Ballet Opera National De Paris (6 Dvd)

Bringing together four seminal works, this attractive collection offers a perfect introduction to the worlds oldest national ballet company.

JEWELS
This alluring, abstract ballet, a triptych in which each piece sparkles with the brilliance of a precious stone, is a lyric tribute to women and to the cities of the great dance schools. Couturier, painter and craftsman Christian Lacroix created the glorious costumes and sets which, together with the outstanding performances of the dancers and the sensitive musical direction of Paul Connelly, result in a celebration of sumptuous splendour.

LA DAME AUX CAMELIAS

Based on the novel that also inspired the stories of Verdis La Traviata and Hollywoods Moulin Rouge, Neumeier has created a riveting dance drama which unfolds ingeniously through love, passion and danger. Chopins ravishing music combines with the lavish production, filmed live at the Palais Garnier.

CINDERELLA
Rudolf Nureyevs colourful, movie-star production retains the classic Perrault story but sets it in America during the difficult years of the Great Depression in the 1930s and 1940s. Agnès Letestu stars as Cinderella who, living with her alcoholic father, tyrannical stepmother and two spiteful stepsisters, dreams of escape and stardom in Hollywood.

SWAN LAKE

Agnès Letestu, a feminine and warm Odette, and José Martinez, a convincing, pale, vulnerable prince Siegfried, are the stars of this deeply passionate, dream version of Swan Lake. Rudolf Nureyevs interpretation of Tchaikovskys lyrical ballet, far from being a clichéd stereotype of this celebrated masterpiece, is an exposé of astonishingly powerful and recognisable human emotions.