Ballet-lovers also benefit from this re-issue of old classics, for example in a famous Giselle from the American Ballet Theater dating back to 1969. In this 90-minute film, directed by Hugo Niebeling, based on that production, Giselle is danced by Italian Carla Fracci and her male opposite, Albrecht, by the Dane Erik Bruhn.
The result is basically a reconstruction of a stage performance, but with some naturalistic outdoor effects added, and much use made of inter-cut film shots. The problem with it is that the anti-hero Hilarion (Bruce Marks) is an infinitely more sympathetic figure than the clean-cut Albrecht with his disdainful looks and side-parting. Hilarion's death was for me the best dance sequence in the piece -- but true ballet aficionados will no doubt appreciate far more.
The Art of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a 2-DVD set full of material that is both historic and wonderful in its own right. Fischer-Dieskau was the most famous German baritone of his generation, and these discs are offered as a testament to his 45-year long career in both lied and opera -- three hours' worth in all. There are also two ten-minute interviews with Fischer-Dieskau, now 80, one on each DVD. Subtitle languages include Chinese.
There are many rarities here -- extracts from Il Tabarro sung in German and from a black-and-white film of Don Giovanni dating from 1961, much Richard Strauss, and an extract from the 12-tone opera Lear by Aribert Reimann. On the lieder disc there are songs by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Strauss, plus Mahler's complete Kindertotenlieder. This last piece, back-lit and shot in funereal monochrome, is astonishingly atmospheric and the most memorable item of any of this month's releases.
RSS