Ural Opera Ballet Orchestra Of Ural Opera Ballet Klinichev - Romeo & Juliet - DVD

Two lovers, united by fate but kept apart by an old family feud, who can only be together in death Shakespeare's timeless tale, set to ballet music by Sergey Prokofiev in 1935, needs no introduction. However, this production from the Ural Opera Ballet in Ekaterinburg, which won the prestigious Golden Mask Prize as InchBest BalletInch in 2017, adds interesting twists to this well-known frame, as choreographer Vyacheslav Samodurov sets his performance in a dance studio, during a rehearsal of the Romeo and Juliet ballet. This way, the characters of the play are placed out of a specific country or era the action could take place anytime and anywhere. It could even be happening in front of your window right now it is not by chance that the dancers reminded the audience of today's 'boys and girls from the Uralmash district', as some viewers have noted in social media. The motive of struggle between the two clans disappears from the performance - it does not matter which families the street fighters belong to. The concept of repetition and inexorability of the theatrical ritual plays a central part a tragedy is about to happen and the lovers will die today, but afterwards everyone will go home, a new rehearsal will start tomorrow, and the story will be repeated again from the start. With outstanding performances from principals Ekaterina Sapogova and Alexandr Merkushev, choreographer Vyacheslav Samodurov creates an intricate and surprisingly modern choreographical language that draws from classical movements but also from pantomime to best express the feelings and the drama at play in this eternal masterpiece.

Kenneth MacMillan's passionate choreography for Romeo and Juliet shows The Royal Ballet at it's dramatic finest. Sergey Prokofiev's famously evocative score is the driver for some of the most ardent pas de deux and powerful set pieces in ballet history. The vibrant crowd scenes with magnificent designs by Nicholas Georgiadis vividly recreate the color and bustle of 16th-century Verona in this Royal Ballet classic. InchYasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball will hug their first Romeo and Juliet their whole lives. What a dream debut for these two youngsters...Inch (The Spectator) InchKenneth MacMillan was a consummate storyteller, and in Romeo and Juliet he came as close to perfection as it's possible to get.Inch (Culture Whisper) InchFrom the quarrelling townsfolk to the stately ball guests, this is a Romeo packed with life, the whole company caught up in the ballet's unfolding tragedy.Inch (The Independent)

Nicola Vaccaj belonged to the Neapolitan school pupil of Paisiello and contemporary of Rossini, whose fame somehow obscured his own, he was well known and appreciated at his time, to the point that an extract from the last Act of his Giulietta e Romeo was chosen to substitute the same aria in Bellini's I Capuleti e I Montecchi for an 1832 performance and this shift has remained common practice until the end of the 19th century. Therefore it's hard to believe that Vaccaj's most notable success was neglected for such a long time as it Inchis an opera that could easily hold it's own among the better-known works in the bel canto canon. It has taut plot, with a strong libretto, written by Romani, and is full of well-constructed ensemble piecesInch(Alan Neilson - Operawire) Within a traditional, 16th century setting, director Cecilia Ligorio choses to convey a sense of doom and tragedy which the entire work is imbued with, from the choice of costumes and settings to the stage lighting. InchIt really was a well-paced, and visually pleasing production that successfully captured the love and hatred which drives the narrative forward.Inch (Alan Neilson - Operawire)