Customer Reviews

Roland Petit - Notre-Dame de Paris / Isabelle Guerin, Nicolas Le Riche, Laurent Hilaire, Manuel Legris, Paris Opera Ballet

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Notre-Dame" has been brought to stage and screen countless times, and every time the director/choreographer is faced with the same challenge - the recreation of the cathedral. One either recreates the cathedral in great detail (think the black and white film versions) or uses minimalistic symbols such as statues and gargoyles (think the French-Canadian rock opera by Cocciante). It's hard to find middle ground. In this particular production the cathedral is reduced to a backdrop screen with a rectangular shape drawn upon it. This set design is very effective, because it goes along with the very clean, minimalistic production. The costumes are very tasteful and flattering. They do not distract from the unfolding drama. The viewer's attention is focused on the main characters.

I was especially impressed by Quasimodo. He does not have much in terms of makeup. He does not have a prosthetic hump. All of his physical deformities are conveyed by the movements of the lead dancer. Nicholas le Riche is a very handsome and graceful man, and it must have taken a lot of skill to play a deformed bellringer.

Roland Petit has done a fine job choreographing this modern ballet. As it always is with the Paris Opera Ballet, the dancing is fantastic! The camera work is excellent, showing every detail of motion on stage. The sets are interseting, with good stage depth, and the costumes are unusually colorful! Isabelle Guerin(she is also featured in two other POB dvds: the La Bayadere performance dvd and the La Bayadere documentary dvd; see my reviews of them) plays Esmeralda and dances with great feeling and dynamism, as do the others. The choreography is very classical with plenty of modern moves thrown in to impart a surreal feel. The image and sound are super crisp! All ballet fans should enjoy this.

Without repeating what others have said about how good this is (and it is) the thought I have is to appreciate being able to see it at all. Given the production values (high) the cast (superb) the sound (excellent) - to be able to watch this piece in 16:9 on a large screen is an absolute delight. And what a performance- Le Riche in a tour de force of dancing and acting with other etoiles of the POB at their best. The only caveat is that some of the camerawork does not show crowd scenes to their best advantage being too low on the screen otherwise this fine production is highly recommended.

the productions of l'opera nationale de paris are always great,this time its the great Roland Petit and this production of 1996 of Notre Dame Du Paris,based on Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

from the very first moment till the last,a feast of pleasures,great dancers,NICOLAS Le RICHE is SUPER!!!!as the hunchback Quasimodo,Isabelle guerin is Great as Esmeralda!il! Laurent Hilaire as frollo...excellent.

the choreography by the master ROLAND PETIT is most intelligent ,when it comes to deal with the motion,gestures and movements of the hunchback...very clever indeed.

the sets and colors of the 12 tableaux are really out of this world...you'll never forget the scene of the bell tower of notre dame !! it gave me goose pimples!!

Maurice Jarre's music wraps this bunch in a fantastic score.

how come such a a beautiful ballet is not famous?? i found it by mere chance!!

its a MUST for all Ballet lovers.

The prima ballerina is beautiful, sexy, and a wonderful dancer. She is quite prepared to flaunt her sexuality. The music is of very high quality, the costumes (designed by Yves St Laurent) are certainly colourful. The plot is as follows: pretty girl sleeps around, comes to a sticky end. Those with a comprehensive knowledge of French history can doubtless fill in the details. The choreography is well contrived. (It creaks a bit in the pas de deux between the pretty girl and the hunchback) I think that this DVD will provide much pleasure to anyone who buys it.

I've been very pleased with the Roland Petit ballets I have bought so far, and this one certainly lives up to the best he has done. The choreography is oustanding from beginning to end, there is not a week minute in the whole work. Nicolas La Riche is brilliant as Quasimodo, but all the other cast members are superb too. I shall watch this ballet many times. BUY IT WITHOUT HESITATION.

I am sad to recommend people to avoid this product. I say so because the choreography is absolutely wretched. The music is horrible, jagged and choppy, the choreography is horrible, as jagged and coarse. The POB is my favorite company and Nicholas Le Riche and Isabel are my favorites-The fault is not theirs. I have almost all of the POB stuff and I must rate this as the worst. Now as much as I am a fan of classical ballet, I do like modern ballet provided it sticks to norms of what good dance accompanied by good music should be. I would rate POB's Clavigo and Sylvia as vastly superior to this work. I tried to get into this several times but could only stomach it for 15m or so. I despair that given a plot and story as only a great Hugo could have created, and given that this is in POB's backyard and knowing their potential (La Bayadere, etc) and to have hacked the whole thing as they have done is unforgivable.