The Tales of Beatrix Potter (with Dancers of The Royal Ballet) Review

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The Tales of Beatrix Potter (with Dancers of The Royal Ballet) ReviewTales of Beatrix Potter with Dancers of the Royal Ballet (1971) is pure fun and innocence portrayed through top flight ballet dancing. Don't miss this production if you're a fan of ballet, Beatrix, and barnyard animals.
As the story opens, we see a young Beatrix Potter and the beautiful English countryside that was the inspiration for her family of adorable little creatures. Soon we see Beatrix's creations come to life in vignettes and costumes true to the original drawings.
The dancers appear to be dancing on an earthen stage (complete with clumps of grass, dirt, and hay), but pigs and mice on pointe were never this graceful. Watch the swine ham it up in a pigs' pas de deux, and see them escape their inevitable fate. Mr. Jeremy Fisher is one wonderfully flexible, high-jumping leapfrog. See mice go mad and perform a quick, clean petite allegro with the beautiful pointe work you'd expect from the Royal Ballet. Peter Rabbit comes in, dancing about very happily, having just raided the cabbage patch. He is witness to a picnic of rats, crashed by mice and Squirrel Nutkin and his buddies. This scene is nothing but fun and I can't imagine the dancers didn't have a blast performing it. There's even a food fight.
Don't be put off by the whimsical concept of this production. These are world-class ballet dancers performing Ashton's warm and witty, yet demanding choreography in top form.
I wish the editing had been better in spots and that the camera angles had been tighter, but I imagine it was necessary to maintain the proper perspective between the sizes of the characters and the sets. Great costumes and sets convincingly blend with footage of the real English landscape in all its green glory. Complete dancer credits at the end.The Tales of Beatrix Potter (with Dancers of The Royal Ballet) OverviewItem Name: The Tales of Beatrix Potter (with Dancers of The Royal Ballet); Studio:Starz / Anchor Bay

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Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen - Complete Ring Cycle (Levine, Metropolitan Opera) (1990) Review

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Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen - Complete Ring Cycle (Levine, Metropolitan Opera) (1990) ReviewAccording to the liner notes that accompany this seven-DVD set of Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen," the composer had no time for critics, especially those who liked to point out a certain lack of logic in his musical dramas.
(Take that, Anna Russell! - Entire careers have been based on making fun of the Ring Cycle's plot.)
This Met version of the Ring under the direction of James Levine might be called 'traditional' by some and 'stodgy' by others. There are no Siegfrieds in space suits or Rhine Maidens cavorting in front of a hydroelectric dam. Special effects have been kept to a minimum--a rather tame dragon (although wonderfully sung by Matti Salminen who also is a great, brooding hulk of a Hagen), no goat-drawn chariots, no flying horses. In fact there are no horses at all, which makes for a slightly surreal funeral scene in 'Götterdämmerung' where Brunnhilde is supposed to sing to her horse, Grane, then ride him into the flames of Siegfried's funeral pyre.
However, the Ring isn't about special effects or acting. It's about Wagner's glorious music. I've only seen one other Ring Cycle--Patrice Chéreau's 1976 Bayreuth production (also out on DVD)--and he (incorrectly, I think) emphasized the stage drama rather than the music. He also ignored Wagner's mythical setting and tried to turn the Ring into a statement about nineteenth-century robber-barons.
Levine's version, stodgy though it may appear, emphasizes the music. This is the Ring Cycle you want to start with. It reflects the spirit of Wagner's intentions (if not quite the actual staging), and the singing is excellent. This is not the dream cast from the golden age of Wagnerian singers, but wait till you hear Jessye Norman as Sieglinde, ringing out her "Oh hehrstes Wunder!" just after her whole world comes crashing down around her. If this unearthly cry doesn't send chills down your spine, maybe Wagner isn't for you. One of the other reviewers felt that Norman was too loud for the other singers, but I think just the opposite is true. James Morris is a complex, ultimately tragic Wotan. Hildegard Behrens is a brilliant, intuitive Brunnhilde. Their final scene together in 'Die Wälkure,' as Wotan puts his daughter to sleep within a ring of fire is one of the high points of this Ring. But the one truly Wagnerian voice in this production belongs to Jessye Norman.
If you'd like to learn more about Wagner's Ring Cycle, read "Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round" by Father M. Owen Lee (highly recommended) or Charles Osborne's "The World Theatre of Wagner."Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen - Complete Ring Cycle (Levine, Metropolitan Opera) (1990) OverviewItem Name: Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Levine, Metropolitan Opera (Complete Ring Cycle); Studio:Deutsche Grammophon

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Les Miserables: The 10th Anniversary Dream Cast in Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall (1995) Review

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Les Miserables: The 10th Anniversary Dream Cast in Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall (1995) ReviewThis new edition of the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert (taped in 1995 at the Royal Albert Hall in London) is a welcome new edition for any person who found the original concert enjoyable and thrilling. The 2-DVD set comes in a good quality hard case with new artwork. The performances continue to be mostly excellent and one really does not miss the staging too much. There are several new positive additions to this edition. First is the wide-screen presentation of the concert. It was painfully obvious at certain points during the original release (especially the bigger numbers) that you were missing some of the singers on the sides. The new wide-screen presentation opens up the experience so you can watch the concert as it was originally taped. The second positive aspect of this issue is that the whole concert is on one side of one disk, which makes it much more convenient to watch. The third is the inclusion of the "Stage By Stage" Documentary from the late 80s tracking the recording of the Complete Symphonic Recording as a supplement on the second disk. Finally, for those who want to, you can follow along with new (optional) on-screen lyrics.
However, this edition is not without its disappointments. The first and by far the biggest disappointment is how it's only presented in stereo and not Dolby Digital 5.1 or better. Not having a digital audio option in 2008 is ridiculous and I would have greatly put up with changing disks if it meant having a better quality performance. The second disappointment is the deletion of parts of the concert previously available, which include part of "Little People" and the speeches by the creative talent behind the show at the end of the concert before the encore. Even if space was limited on the first disk, these deletions could have easily been put on the second disk as supplementary material.
So, while the concert itself continues to be quite enjoyable and there are some new additions that makes it a must have for any Les Miserable fan, there are some basic disappointments that keep this edition from being perfect.

Les Miserables: The 10th Anniversary Dream Cast in Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall (1995) OverviewA performance of Les Miserables by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, for a 10th Anniversary Concert celebration.

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