The Firebird

Igor Stravinsky's 1910 ballet about a prince who is saved from the spell of a sorcerer and united with a beautiful but enchanted princess—thanks to the intervention of the magical Firebird—is here presented as a studio film made by Barbara Willis Sweete for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2003. Choreographed by James Kudelka, artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, The Firebird features excellent dancers from the same company: Greta Hodgkinson makes a brilliant Firebird, Aleksandar Antonijevic an athletic prince Ivan, Rebekah Rimsay a beautiful princess Vasilisa, and Rex Harrington a properly menacing sorcerer Kastchei. But the audio derives from a 1999 Philips CD by the Kirov Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, which means that even though the actual performance is superb, the sound per se is somewhat dated. And while the costumes are effective enough, the single set of a forest of scraggly trees is threadbare, and the visual effects are far from special. A more recent offering featuring Gergiev and the Kirov—Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes (VL-2/10), which includes both The Firebird and The Rite of Spring—is a preferable choice. Presented in PCM stereo, this is an optional purchase. (F. Swietek)