Customer Reviews

Sylvia [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1952, Frederick Ashton choreographed his own version of "Sylvia," a ballet originally created and choreographed for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1876. The ballet was a vehicle for Margot Fonteyn, then at the height of her career. But for one reason or another, Sylvia never gained any traction as part of the Royal Ballet repertoire. Perhaps it was the fiendishly difficult title role -- Sylvia is onstage and dancing at almost all times, and Ashton filled the choreography with intricate footwork and jump sequences. Perhaps it was the relatively weak storyline. Sylvia is a huntress for the goddess Diana, and she falls in love with a shepherd named Aminta. God Orion gets jealous and kills Aminta, but love (in the form of the god Eros) saves the day. Diana relinquishes Sylvia and all ends happily. There's not much emotional depth, although Ashton infused the ballet with his personal quirks, like dancing goats.

After its premiere in 1952, Ashton tinkered with the ballet and at one point made it a one-act ballet, but it wasn't until 2004 that the Royal Ballet decided to revive Ashton's 1952 production. This video is a souvenir of the revival. Delibes' score is the main reason why I return to Sylvia -- it is absolutely beautiful. You might have heard the pizzacato polka before, or the ravishing grand pas de deux, but the score has no weak spots.

The dancing is uniformly strong. Thiago Soares is the mustache-twirling Orion. Darcey Bussell in the title role is nothing short of spectacular. The role emphasizes all her strengths (her athleticism, beauty, and natural charm) and none of her weaknesses (a lack of real emotional depth). She looks every bit the mythical huntress, but more impressively, she is able to execute both the tricky allegro footwork and the showy athleticism of Ashton's choreography. Her partner is the hunky Roberto Bolle, one of the few dancers tall enough to partner the 5'8" Bussell. They make a beautiful couple. In the grand pas de deux, Bussell performs awe-inspiring backward-leaping fish-dives.

Highly recommended.

Stories take us to the ballet fantasy world, where parade gods, kings, wizards, pirates, slaves, princes, swans and all that imagination can create. Ballet takes us, makes us feel emotions that even when children felt.

Appear strange worlds, exotic beings materialize. In each presentation, we forget the reality and we cling to the naivety of the characters. Cheered for them, get angry when they are deceived, we want the best of all worlds. The music of the ballet help on this trip of dreams: usually sweet, simple, direct and very emotional. Become a special dance and sometimes makes us cry and sometimes makes us happy with their melodies flavored honey. Who has the imagination, keep inside the soul of a child, and likes to daydream, love this art. Ballet is to dream.

The ballet Sylvia is to dream. Him parade fauns and nymphs, unreal beings that materialize on the stage of Covent Garden, London. Dance with grace, until you get to the shepherd Amyntas, causing them to hide. This, played by handsome Roberto Bolle, overcomes the technical difficulties of ballet with the elegance of classical dance. Popcorn in the lobby, his legs tremble, but in the course of the function is gaining strength and confidence. Shows that it is one of the great dancers of today. Darcey Bussell is a Sylvia athletic, strong and passionate. Sometimes charming, yet more severe. Steps expressive, rhythmical movements and a tune with Roberto Bolle. Pax de deux at the end of the third act expresses the love of pigeons. High degree of difficulty and great aesthetic beauty, represents the culmination of the plot.

Some will say that the paper was re-created by Frederick Ashton in 1952, especially for Margot Fonteyn - and she was exceptional as Sylvia. Unfortunately, I never had the pleasure of seeing it. But this remake of 2005, following the release of 1952 is, for me, the best in the world, it is the only one I know.

The orchestra plays with brilliance, their metals are heroic, their romantic strings, a regency with fast times, one color and nuances appropriate to the music by Delibes. The scenarios are up to this great show: land in the first and second act, the third heaven. Luxury, brightly colored, sometimes brilliant. The costumes make it easier to drive. Delimit the condition of each character with light and contrasting colors - light to dark nymphs and the kidnappers.

Image and sound flawless, the direction of television captures scenes with transparência.Todos these factors make this DVD an unforgettable work. Just do not understand why this ballet has not established itself in major companies worldwide. It has all the characteristics of the great ballets and still makes us dream.

Portuguese:

Sylvia -Ballet para Sonhar

Histórias de balé nos levam ao mundo fantástico, onde desfilam deuses, reis, magos, piratas, escravos, príncipes, cisnes e tudo que a imaginação pode criar. Balé nos transporta, nos faz sentir emoções que nem quando crianças sentíamos.

Mundos estranhos aparecem, seres exóticos se materializam. Em cada apresentação, esquecemos a realidade e nos apegamos à ingenuidade dos personagens. Torcemos por eles, nos irritamos quando são enganados, queremos o melhor dos mundos. A música do balé ajuda nessa viagem de sonhos: geralmente doce, simples, direta e muito emotiva. Torna a dança especial e ora nos faz chorar, ora nos alegra com suas melodias sabor mel. Quem tem a imaginação fértil, guarda dentro de si uma alma de criança, e gosta de sonhar acordado, ama essa arte. Balé é para sonhar.

