Esmeralda. Elvira Khabilbiilina, Kirill Myasnikov, Angella Kondrashova, Andrei Kuligin, Mussorgsky State Academic Ballet Theatre of St. Petersburg.
Published: 2005 This abridged version of Jules Perrot's famous ballet, danced by one of St Petersburg's smaller ballet companies, is based on the version re-staged by Marius Petipa, with music by Cesare Pugni. It's in part an attempted historical reconstruction of the pre-Vaganova version, staged from the memories of Tatiana Vecheslova. The production, filmed rather mistily in a small studio, veers between charming and quaint, the latter due to the limited acting abilities of the very young dancers. Worth seeing, but don't expect the Kirov! [Uncoded, for use world-wide on NTSC compatible equipment.] |