"Actor: Anthony Dowell"

• La Bayadere | DVD | (02/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The ballet is set in legendary India. Solar the noblest and braviest warrior of the land returns with his comrades from hunting the tiger. On the pretext that he wants to pray at the holy fire he asks his friends to leave him on his own. In reality however he hopes to meet his secret lover the Bayadere or temple dancer Nikiya. After they have left Solor calls the fakir Magdayeva whom he wants to help him arrange a secret meeting with Nikiyal they are however interrupted by the arrival of the high Brahman and the priests. The Brahman orders Magdaveya to call the other fakirs and to light the holy fire for the celebrations. The Bayaderes appear and begin their ritual dance. When they have finished their dance Nikiya appears; she has been chosen to be ordained as their leader and is taken to the Brahman who lifts her veil and is overwhelmed by her beauty.

• The Nutcracker | DVD | (23/02/1998) from £14.98   |  Saving you £3.01 (20.09%)   |  RRP £17.99

  If Christmas is an elusive, childhood state of mind, Peter Wright's 1985 Royal Ballet production of The Nutcracker, recorded at Covent Garden, is just the thing to recapture it. The delicately symmetrical choreography of Wright and Lev Ivanov ensures that the stage is constantly filled with the mesmerising enchantment demanded by Tchaikovsky's perennial favourite. The ballet's success will always lie, in part, in its familiarity and its intrinsic status as Christmas entertainment, but the best productions, like Wright's, give equal weight to the dark forces of Hoffmann's original tale, which must be overcome before good and innocence can prevail. Here, the sadness of Drosselmeyer is a potent thread in the ballet, resolved in a moving, well-judged moment as the curtain falls. There is real magic in the dancing, from Julie Rose's charming, constantly involved Clara to the irresistible images of the divertissements. But rightly, the laurels go to Lesley Collier as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Anthony Dowell as the Prince for a pas de deux that seems to hover above the stage without making contact. And, like Wright's production, the splendid sets of Julia Trevelyan Oman--combining traditional Victorian Christmas images, a delicate filigree flower garden and pre-Raphaelite angels--steer the right side of sentimentality. On the DVD: The Nutcracker has no extras on this DVD, although the booklet provides adequate production notes. The 4:3 format also provides adequate picture quality for a mid-1980s television production, although no amount of colour adjustment improves a slightly washed-out look. The sound, Linear PCM Stereo, makes the orchestra sound robust and solid at the occasional expense of subtlety. --Piers Ford

• Prom At The Palace | DVD | (01/07/2002) from £9.59   |  Saving you £10.40 (108.45%)   |  RRP £19.99

  One of the most remarkable things about this recording of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Prom at the Palace--quite apart from the musical goodies on offer--is the opportunity to glimpse inside the royal garden, and see what Her Majesty's principal home looks like from the back. Who would have guessed she had her own lake? Voyeurism aside, director Bob Coles also catches the palpable sense of occasion and excitement that surrounds the concert, with some swooping camera angles and shots of a very chuffed-looking crowd. The music, introduced by Michael Parkinson, is a mix of popular favourites (Zadok the Priest, "Jupiter" from The Planets, Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks) and a few lesser-known items such as Malcolm Arnold's The Nation's Dances. The outdoor acoustic is generally handled pretty well with some sensitive microphone placement, and the soloists all sound wonderful; Angela Gheorghiu stops the show with a passionate account of "Vissi d'Arte" (from Tosca) and 13-year-old clarinettist Julian Bliss gives a remarkably assured performance of Messager's fluffy salon-piece Solo de Concours. Occasionally the BBC Symphony Orchestra loses concentration and plays somewhat scrappily--the accompaniment to Figaro's aria "Largo al Factotum" is not all it should be--but overall this is a fine souvenir of a historic concert. On the DVD: Prom at the Palace has no special features on DVD. The arias in French and Italian are all subtitled in English. All profit from the sale of the DVD will be donated to the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Trust. --Warwick Thomson

