Mendelssohn;Felix a Midsummer [Blu-ray] [Import]

George Balanchine is remembered most for his one-act, abstract, storyless ballets and is thought to have shunned the full-evening ballets that tell a story. Yet his version of "The Nutcracker" is an annual Christmas money-maker for the ballet company Balanchine helped found (the New York City Ballet) and that company's summer season often closes with his other great story ballet, "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Indeed, the two ballets in many ways seem to be stamped from the same cookie cutter. Both dispose of their drama in the first act and use the second act to dazzle the audience with some splendid divertissements; both ignore the sacred roots of the Christian "feast days" they were created around (the Nativity of our Lord for "The Nutcracker" and the Nativity of St. John the Baptist for "A Midsummer Night's Dream"); and both are littered with ample roles for the School of American Ballet's many child dancers (in "Nutcracker" they are cast as greedy, mutually teasing, parent-manipulated brats romping around the Christmas tree; in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" they are charming, almost camp, butterflies and fairies...though one page does get caught in a custody battle between Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies.)

If Balanchine resented choreographing these two story ballets, he hid his resentment well. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is for me the better ballet. The children are well-integrated into what is certainly an adult storyline of sexual jealousy and comical mishaps. And the Pacific Northwest Ballet under the artistic direction of Francia Russell have done Mr. B. proud. Martin Pakledinaz's costumes rival those of Karinska (would it be sacrilege to admit I actually prefer his over hers?) and his set design, with it's oversized frogs and flower blossoms, playfully dwarfs the dancers, reminding us that most of the characters on stage are actually miniature fairyland creatures. The dancers all perform beautifully, with Seth Belliston's Puck stealing the show. My favorite part of the ballet has always been the subplot of the four young lovers: Helena, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius. They are virtually interchangeable; this is signaled by their costumes--one pair wears blue on red, the other red on blue. Due to Puck's inept intervention, the lovers' interests switch with lightning speed. It is truly amusing to watch this amorous tempest in a teapot play out. (My reason for giving this wonderful ballet video 4 stars instead of 5 is that I felt the filming of this pas de quatre spoiled the energy of this scene. When all four dancers are on stage, you really need to see what each one is doing to appreciate all the subtleties of the dance. The emphasis on close-ups and medium close-ups seemed to defuse the dramatic and comic tension that Balanchine so artfully created. But this is not the fault of the dancers--Lisa Apple, Julie Tobiason, Ross Yearsley, and Jeffrey Stanton give it everything they've got.) Children will enjoy seeing Titania fall in love with Bottom who has been given a donkey's head and who finds himself unable to completely return her love because of his new found love of sweet grasses.

The second act dancing is beautiful, but courtly and staid. The music draws from a number of works by Felix Mendelssohn, not just from the title work. The vocal pieces sung by Libby Crabtree and Judith Harris were especially nice. the DVD has no extras, but the 12-page color booklet is crammed with interesting information.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, with music by Felix Mendelssohn, is George Balanchine's story-ballet masterpiece based on Shakespeare's play. The Pacific Northwest Ballet's full-length production was performed and videotaped before a live audience at London's Sadler's Wells Theatre in February 1999. Critics lavishly praised this outstanding presentation. PNB artistic directors Francia Russell and Kent Stowell have trained and coached their dancers to a very high level of artistic excellence. The corps de ballet exhibits technical prowess, evident in every dance sequence. The women in the corps de ballet do pas de bourrée courus, pirouettes, and various poses all in perfect unison. The ensemble dancing is precise and seamless. What you will not see in this ballet are manèges of coupé-jeté turns, grands pirouettes, or multiple tours en l'air. Balanchine does not have his ballerinas do excessive fouettés rond de jambe en tournant. He is reported to have said that two or three revolutions in succession were enough (after that, he notes, the audience starts counting). His choreography calls for dancers to perform subtle moves and changes in direction. His is a lyrical ballet, not one of brute force and athletic bravura. As you view this ballet, take note of the well-mannered, courteous audience. British audiences are not clap-happy compared to American audiences that constantly interrupt the music with unnecessary, inappropriate, and annoying applause (or frenzied screaming and whistling). (I think many balletgoers confuse ballet with figure skating competitions.) This audience applauds only after the music has stopped, allowing us to experience the emotional impact of ballet by witnessing bodily movement with the accompaniment of music.

