Rhapsody/The Two Pigeons

The amazingly varied work of Frederick Ashton—longtime choreographer and artistic director of the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden—is revisited by the company in this delicious 2016 double bill that resoundingly demonstrates why he remains so revered. The Two Pigeons (1961) is a reworking of a 19th-century ballet by French composer André Messager, based on a tale by the 17th-century fabulist Jean de La Fontaine. In this version, a painter abandons his lover—also his model—to follow a beautiful woman in a passing gypsy troupe. Although he competes with other men for her attention, he is ultimately shunned as an interloper and returns home. Two live pigeons appear at the start to represent the original couple, and reappear at the close to signify their reunion. Danced exquisitely by Lauren Cuthbertson and Vadim Muntagirov (with Fumi Kaneko as the smoldering gypsy girl), this is both a charming and rather profound rumination on the vagaries of human romance. Rhapsody (1980), set to Rachmaninoff's Paganini Variations for piano and orchestra, was created as a birthday tribute to the Queen Mother and designed as a vehicle for Mikhail Baryshnikov. As such it makes extraordinary demands on the male soloist, which are met with resounding success by Steven McRae, who is joined by Natalia Osipova in the achingly beautiful pas de deux set to the famous andante 18th variation. The only drawback is the sometimes ragged orchestral playing under Barry Wordsworth (the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody can certainly be heard to better advantage elsewhere), but the choreography and dancing in both pieces are exemplary. Presented in DTS 5.1 (DTS-HD 5.1 on the Blu-ray release) and LPCM stereo, extras include introductions to both ballets, and a featurette on the choreography of The Two Pigeons. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)