• Macmillan Ballet Classics | DVD | (27/10/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan created some of the most popular ballets of the late 20th century drawing inspiration from impassioned and complex relationships from music and from young dancers whose talent he nurtured. This boxed set includes Romeo and Juliet and Manon two of the most frequently performed works in The Royal Ballet''s repertory and Prince of the Pagodas in which the role of Princess Rose was created for the young Darcey Bussell. Romeo And Juliet Prokofiev Since its first performance by The Royal Ballet in 1965 Sir Kenneth MacMillan''s masterpiece Romeo and Juliet has been one of the greatest successes in the repertory winning world-wide acclaim. His powerful and sensual choreography thrillingly captures the passion and agony of Shakespeare''s tragedy alongside Prokofiev''s glorious score. Nicholas Georgiadis'' designs colourfully evoke Renaissance Italy and provide a magnificent setting for the unfolding drama from the splendour of the Capulet ball to the cold bleakness of the vault in the last tragic moments. This classic performance filmed at Covent Garden in 1984 stars Wayne Eagling and Alessandra Ferri as the lovers both of whom convey the intensity of young love. Prince Of The Pagodas Britten Sir Kenneth MacMillan's glorious ballet The Prince of the Pagodas provides a fascinating and magnificent spectacle of classical dance on the grandest scale. Nicholas Georgiadis' enchanting oriental designs complement Britten's only ballet score inspired by the sounds of the gamelan establishing a fairy tale ambience. This production by The Royal Ballet filmed at Covent Garden in 1990 stars Darcey Bussell in dazzling form as Princess Rose and Jonathan Cope as the Prince. This is the role that launched Darcey Bussell''s career. Accompanying The Prince of the Pagodas is Out Of Line a documentary portrait of Kenneth MacMillan with extracts from many of his ballets including The Burrow Romeo And Juliet Gloria Manon and The Prince Of The Pagodas. Manon Music of Massenet orch. Lucas Kenneth MacMillan''s tragic lyric ballet is a moving tale of corrupted innocence in early 18th Century Paris in which the lovely Manon finds both happiness and grief at the hands of men who love and abuse her. Manon is one of MacMillan''s best-loved ballets and this acclaimed 1982 performance from The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden stars Jennifer Penney as Manon and Anthony Dowell as Des Grieux with David Wall as Lescaut.

• Cinderella | DVD | (22/04/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Choreographer Frederick Ashton's 1964 version of Sergei Prokofiev's ever popular ballet Cinderella. Conducted by John Lanchbery and directed for television by John Vernon.

• Marguerite Et Armand - Sylvie Guillem | DVD | (24/05/2004) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-5.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  This film by Francoise Ha Van captures the tremendous performance of this ballet by the great ballerina Sylvie Guillem as the heroine and the magnetic Nicolas Le Riche as her young lover. The first part is a studio film of the performance. The second part follows rehearsals and gives a facinating insight into the way that Guillem and Le Riche work together in their rewarding relationship. Guillem and Le Riche give powerful yet tender performances as the passionate lovers.

• The Sleeping Beauty | DVD | (21/01/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £27.99

  The Royal Ballet performs a spellbinding version of the classic fairy tale about a handsome prince who awakens an enchanted princess with a kiss.

• Highlights From The Royal Ballet | DVD | (12/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  This DVD features a selection of stunning performances from one of the world's leading ballet companies. Extracts from four of The Royal Ballet's most popular works are featured here including Tchaikovsky's magical ballet The Nutcracker and the delightful comedy La Fille Mal Garde choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton. There are also highlights from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and from Manon two ballets choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan who created so many powerful works

• The Passage | DVD | (12/07/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Director J. Lee Thompson directed this World War II adventure drama from a script by author Bruce Nicolaysen who adapted the screenplay from his novel The Perilous Passage. Anthony Quinn stars as a brave Basque mountaineer who is hired by the American military to guide Professor Bergsson (James Mason) and his family over the dangerous Pyrenees.