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.

The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are under the direction of Gennadi Rozhdestvensky and Yuri Faier.

In Dance Magazine, critic Clive Barnes eulogized the artistry documented here: “Everything the Russian critics have written about her is true. The impeccable technique, the expressive body, the intellect, the informed face; yet Ulanova has something criticism could never define, something you might look for in Shakespeare’s sonnets.”

“The greatest performance by an interpretive artist within my experience” – Clive Barnes, Dance Magazine (1998) [on Ulanova’s Giselle as seen documented here]

In 5.1 DTS Surround Sound

First time on DVD

Repertoire:

Dance of the Tartars from The Fountain of Bakhchsarai
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

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

Spring Water
Music by S. Rachmaninoff
Choreography by Asaf Messerer
Conductor: Yuri Faier
Cast: L. Bogomolova, S. Vlasova

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

Walpurgisnacht from Faust
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

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

Giselle (slightly abridged)
Music by A. Adam
Conductor: Yuri Faier
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