Galina Ulanova in The Bolshoi Ballet
VAI DVD 4426, $34.95

Paul Czinner’s acclaimed 1956 filming of the Bolshoi Ballet’s first-ever tour of Great Britain, which preserves two complete programs: a Bolshoi Highlights Program featuring Raissa Struchkova in the Walpurgisnacht from Gounod’s Faust, and Galina Ulanova in The Dying Swan; and a thrilling performance of Giselle with Ulanova and Nikolai Fadeyechev. Also included in the Highlights Program is the celebrated Spring Water ballet, set to music by Rachmaninoff and danced with dazzling virtuosity by the outstanding members of the Bolshoi troupe. The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are under the direction of Gennadi Rozhdestvensky and Yuri Faier. Color, mono, 95 minutes.

CHAPTER SELECTION:

1. Opening Credits

2. Dance of the Tartars from The Fountain of Bakhchsarai (2:40)
Music by B. Asafiev
Choreography by R. Zakharov
Conductor: G. Rozhdestvensky
Cast: M. Borisov, A. Kramarevsky, S. Yagudin
and Members of the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet

3. Spanish Dance from Swan Lake (1:53)
Music by P. Tchaikovsky
Choreography by A. Gorsky
Conductor: G. Rozhdestvensky
Cast: S Zvyagina, A. Nersesova, Y. Sekh, G. Sitnikov

4. Spring Water (2:09)
Music by S. Rachmaninoff
Choreography by Asaf Messerer
Conductor: Yuri Faier
Cast: L. Bogomolova, S. Vlasova

5. Polonaise and Cracovienne from Ivan Susanin (5:27)
Music by M. Glinka
Choreography by R. Zakharov,
Cast: Y. Sangovich, S. Zvyagina, M. Kolpakchi, V. Petrova,
A. Radunsky, V. Levashev, K. Rikhter
and 24 Artists of the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet
Conductor: Yuri Faier

6. Walpurgisnacht from Faust (17:16)
Music by C. Gounod
Choreography by L. Lavrovsky
Conductor: Yuri Faier
Cast: R. Struchkova, A. Lapauri, G. Farmanyants, A. Trushkin,
T. Vetrova, M. Gotlieb, Z. Korotaeva
and artists of the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet

7. The Dying Swan (3:49)
Music by C. Saint-Saëns
Choreography by M. Fokine
Cast: Galina Ulanova
Conductor: Yuri Faier

Giselle (slightly abridged)
Music by A. Adam
Libretto by T. Gautier, B. Saint George, and J. Coralli
Choreography and Screen Version by L. Lavrovsky,
after J. Coralli, J. Perrot, and M. Petipa
8. – 9. ACT I (29:37) • ACT II (30:47)
Cast:
Giselle: Galina Ulanova
Count Albrecht: Nikolai Fadeyechev
Bertha, Giselle’s Mother: Taisia Monakhova
Duke: Alexander Radunsky
Albert’s Esquire: Erik Volodin
Bathilde, Albert’s Fiancée: Irina Makedonskaya
Forester: Vladimir Levashev
Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis: Rimma Karelskaya
Two Wilis: N. Fetisova, N. Chistova
Giselle’s Friends: V. Mitrayaeva, Z. Korotaeva, N. Taborko, M. Smirnova,
L. Ivanova, L. Litavkina
Pas de deux: L. Bogomolova, G. Yevdokimow
and artists of the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet
Conductor: Yuri Faier