2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A common man's point of view., January 3, 2009
This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake [HD DVD] (HD DVD)
This ballet was made available in three different video formats; DVD, HD-DVD, and BluRay. My version was the HD-DVD version, but in all formats the ballet is the same. First of all Nureyev is not dancing in this ballet. I think the Ad is somewhat deceiving. The principle dancers are Agnes Letestu and Jose Martinez. They are excellent dancers, and as you will see from the extreme close-ups of the principles, they both "sweat blood" in their efforts to entertain us.
The only reason I did not give this production a five star rating is because I did not like the ending. You may call me old-fashioned, but I want to see good triumph over evil, which does not happen in this story. Swan Lake is a story ballet, and is NOT just dancing to beautiful music. This is the second ballet in my considerable collection in which Nureyev came up with a terrible ending. In The Vienna State Opera Ballet.....
Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake.....production with Dame Margot Fonteyn, he had Siegfried drown in the Lake of Tears as Odette swims away to remain a Swan-Maiden for all eternity. Plus, he had on more make-up than Margot Fonteyn. In this version, he has Rothbart flying off with the Swan-Maiden clutched in his talons as Siegfried writhes on the ground unable to help her. Again, she must remain a Swan-Maiden for all eternity. I HATE that, period.
NOTE: I must make a correction here, because I misunderstood an important aspect of the meaning of this version of SWAN LAKE. This entire ballet is a dream by Prince Siegfried from beginning to end. The poor Swan Maidens are NOT doomed, because they never existed except in Siegfried's dream. This was brought to my attention by Mr. Robert Campbell for which I am grateful.
This is an HD-DVD (also available in std def and Blu-Ray) and will NOT play on anything but an HD-DVD player. It has excellent resolution in HD. I wonder though, why the video producer thought we needed 12 to 14 close-ups of the ballerinas hands, and their feet? Letestu and her partner are wonderful dancers, though, I thought she lacked the sad expression Odette needs as the trapped Swan-Maiden. I thought at times her expression was rather bored. She was very good as Odile, and Siegfried warmed up to her portrayal of "Odette in disguise" gradually, and did not act like he knew her when she first appeared. Letestu gives a good account of herself in her mime role, both in the second and fourth acts. Color and lighting are well done in all four acts and the excellent music is stereo and surround. The running time to end of curtain calls is 140 minutes, and the screen format is 16:9
The dark psychology thing of Rothbart being in all four acts hovering on every move of Siegfried was way overdone, in my opinion. Why do people think they need to psychoanalyze Tchaikovsky's mind forever? I think that is what Nureyev is trying to do here, using the freakish spectre of Rothbart haunting Siegfried's every thought.
The corps members of the POB were superb, but messed up by an overzealous button pushing production manager. Why have a beautiful weaving line of ballerinas and then ruin the effect by shooting close-ups of them? That sort of thing was done all through this ballet. It's good that the theater patrons did not have to see all of the close-ups. The button pushers think they are being artistic, but they know nothing about the art of the ballet. The artistic director of the ballet company should put a stop to their enthusiasm. I spent thirteen years in a TV studio, so I know a little of what I speak.
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9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ballet in the family room, September 5, 2007
This review is from: Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake [HD DVD] (HD DVD)
Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake / Nureyev, Letestu, Martinez, Paris Opera Ballet [HD DVD]Since purchasing both a HD DVD and a Blu-Ray player, we have been wondering why there isn't much of a selection for the classical performing arts. Surround sound and high-def picture both lend themselves perfectly to programming such as Ballet, Opera, and Theatre. Swan Lake was the first offering we saw and ordered it immediately. We were not disappointed. The surround sound provided center seating acoustics as well as the live performance sound of the dancer's feet upon the stage......very live performance type of experience. The high-def picture was flawless and provided a depth that gave the impression of a bird's eye view of a live performance. Equipment used Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player; Denon AVR-4806ci receiver; Polk 7.1 speakers; HP MD5880N high-def TV. All connected via HDMI.
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