O balé Sylvia é para sonhar. Nele desfilam faunos e ninfas, seres irreais que se materializam no palco do Covent Garden-Londres. Dançam com graça, até que aparece o pastor Amintas, fazendo-os se esconder. Este, interpretado pelo bonitão Roberto Bolle, vence as dificuldades técnicas desse balé com a elegância da dança clássica. Pipoca na entrada, seus pés tremem, mas no desenrolar da função vai ganhando força e confiança. Mostra que é um dos grandes bailarinos da atualidade. Darcey Bussell faz uma Sylvia atlética, forte e apaixonada. Às vezes charmosa, outras tantas severa. Passos expressivos, movimentos cadenciados e uma sintonia total com Roberto Bolle. O pax de deux do final do terceiro ato expressa o amor dos pombinhos. De alto grau de dificuldade e grande beleza estética, representa o auge do enredo.

Alguns vão dizer que o papel foi recriado por Frederick Ashton em 1952, especialmente para Margot Fonteyn - e ela era excepcional como Sylvia. Infelizmente, eu nunca tive o prazer de vê-la. Mas essa remontagem de 2005, que segue a versão de 1952, é, para mim, a melhor do mundo, pois é a única que conheço.

A orquestra toca com brilho, seus metais são heróicos, suas cordas românticas, uma regência com tempos rápidos, um colorido e nuances adequados à música composta por Delibes. Os cenários estão à altura desse grande espetáculo: terrenos no primeiro e segundo ato, celestiais no terceiro. Luxuosos, de cores fortes, às vezes brilhantes. Os figurinos facilitam a movimentação. Delimitam a condição de cada personagem com leveza e cores contrastantes - claras às ninfas e escuras aos sequestradores.

Imagem e som impecáveis, a direção de televisão capta as cenas com transparência.Todos esses fatores fazem desse DVD um trabalho inesquecível. Só não entendo o porquê desse balé não ter se firmado nas grandes companhias mundiais. Possui todas as características dos grandes balés e ainda nos faz sonhar.

Ali Hassan Ayache

I have over 100 opera and ballet DVD/BR's that I watch on a projected screen about 7' 8" wide and listen through a 7.1 loudspeaker setup where the left and right speakers are about 9' 6" apart. The room has sound treatments. The goal is to make the viewing experience as if I was there in a middle seat in one of the front rows.

I watched Sylvia by the London Royal Ballet now twice and I can't recommend it due to the poor picture quality which another reviewer called "soft". Compared to any other Blu-ray ballet I have (Sleeping Beauty with the Royal Ballet, La Fille Mal Gardee with the Royal Ballet, Giselle with the Royal Ballet, La Dame aux Camelias with the POB etc.) this has the worst picture.
Right from the start, when the orchestra is shown, the picture is too dark and yellow. When the curtain goes up, the wide stage shot looks almost like SD rather than HD. That shot was thankfully soon eliminated from the used camera positions. But the lighting in the second and third act is in yellow, rather than white. In combination with the umbra/dark green background, it sucks the life right out of the picture. It didn't let me concentrate on the dancing and just enjoy the ballet but rather kept my mind dwelling on whether I should return this one.
When I looked at it the second time, I got over the poor picture quality and watched Darcey Bussell's dancing, which is quite fine and it would be worth owning, were it not for that poor picture quality. Note to producers: "White Light!!!"
Sound is LPCM Multi (5.1 according to the box) and quite o.k., applause from the front.
It would probably get five stars from me for the dancing, but it can get only two stars for the poor picture quality.

Edit on 11/30/11: On the 3rd try, I increased the brightness of the projector and got some light into the picture that way. Looked unnatural, but at least it was brighter.

Delibes Sylvia is an outstanding ballet with gorgeous music. This is a superb performance in every way and is beautifully recorded and presented, especially in this Blu-ray disc. Very highly recommended.

My sister sent me some money for my birthday...and this...and "Giselle" are what I bought with it. My sister asked me why I wanted to buy a ballet (TWO, actually), and I said: "Well...there are NO commercials OR dialog...
just attractive people moving around beautifully to tell a story accompanied by magnificent music." And THAT
my friends is the secret of ballet. "Sylvia" is particularly delightful, because I have long been familiar
with the music...but had never seen a production. This production is wonderful. The dancers are all excellent,
the sets and costumes are beautiful....and I had to look out the window to be certain I had not walked through
Covent Garden to get to the performance! I hadn't...it was still good old San Diego outside. I have several
Royal Ballet performances on dvd and/or blu ray....and they always bring quality and and abundance of pleasure
to every production. I have had blu ray for less than a year, but it brings a great deal of delight...if I
were to go to the ballet....it would cost me $80 and UP...to have a seat where I could see so beautifully...
this way...I can enjoy it numerous times. I thoroughly recommend this blu ray production....it is delightful.

I really enjoyed this ballet! It is a beautifully performed by the men and women with passion, grace and strength. A treat for all your senses!

This is classical ballet at its best. First class dancing by all, particularly the lovely Darcey Bussell - I'm a fan of this beautiful dancer. The sets and costumes are great just as is the music. The extras relate that the choreography for this production, originally created by Frederick Ashton in the 1950's was nearly lost but was revived for this production. Some of the dancing is spectacular and is accompanied by the familiar Delibes music. I would only give it a rating of 4.5/5 for video as it is slightly on the soft side of Blu Ray capabilities but that is not a real distraction. The BD audio is fine and the extras are interesting and best viewed first.

Overall recommended without reservation.

John