Tchaikovsky - The Sleeping Beauty / Fonteyn, Somes, Ashton, Grey, Sadler's Wells Ballet

This '50s black & white TV production of Sleeping Beauty is certainly flawed by today's standards, with some blurring around the edges, but except for that the center stage is in clear focus and the camera is mainly trained on the two lead dancers Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes. Except for the short ballet film Royal Ballet by Paul Czinner (available on VHS, or as part of a 2-DVD set with the BBC-TV biopic Margot), this is one of the rare filmed accounts available of Fonteyn from the 1950s pre-Nureyev, and is a very worthwhile addition to your ballet film library. She embodies the young & beautiful Aurora with girlish innocence, still herself in youthful bloom, the figure rounder and less muscled than in later years, with larger yet shapely thighs. The camera's occasional zoom-in "cut" shots are mainly of her, which rather than an annoyance is quite welcome if you are a Fonteyn fan - closeups of the perfect enpointe footwork, or the lovely expressive face which as always acts out the character's varying emotions so well. Michael Somes is handsome enough, his Prince a reserved romantic part that had not yet been expanded for the male lead, which was later done by Nureyev's stagings. The costumes are rather heavy and Edwardian for this romantic ballet, Fonteyn wearing a wide fan-shaped crown, and Somes in incongruous loose thigh-high suede boots for the first act. But to me, a record of Margot Fonteyn's Sleeping Beauty in her prime years is a priceless treasure, as I thought she was the greatest ballerina, having seen her just one time in her later years in Marguerite & Armand with Nureyev, when even then she lit up the stage at the Met in NYC and brought the house down.

The first time I viewed this DVD I had trouble with the dimly preserved image. I'm glad that I gave it another chance, because I now realize what a magnificent, museum quality performance it is. This is one of Fonteyn's most splendid roles. Technically dazzling, she does something special with a part that is pretty difficult to work with. Her technique is beyond reproach, her personal beauty and charm make this (for me) the greatest Sleeping Beauty, and one of the most impressive performances I've ever seen. She's the perfect, archetypal Aurora.No wonder New York fell in love with her in 1949 when she made her debut there, dancing Aurora with such magnetism that the audience went berserk.Also on this DVD is the rare opportunity to see Alexander Grant, considered to be the best male dancer produced by Great Britain. He's one of the Three Ivans, the character dancers that appear at Aurora's wedding. His power, charisma and prowess are mind boggling. He also appears in the same role on the DVD An Evening with the Royal Ballet. But in that performance the Three Ivans dance to different music (I think from Nutcracker), the choreography is less impressive, and the camera work is extremely irritating.While this DVD could use the loving restoration that some get from Criterion for example, we're fortunate to have this at all. There is another fantastic DVD with Fonteyn and Grant that is available in Great Britain (and cheap!) at the moment, but not in North America yet. It's called The Royal Ballet, a film made by the visionary Paul Czinner. On it is Act II of Swan Lake with a Fonteyn so beautiful that just watching her is a transcendental experience. Also her Firebird (not really a great part for her even though she was coached by Karsavina, the original Firebird) and Ondine, written for her by Frederick Ashton. Alexander Grant appears in Ondine as the Sea King. VAI is trying to get the distribution rights for this monumental document of great dancing.Highly recommended for Fonteyn's magnificent and quintessential Aurora, and for the opportunity to see Alexander Grant's Ivan.

In spite of what other people may think, in my oppinion, this is a very good dvd.It is very old,andtechnology wansn't then what it is now.Leaving that apart, where else can you see Margot Fonteyn dancing her most famous role?.Nobody has equal let alone surpass her in that role.Forget the technology and concentrate in the beauty of her dancing.

The DVD was safely packaged and arrived safely. I thank you for my purchase.

My partner and I purchased this DVD because she was curious about Margot Fonteyn's dancing. We understood that this performance had been produced for television and were prepared for modifications for that medium. What we weren't prepared for was the disgracefully blurred camera work that predominates throughout the entire performance. Only a few solo performances seem to be in focus -- the rest of the performance is extremely difficult to watch. The trick photography introduced into the scene where the Lilac Fairy leads the Prince to the sleeping castle is also annoying. We paid over thirty dollars for this DVD, and it is very disappointing.

