Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird - Blu-ray Digipack

Blu-ray released by Euroarts in 2015, 53 minutes.

The Firebird is a ballet and orchestral concert work first performed at the Opéra de Paris on 25 June 1910, written for the Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company. During this period, composer Igor Stravinsky was still relatively unknown and in the early stages of his career. The ballet's triumph marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between the two and The Firebird catapulted Igor Stravinsky to international fame. Although designed as a work for the stage, with specific passages accompanying characters and action, the music has achieved equal, if not greater recognition, as a concert piece.

The Firebird  is an exciting one-hour dance special based on the mystical Russian folk tale of enchantment and love, and is set to Stravinsky's fantastical ballet score. This adaption of James Kudelka's masterpiece for the stage, combines classical ballet with magical visual effects. Kudelka's choreography is by turns elegant, virtuosic but always passionate and musically evocative. The Firebird features the top dancers from the internationally renowned National Ballet of Canada and the soloists, including the great Greta Hodgkinson (nominated for the Prix Benois de la Danse in 2000) in the title role, Aleksandar Antonijevic as Prince Ivan, Rebekah Rimsay as Princess Vasilisa, and the unforgettable Rex Harrington as Kastchei the Demon. Music performed by The Kirov Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev. Packed in a luxury digipak.