For the first time in Blu-ray, Bel Air Classiques present Petipa’s extravaganza, The Pharaoh’s Daughter, in the stunning production by Pierre Lacotte.

This Russian ballet enjoys a special place in history. Premiered in 1862, this grand spectacle, which lasted four hours and featured a cast of 400, was Petipa’s first truly successful ballet and secured his future in St Petersburg, where he went on to become the most influential choreographer of the 19th century.

Until recently, The Pharaoh’s Daughter was also one of Petipa’s lost ballets - it hadn’t been performed since 1928. In 2000 the French choreographer Pierre Lacotte premièred a restored version at the Bolshoi Theatre, after much research into the original, resulting in a shorter - although still sumptuous - extravaganza.

Ballet scenarios don't come much sillier than The Pharaoh's Daughter, which turns on the story of British Egyptologist Lord Wilson who, after a reckless hit of opium, dreams himself back to the time of the pharaohs. Wilson falls in love with Aspicia, the ballet's titular heroine, and when she throws herself into the Nile to avoid being married off to the King of Nubia, Wilson is left to face death by snakebite. Tragedy is averted by the Nile's underwater king who restores Aspicia to Wilson's arms.

Choreographer: Pierre Lacotte after Marius Petipa
Filmed at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow

World premiere recording in HD.

“Whatever doubts are raised by Lacotte's choreography, his designs are deliriously extravagant - and with these, at least, we're guaranteed a taste of the blockbusting opulence that enthralled St Petersburg and Moscow 140 years ago. " - Judith Mackrell, The Guardian

“the gorgeously opulent set was the background for an extended series of virtuosic dances by the principals and the corps de ballet. .. Top of the bill was Svetlana Zakharova in the role of Aspicia, whose technique, poise and beauty confirmed why she is regarded as one of the great modern ballerinas.” - Musicohm.com