVD is NOT the original choreography by Filippo Taglioni of La Sylphide as performed in Paris in 1832. Taglioni's documentation of his work, for reasons unknown, has not survived. Contrary to what Pierre Lacotte (who is an otherwise delightful gentleman) would have you believe, the POB's "re-creation" is 95% Monsieur Lacotte's invention, and 5% based on documentation (critiques, engravings, etc.) from the period.

The style is far too sophisticated for the early 19th century (compare it with the more mime-intensive Danish version), and the technical demands of the choreography are too ambitious versus what even the best dancers would have been able to accomplish over a century and a half ago.

Nonetheless, Pierre Lacotte has given us a delightful piece of work, proving himself to be a far superior (albeit less prolific) choreographer to his contemporary and fellow POB "alumnus" Patrice Bart.

p.s. - hooray for Effie!

In summary, a five star piece of dance and drama, but I must knock one star off because of "truth in advertising" issues.

This ballet is absolutely exquisite. The sound is wonderful, and the filming is marvelous. Aurélie Dupont is a flawless La Sylphide--she floated across the stage with such grace and perfect technique. Her facial expressions were delicate and lovely, the exact essence of La Slyphide. The corps de ballet had precise synchronization. The costumes were stunning, as was the scenery. The flying Sylphs were remarkably amazing, and added so much to this ballet. To sum it all up, I would most definately reccomend this ballet to everyone looking for a classical, spectacular, brilliant ballet.

This production is spectacular. The choreography is stunning; the performances are even better. Aurélie Dupont doesn't merely dance the lead role; she IS La Sylphide. She is magical, dazzling. Her technique is brilliant, and her style is mesmerizing. It feels like the year is 1932. There are no mediocre dancers in this performance. I watch a lot of ballets on DVD, and this one really stands out. If you have a soft spot for Romantic ballets, like Giselle, this is one you'll want to watch over and over. I purchased it on a whim, and while the other ballets I ordered are great, La Sylphide is the crown jewel of my collection. I'm a fan of American Ballet Theatre, and as good a company as ABT is, Opéra National de Paris very much out does them this time. By the way, the synopsis is given in French before each act. You can select English subtitles (though I can't get them to work), but if you can read French, it's fun to review the story in French. The synopsis helps you recall the details of the story so you follow along better. Bottom line: you won't regret picking this DVD. Five stars don't do it justice.

As a former professional ballet dancer, I can say, without hesitation, that the Paris Opera Ballet's presentation of this beautiful period ballet is exquisite. Aurelie Dupont's performance as La Sylphide is perfect...she floats through the choreography conveying absolute weighlessness. This landmark ballet ushered in The Romantic Period in dance, music and art in Euorpe and it also was also marked the dawn of ballerinas dancing en pointe.

Her technique is flawless and her interpretation of this 19th century ballet makes it almost possible to believe you are watching it as it was originally presented in 1832. I am always amazed by the extent to which this company goes to get all the details exactly right...the sets, the costumes, the special effects and or course, the dancing, are executed to perfection. This is but another in a series of performances which the Paris Opera has put to DVD and I for one want to collect each and every one of them.

This ballet definitely rates a five star review. It is the first ballet I have purchased staring Aurelie Dupont and I must say she is quite beautiful in this type of period ballet. I did not like her in the POB production of Sylvia. Delibes - Sylvia / Aurelie Dupont, Manuel Legris, Nicolas Le Riche, Marie-Agnes Gillot, Jose Martinez, Paris Opera Ballet I should say I didn't like that production (not her).

We seem to be drawn to the macabre in our story telling of old. I wouldn't want my child to have ever been told the early versions of The Sleeping Beauty for instance, where she is ravaged by the one waking her instead of being roused from her deep sleep. And of course there is Snow White who must have her heart cut out of her chest and given to her step mother in a box. And by the way, why are step mothers so often depicted as villains? Again in La Sylphide our delicate little fairy is going to have to die. Not for a very good reason, I might add. An old Crone has her feelings hurt because someone wouldn't let her tell his fortune. So, the innocent little fairy has to die. It's as bad as killing off Hilarion when it was Albrect who deceived Giselle. It wasn't the Sylph who refused to have her fortune told, but James. The danseure, Mathieu Ganio playing James, is only twenty years old but is a very capable dancer and partner for Aurelie Dupont. He is as handsome as she is beautiful and they are a very nice couple together.

More to the point of this review, however. The story is well told in dance as well as setting. There is good lighting and fabulous color in the sets and especially in the costuming. The time period lent itself well to the flow of skirts on both men and women. I hope the men don't mind my calling the kilts skirts, but as I said, very beautiful and colourful (we'll use their spelling). The stage was absolutely filled with all that colour. The outdoor scenes in the forest were also well done with human sized fairies flying about and seeming to hover in the trees. Even there in the night scenes the lighting was good, and the fairies were easily seen as they moved about. In the final scene when the other fairies lifted the Sylph to fly her off to her heaven or wherever Sylphs go, I never did see the wires used to lift them. That was very well done. The most touching moment in the ballet for me is when the Sylph bends over to pick up her little wings after they had fallen off by the magic of the deadly scarf that James wrapped around her. You might just shed a tear or two when she dies, as I usually do, but even though I know it's just a fairy tale, I get emotional. James is quite pathetic too, as he realises he has just caused the death of the one he loved the most, and the old crone gloats not only over James' loss of his beloved Sylphide but also Effie, his fiance, to Gurn.

I thought it was a very beautiful ballet and I'm glad I own it. Another thing you will like on this DVD is the bonus material which tells the history of this ballet and it's famous dancer-choreographer Marie Taglioni.

I really enjoy the Paris Opera DVDs I have been able to find. I especially enjoy the commentaries found in them that explain the history of the ballet and preparations involved. It is often so hard to find information about ballet history. No one knows what these dancers of the past looked like, which is unfortunate for the further development of this strange art. The ballet itself was danced in keeping with its style and the dancers were in top shape. I recommend these DVDs to serious ballet students.