"Actor: The Bolshoi Ballet"

• Spartacus - The Bolshoi Ballet | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The awesome technique and strength of the Bolshoi Ballet is shown to great effect in Yuri Grigorvich's legendary Spartacus the epic story of a Thracian slave's fight for freedom. Grigorvich's choreography fills the huge Bolshoi stage with dynamic scenes of tension and conflict. This 1984 performance was directed for video by Preben Montell and stars two of the greatest artists of the Bolshoi Ballet of recent years. Irek Mukhamedov brings his stunning technique to the role of Spartacus and Natalya Bessmertnova gives a deeply moving performance as his wife Phrygia.

• The Stone Flower - Prokofiev | DVD | (03/10/2005) from £5.29   |  Saving you £10.96 (271.96%)   |  RRP £14.99

  First performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1954 this ballet draws on the rich heritage of Russian folklore to tell the tale of the young stonemason Danila who must choose between his village sweetheart Katerina and a magical temptress. It is based on fairy tales from the Urals collected by Pavel Bazhov and set in the middle of the 19th century.In Stone Flower you can feel Prokofiev's resignation after the hard struggle with the political situation but nevertheless he hasn't lost his brilliance and the music of his last ballet still is full of catchy tunes and joyousness.However with the completion of his composition it took four years before it received its premiere in Moscow and was not a great success at all. It was only three years later with the choreography of Yuri Grigorovich that Prokofiev's Stone Flower finally come to a glorious resurrection. The young choreographer simplified the story and focussed on nothing but the dance. The ballet became his first major success. The presented version shows a reproduction of this choreography from 1957 which has become immortal.

• Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (Fayer) | DVD | (24/09/2007) from £20.35   |  Saving you £-1.36 (-7.20%)   |  RRP £18.99

  Swan Lake tells the timeless tale of redemption through love. It is probably the best known of all the classical ballets and for the prima ballerina who dances the dual role of Odette and Odile the supreme test of the dancer's craft.Maya Plisetskaya's melting lyricism and superlative technique make her one of the greatest exponents of the dual role since the ballet's first introduction over a century ago. Tchaikovsky's score the first in his triumvirate of great battles is the perfect complement to the imaginative choreography that sets Swan Lake apart from anything that had preceded or followed it. This production filmed live at the Bolshoi Theatre captures a great ballerina in her prime in an eternal classic.

• Les Sylphides / Soloists Classique | DVD | (27/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £28.99

  Les Sylphides: A performance of the ballet by the Bolshoi Ballet Company with choreography by Mikhael Fokine. Soloists: Two celebrated stars of the Bolshoi Timofeyeva and Lavrosky perform in a series of ballet shorts including: 'The Dying Swan' 'Adabio' and 'Pas De Deux Classique'.

• Bizet-Shchedrin - Carmen Suite Ballet | DVD | (03/01/2005) from £21.59   |  Saving you £1.40 (6.48%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Carmen was first set as a ballet by the famed Russian choreographer Petipa in 1845. It was based on the Merimee novella and premiered in Madrid some thirty years before Bizet's opera was first heard. Subsequent versions followed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries some using and some discarding Bizet's music. In 1949 Roland Petit created a successful vehicle for himself and his wife Zizi Jeanmaire using the Bizet score.Maya Plisetskaya always dreamed of dancing the role of Carmen and had approached Shostakovich for a score. He demurred out of respect for Bizet's celebrated opera. It was eventually Plisetskaya's husband Rodion Shchedrin who agreed to provide the music after seeing his wife and the choreographer Alberto Alonso working on some choreographic ideas. His Carmen Suite ballet based on Bizet and scored only for strings and percussion instruments was a perfect complement to Alonso's choreography and in its theatricality a showcase for Plisetskaya's considerable dramatic gifts. Shchedrin's Carmen Suite one of the darkest settings of Merimee's tragic story deeply symbolic and overtly sensual premiered at the Bolshoi Ballet on April 20 1967.

• Bolshoi Ballet '67 | DVD | (27/01/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

• Sleeping Beauty - Tchaikovsky | DVD | (01/08/2005) from £20.23   |  Saving you £-5.24 (-35.00%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Ballet in Three Acts and a Prologue.

• The Glory Of The Bolshoi | DVD | (02/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The Glory of the Bolshoi is a feature-length anthology of rare archive films showcasing the Bolshoi Ballet's greatest dancers and some very fine performances. Spanning almost a century, there are 19 selections, either complete dances or extracts. There is no commentary or documentary content, simply a succession of great ballet. Everything here is a highlight, from a pas de deux by Ekaterina Geltzer and Vasili Tikhomirov to music by Schubert which dates, extraordinarily, from 1913, through to a series of chapters showing the development of Ekaterina Maximova and Vladimir Vasiliev, including their debut together at the age of 13. At 20 minutes the longest sequence is also different to anything else on the DVD, offering the opportunity to contrast two performances of Khachaturian's Spartacus, from 1968 with Vasiliev, and from 1984 with Natalia Bessmertnova as Phrygia. Apart from this sequence a chronological presentation of the material would surely have made more sense than the apparently random order of much of the disc, but otherwise this is a superb compilation of great historic value. A companion title, The Glory of the Kirov is also available. On the DVD: The Glory of the Bolshoi plays for 90 minutes, with almost exactly half the material in colour. While inevitably of variable quality, the 4:3 ratio picture is overall of a very high standard. The sound varies between mono and stereo and, apart from unavoidable patches of distortion, is more than acceptable. There is a Web link and booklet notes, but no special features--a disappointment on an excellent programme crying out for a commentary track to place everything in context. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Adam: Giselle - Bolshoi Ballet | DVD | (03/03/2003) from £14.98   |  Saving you £10.01 (66.82%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Adam: Giselle

• Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake | DVD | (20/02/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake - a ballet in 4 acts.

• Nina Ananiashvili & International Stars Vol. 1 | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  In 1991 a troupe of international ballet stars headed by the brilliant young Russian ballerina Nina Ananiashvili visited Japan presenting a program which underscored the considerable talents of a new generation of virtuoso dancers. Fortunately for ballet fans the performance was videotaped preserving an extraordinary demonstration of balletic wizardry.At the centre of all the excitement was Miss Ananiashvili herself demonstrating an exuberance and impetuosity coupled to a technique that can only be described as breathtaking. In these excerpts from the 1991 program her art can be viewed from a variety of perspectives: As the young girl in Le Spectre de la Rose she embodies the first stirrings of adolescent desire; in the Grand pas de deux from The Sleeping Beauty she reigns as the quintessential Prima Ballerina Assoluta; the more modern vocabulary of Moods brings a deep sensuality to her dancing while the extended Grand pas from Don Quixote shows off Ananiashvili's awesome virtuosity.

• Giselle | DVD | (19/05/2003) from £11.10   |  Saving you £20.89 (188.20%)   |  RRP £31.99

  A production of 'Giselle' the romantic tale of innocent love and betrayal as performed by the acclaimed Bolshoi ballet company. Soloists include N. Bessmertnova M. Lavorovski and G. Kozlova.

• Stars Of The Bolshoi Ballet perform Swan Lake | DVD | (19/05/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Enjoy a full length performance of the world's favourite ballet performed by stars of the Bolshoi Ballet and the Kirov Ballet of St Petersburg. Set to the celbrated music of Tchaikovsky this enduring love story tells the tale of Prince Siegfried who falls in love with the enchanted swan princess Odette. Condemned by the evil sorcerer Von Rothbart the curse can be broken only by true love which would also destroy the evil magician. With the Grand Corps De Ballet from the Company of the National Ballet of St Petersburg dancing to the choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov.

• Shchedrin - Anna Karenina | DVD | (24/09/2003) from £9.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (130.13%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Shchedrin - Anna Karenina

• The Stone Flower - Prokofieff/Bolshoi Ballet | DVD | (18/06/2007) from £21.45   |  Saving you £1.54 (7.18%)   |  RRP £22.99

• Milada - Bolshoi Opera | DVD | (01/01/1993) from £12.93   |  Saving you £6.32 (54.16%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Rimsky-Korsakov s fantasy opera-ballet with its tale of the early Slavs prior to Christian conversion could be described as a ballet with a vocal score equally well as an opera with dancing. This acclaimed production from the Bolshoi by Boris Pokrovsky was filmed in 1992. The choreography is by Andrei Petrov who has created an amazing variety of ritual dances. The colourful blend of dance and music is a reminder of the Diaghilev ballets in which Rimsky-Korsakov s music played such a

• Bolshoi Ballet - Les Sylphides | DVD | (22/06/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Russian Choreographer Michael Fokine took the timeless music of Frederic Chopin and created Les Sylphides (originally named Chopiniana), which celebrates the lyrical and poetic qualities of Romantic Ballet Blanc to express the sublime nature of dance. Starring ballerinas Natalia Bessmertnova, Alexandre Beogatyriov, Galina Kozlova and Irina Kholina, choreographed by Michael Fokine, and orchestrated by Alexander Glazounov, this film not only immortalized the Bolshoi Ballet, but also entrances...

• Prokofiev - Romeo And Juliet | DVD | (26/07/2007) from £21.59   |  Saving you £1.40 (6.48%)   |  RRP £22.99

• Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake | DVD | (26/07/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

• Cinderella | DVD | (19/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £31.99

  A production of 'Cinderella' by the famed Bolshoi ballet company. Soloists include G. Komleva M. Daoukaev L. Galinskaja and M Koul.