Le Corsaire

Adolphe Adam's 1856 ballet—loosely inspired by Lord Byron's 1814 poem—is basically a romantic triangle involving a sultan, a harem girl, and a pirate. Despite enjoying success in its original form, a series of revisions by various composers were begun as early as 1867, and choreographer Kader Belarbi's 2013 production for the Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse continues that tradition with a radically altered new version. In addition to returning to Byron's poem to rework the libretto, Belarbi enlisted David Coleman not only to conduct but also revamp the score by adding pieces from Arensky, Lalo, Massenet, and Sibelius (as well as himself) to Adam's music and re-orchestrating much of it. The result is really Belarbi's Le Corsaire as much as Adam's, but this is still an enjoyable work, with colorful costumes (but only minimalist sets), fine playing from the Orchestre Nationale du Capitole, and energetic dancing from principals Maria Gutierrez as the slave girl, Davit Galstyan as the pirate, and Takafumi Watanabe as the sultan, as well as from the entire corps de ballet. Presented in DTS-5.1 (DTS-HD 5.1 on the Blu-ray version) and LPCM stereo, extras include an illustrated cast gallery. Recommended. (F. Swietek)