I have no disagreement with Ms. Lin's thoughtful review, but would add that not only is this important document in black-and-white, but both video and audio are seriously degraded; it can be quite painful to try to watch. You would certainly not want to have this as your only version of Sleeping Beauty.

Look past the poor audio because this is wonderful to see this quality of ballet. Margot Fonteyne displays why she had her reputation as a Prima ballerina since her movements are so precise and are in exact time with the music You can sense the presence of Ashton (Sir Fred) directing the filming which is showing what the choreographer wants. The standard of dancing from all the cast is very high and it is good to see people on this film (Dame Beryl Grey, and Rowena Jackson) that I have only heard about from dancers who knew and admired them. What a wonderful actor Ashton was and it is a treat to see his original choreography danced without short cuts that are so common today in many of the movements. I thoroughly recommend this to anyone who loves ballet since they will be rewarded with dancing of the highest standard.

I bought this DVD largely because I love Fonteyne's dancing and this film is one of the earliest available, made in 1955 (well before she met Nureyev in the early 1960s). Indeed, she was still at the height of her partnership with Michael Somes and this must have been a fabulous performance to witness. Comments from people whom I know who saw her live on stage at the Edinburgh Festival around this time indicate that she was quite simply different in her style and technique from any other dancer on the stage.This film is from a telecast on December 12, 1955 by the television company NBC. Sadly the company who made the DVD did not seem to have access to the original film which was in colour; instead we are presented with a black and white version and I wonder if it was a recording of a television broadcast from some time in the 60s or 70s. Certainly wherever this version of the film came from, it is a little disappointing in quality; quite clearly the tape from which the DVD was made had been well loved to say the least, and some of the picture is difficult to see clearly. In addition the sound quality is not always good - but if the original film has indeed been lost we are very fortunate to have even this much. Fonteyne was famed for her role as Princess Aurora, especially for the style in which she makes her entry to the stage with her arms curved round her head. She was the first ballerina to do this and since then every ballerina has copied her style in the Rose Adagio. Seeing Fonteyne herself in the role is wonderfully exciting and very special.Despite the shortcomings of the DVD (which includes no historical information other than a cast list and dance programme, and no special features) this is a terrific performance to watch. Dame Beryl Grey is a wonderful Lilac Fairy and Michael Somes was perhaps the best Prince Florimund of his day. And we get to see Sir Frederick Ashton in a rare cameo as Carabosse, the wicked fairy. He indeed choreographed the ballet and although some of his choreography is a little jerky and unflattering to the dancers this is very much a traditional Sleeping Beauty. Despite the occasional untidy dancing of the Corps de Ballet this is still very much a performance which you should see if you are interested in ballet history.It is a pity that we cannot see this performance in colour because the costumes are wonderful. The cats for the Puss in Boots dance have terrific furry masks and the clothing for the court and other dancers is exquisite. Staging is simple and although there are one or two rather gawky moments in TV special effects (for example in the Vision scene when Fonteyne is brought on and off stage) this is really very much TV production of its time and not cutting edge like the fabulous Paul Czinner films.All in all despite the aforementioned shortcomings of film and sound quality, I had a most enjoyable evening watching this DVD.

Was disappointed with the reproduction of this DVD very expensive

Perfetto, adattamento (66 min.) del balletto del 1955, di qui in bianco e nero e audio mono, del tutto normale per l'epoca.Dvd sigillato, in realtà è un dvd-r a layer singolo, masterizzato professionalmente, non il tipico dvd commerciale a due strati - comunque perfettamente riproducibile e sufficiente per il contenuto di cui sopra.

Ich liebe Margot Fonteyn und freue mich, endlich diesen Klassiker auf DVD zuhause zu haben. :-D Interessant für alle die Ballett im Retrostil lieben.