BALANCHINE, G.: Walpurgisnacht Ballet / Sonatine / La Valse / Symphony in C [Ballets] (New York City Ballet, 2016)
Walpurgisnacht Ballet
Composer: Gounod, Charles-Francois
Ballet Company: New York City Ballet
Choreographer: Balanchine, George
Orchestra: Orchestre Promethee
Conductor: Capps, Daniel
Television Director: Bataillon, Vincent
Lighting Designer: Stanley, Mark
Costumer Designer: Karinska, Barbara
Sonatine
Composer: Ravel, Maurice
Ballet Company: New York City Ballet
Choreographer: Balanchine, George
Orchestra: Orchestre Promethee
Conductor: Capps, Daniel
Television Director: Bataillon, Vincent
Lighting Designer: Stanley, Mark
La valse
Composer: Ravel, Maurice
Ballet Company: Balanchine, George
Choreographer: Balanchine, George
Orchestra: Orchestre Promethee
Conductor: Capps, Daniel
Television Director: Bataillon, Vincent
Lighting Designer: Stanley, Mark
Costumer Designer: Karinska, Barbara
Symphony in C Major
Composer: Bizet, Georges
Ballet Company: New York City Ballet
Choreographer: Balanchine, George
Orchestra: Orchestre Promethee
Conductor: Capps, Daniel
Television Director: Bataillon, Vincent
Lighting Designer: Stanley, Mark
Costumer Designer: Happel, Marc
Date of Production: 07-2016
Venue: Theatre du Chatelet, Paris
Playing Time: 01:41:20
Catalogue Number: BAC139
UPC: 3760115301399
The New York City Ballet, with its collection of extraordinary dancers and its unique repertoire, is one of the most prestigious dance companies in the world. This exceptional production, performed in Paris after eight years of absence, revolves around three great French composers who inspired NYCB founder George Balanchine: Charles Gounod, Maurice Ravel and Georges Bizet.
The four ballets performed, choreographed from 1925 to 1980, perfectly encapsulate Balanchine's genius and his very own neo-classical style. They also provide a particular insight on the bonds that tied Balanchine to France. What is known today as Walpurgisnacht Ballet was a ballet choreographed for the opera Faust (Charles Gounod) at the Paris Opera in 1975. It premiered as an independant piece in New York in 1980. Sonatine, set to a music by Maurice Ravel, was created by two New York City Ballet French principals, the recently departed Violette Verdy and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. La valse was originally composed by Maurice Ravel for the Ballets Russes and Serge Diaghilev, then exiled in France, shortly before Balanchine entered the company. Symphony in C (Georges Bizet), better known as Le Palais de Cristal, premiered at the Paris Opera.
