London-born Alexander Prior was only 13 in 2006—the year the Moscow Classical Ballet commissioned him for this work based on Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (Prior began composing at the age of 8 before enrolling at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory). Prior conducted this 2008 premiere at Moscow's Kremlin Theatre and has since gone on to take a post with the Seattle Symphony. Stylistically, the score—occasionally employing a chorus as well as a large orchestra—is agreeable but not particularly memorable. Nevertheless, the players render it with an enthusiastic reading, although the mediocre sound does not showcase the orchestration to best advantage. The dancing here is more compelling, but the camerawork is unimaginative and the image quality only fair. Mowgli, Kipling's jungle boy, is introduced as a child (Nikolai Vasilev), and after a half-hour transforms into a young man (Nikolay Chevichelov). At both ages he interacts with a large menagerie of animals—wolves, porcupines, birds of various kinds—in a friendly fashion, although in the second act he battles a hostile tiger. The critter costumes are imaginative and colorful, and the company members clearly enjoy performing. Chevichelov also has several athletic solos, which he handles with aplomb. Angela Lansbury offers a taped introduction and reappears (along with Prior) during the interval between acts. An uneven introduction to a composer-conductor who someday could become a major musical figure—or not—this is an optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
Mowgli
(2008) 90 min. DVD: $20. Legendary Performances (avail. from www.amazon.com). Volume 27, Issue 6
Mowgli
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