The Maryinsky Ballet of St. Petersburg is one of the most important dance companies in the world, especially famous for its Vagonova School of Choreography, named after its best-known teacher, who taught many of the greatest performers of the 20th century. This Soviet television-aired program dates from 1982, after the company was renamed for Sergei Kirov, the Bolshevik leader whose 1934 assassination in Leningrad led to Stalin's party purges. Kirov Ballet: Classic Ballet Night features the company principals and ensemble from the last decade of communist rule in six short scenes, each the work of a different choreographer, with four set to music by Cesare Pugni, the official ballet composer to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatre in the mid-19th century (the other two feature music by Riccardo Drigo, who served as music director to the Imperial Ballet, and little-known Danish composer Edvard Helsted). The performances of the troupe—both soloists and ensemble—are undoubtedly impressive, but the Dolby Digital stereo and video qualities are frankly mediocre. Viewers might also be taken aback by the audience applause after each set, which sounds so regimented that it has an almost military precision—adding a real Soviet flavor to the performance. DVD extras include artist biographies and a film clip featuring a second version of one of the numbers, “The Venice Carnival,” with a different set of soloists. Optional. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Kirov Ballet: Classic Ballet Night
(1982) 60 min. DVD: $19.98. V.I.E.W. Video (avail. from most distributors). ISBN: 0-8030-2203-9. Volume 23, Issue 3
Kirov Ballet: Classic Ballet Night
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: