{"product_id":"ashton-celebration-1","title":"Ashton Celebration","description":"\u003ca class=\"links\" href=\"album.jsp?album_id=1014478\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAlso available on Blu-ray\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  La Valse\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Hikaru Kobayashi\u003cbr\u003e  Ryoichi Hirano\u003cbr\u003e  Samantha Raine\u003cbr\u003e  Bennet Gartside\u003cbr\u003e  Helen Crawford\u003cbr\u003e  Brian Maloney\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Music:\u003cbr\u003e  Maurice Ravel: La Valse \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Meditation from Thaïs \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Leanne Benjamin\u003cbr\u003e  Valeri Hristov\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Music:\u003cbr\u003e  Jules Massenet: Thaïs, Act II: Meditation \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Voices of Spring \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Yuhui Choe\u003cbr\u003e  Alexander Campbell \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Music:\u003cbr\u003e  Johann Strauss: Fruhlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring), Op. 410 \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Monotones I and II \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Emma Maguire\u003cbr\u003e  Akane Takada\u003cbr\u003e  Dawid Trzensimiech\u003cbr\u003e  Marianela Nuñez\u003cbr\u003e  Federico Bonelli\u003cbr\u003e  Edward Watson\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Music:\u003cbr\u003e  Erik Satie: Gnoissienes and Gymnopedies \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Marguerite and Armand \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Tamara Rojo\u003cbr\u003e  Christopher Saunders\u003cbr\u003e  Sergei Polunin\u003cbr\u003e  Gary Avis\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Music: Franz Liszt: Piano Sonata in B Minor, S178\/R21 \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  The Royal Ballet\u003cbr\u003e  Royal Opera House Orchestra\u003cbr\u003e  Emmanuel Plasson, conductor\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Frederick Ashton, choreographer \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, February 2013 \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Bonus:\u003cbr\u003e  - Introduction to Voices of Spring, Meditation, Monotones and The Ashton Foundation \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  --- \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e  Picture format: NTSC 16:9\u003cbr\u003e  Sound format: LPCM 2.0 \/ DTS 5.1\u003cbr\u003e  Region code: 0 (worldwide)\u003cbr\u003e  Subtitles: English\u003cbr\u003e  Running time: 97 mins\u003cbr\u003e  No. of DVDs: 1\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003eR E V I E W: \u003ctitle\u003e3744390.zz6_Introduction_Frederick_Ashton.html\u003c\/title\u003e   \u003cmeta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eASHTON CELEBRATION \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"EXTRAS12\"\u003e\u0026amp; \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Emmanuel Plasson, cond; Royal Op O; Hikaru Kobayashi\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Ryoichi Hirano\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Samantha Raine\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Bennet Gartside\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Leanne Benjamin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Valweri Hristov\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Yuhui Choe\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e3\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Alexander Campbell\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e3\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Emma Maguire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Akane Takada\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Dawid Trzensimiech\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Marianela Nuñez\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Nehemiah Kish\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Edward Watson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Tamara Rojo\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e5\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e, Sergei Polunin\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e5\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e (dancers) \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"BULLET12\"\u003e • \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e OPUS ARTE 1116 (DVD: 84:00 + 15:00) Live: London 2\/21\/2013 \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eRAVEL \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e1\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eLa Valse. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eMASSENET \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e2\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003e “Méditation” from Thäis. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eJ. STRAUSS II \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e3\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eVoices of Spring. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eSATIE \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e4\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eMonotones \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12b\"\u003eI and II. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"COMPOSER12\"\u003eLISZT \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"SUPER12\"\u003e5\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12bi\"\u003eMarguerite and Armand \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"EXTRAS12\"\u003e\u0026amp; \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"EXTRAS12\"\u003e\u0026amp;\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ARIAL12\"\u003e Introduction to Frederick Ashton \u0026amp; the ballets (15:00) \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOnce again, the Royal Ballet expands our knowledge of Frederick Ashton’s ballets. Few are the viewers familiar with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eLa Valse\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, an ensemble work from 1958. It is not an eye-opener to the extent that \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eLes Patineurs\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e or \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eScènes de Ballet\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e are, but it is a consolidation of his work as a whole. Three demi-soloist pairs lead a large ensemble, with much to-ing and fro-ing, sometimes a bit too wedded to the music, with steps returning as the music to which they were first seen returns. David Vaughan in his \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eFrederick Ashton and his Ballets\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e mentions that Francis Poulenc told the choreographer that he found it the most successful realization of Ravel’s score he had ever seen after the creation at La Scala. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMonotones \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eI and II are far more substantial works to far less substantial music by Erik Satie, but the constraints Ashton placed on himself, evoking a distant planet—in first a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003epas de trois\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e for two women and one man, and then for two men and one woman—leave the audience agape at the ease with which they transcend an exercise in minimalism. Neither trio has any of the bravura displays we tend to associate with a classic \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003epas de trois\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, the key aspect being total control of the body as the dancers appear to be floating in space. All six dancers are attuned to the requirements and hold us spellbound. The two divertissements are already familiar from the Ashton DVD I reviewed in July 2012, but differently cast. Leanne Benjamin is suitably ethereal in the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003e“Méditation” from Thaïs\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e while Yuhui Choe and Alexander Campbell are decidedly cheeky in the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eVoices of Spring\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, without effacing memories of Carlos Acosta’s mugging in the earlier DVD. It is unfortunate that \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMarguerite and Armand\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e fills out the disc. Created in 1963 for Nureyev and the rejuvenated Margot Fonteyn, the choreography is virtually non-existent, though there is more than sufficient opportunity to emote. The Liszt Piano Sonata is now on at least its third orchestration for the Royal Ballet, but neither the music nor the choreography profits from mutual enhancement. As a vehicle for a fading ballerina the work is of limited interest, and Tamara Rojo is far from that status. Those of us old enough to remember the Royal Ballet’s visits to New York can also remember the dread of all those programs ending with \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-style:italic\"\u003eMarguerite and Armand\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, although it did allow us to return home earlier. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe bonus features are noteworthy for informing us of the creation of the Ashton Foundation, which will presumably function in the same manner as the Balanchine Foundation, before too much is lost as the older generation leaves us. We can only hope that this spring’s Ashton Celebration organized by the Sarasota Ballet will give new impulse to preservation of this heritage, with lectures, films, and performances of 11 works (April 30—May 3). And perhaps some of the rarities may be filmed for Ashton’s admirers. \u003c\/span\u003e \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight:bold\"\u003eFANFARE: Joel Kasow \u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Opus Arte","offers":[{"title":"DVD","offer_id":49608072691992,"sku":"809478011163","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/2335523.jpg?v=1777684686","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/ashton-celebration-1","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}