Principal ballerina, Patricia Barker as Titania, shows why ballet audiences and critics alike so highly regard her. Every step she executes and every pose she takes are done with ease and grace. Her deep arabesques- and attitudes-penchées exude elegance. Paul Gibson (Oberon) glides across the stage, turns suavely, and does some very nice batterie, while Charles Newton (Titania's Cavalier) shows that he too can move with agility and finesse. Hippolyta (Ariana Lallone) does a variety of jetés (three very fine grands jetés in a row that punctuate a sequence of turns, steps, and postures) and her fouettés rond de jambe en tournant are as good as you will ever see. The crowd pleaser, however, is Seth Belliston (Puck). His expressive miming and his movements all over the stage dazzle: He runs; he jumps; he spins with esprit and verve. Act II, a divertissement, features Louise Nadeau and Olivier Wevers in a pas de deux so sensuous it's impossible not to be filled with joy with their passion provoking dancing. Ms. Nadeau displays perfect line and musicality. Mr. Wevers lifts her effortlessly. Notice how adept he is as a Cavalier as he lowers her on pointe to the stage floor with delicate control. His turns and leaps are clean and sharp. Lisa Apple, Julie Tobiason, Ross Yearsley, and Jeffrey Stanton (the two sets of lovers) and Kaori Nakamura (Butterfly) turn in solid performances. Timothy Lynch (Bottom) makes a fine "ass."

The BBC Concert Orchestra, under the direction of Stewart Kershaw, gives a polished and sonorous performance of Mendelssohn's Overture and Incidental Music To A Midsummer Night's Dream (augmented with other compositions of his). Three vocal accompaniments, liltingly sung by soprano Libby Crabtree, mezzo-soprano Judith Harris, and a small chorus include: 1) the Fairies Song (No. 3, Op. 61) set to Shakespeare's Fairies Song (Act II, Scene 2); 2) an excerpt from Mendelssohn's The First Walpurgis Night for voices and orchestra (Op. 60); and 3) the Finale (No. 13, Op. 61) with portions of Oberon's and Titania's speeches at the end of Scene 1, Act V. (The booklet included with the DVD does not provide the texts of the vocals.) This is a "must-have" DVD.

I have a whopping pile of ballet DVDS's but this one is special! It's the only one that my sadly orphaned Toshiba HD player has to play. For that reason alone, the disk is worth what it cost me. However, it's pressed in Blue-Ray format too, so you don't have to be on the "should'a waited" losers list like I am.
As far as discussing the actual ballet, the other two reviews are far more informed re ballet matters than I am. Read them! I agree totally with both. This is a stunning visual rendition of this very entertaining ballet! I especially appreciated the myriad of talented youngsters who are so obviously having the time of their lives. (I bet their mom's and dad's were beaming with joy at what their kids were up to - I sure was!)
There is one factor in reviewing a DVD that is often neglected by most reviewers, especially us amateur ones. The viewing medium. The size and type of TV, the audio system used and the environment they reside in largely determine the ultimate overall effect the DVD provides. A production viewed on a 20 inch TV with the audio assigned to its tiny internal speakers isn't in the same universe as the same thing piped through a 50 or 60 inch HD unit with a quality Home Theatre sound system. And the ambient light situation in the viewing area can have a significant effect on the "final product" ie - the picture.
So, to practice what I preach, I view my ballets in a dedicated little theater room with a 6.1 sound system (6 speakers and one sub-woofer) and through a 50 inch HD plasma tv.
So, when I rave about the incredible sound and video quality of a particular ballet, (this one, for instance) you may not be much the wiser if you don't have access to a similar system. As long as you kind of know what you're getting, you won't be disappointed. Mind you, a lousy production of a ballet, or anything - is just as lousy on a large system as on a small one - sometimes even worse!