Hedda Gabler - The Norwegian National Ballet

A synthesis of sound and movement; colourful characters dance and move in repetitive patterns to percussive and melodic elements. A combination of motion and music that is hypnotic and beautiful. At first it feels structured and orderly but as more elements are added becomes quixotically expressive.

The story follows the destruction of a marriage through consuming jealousy, the abandonment of a child and a seemingly hopeless love. Yet, through remorse and regret – and after a statue comes miraculously to life – the ending is one of forgiveness and reconciliation. Wheeldon continues his highly successful collaboration with designer Bob Crowley and composer Joby Talbot, the team behind Alice, in one of the highlights of The Royal Ballet Season.

Paris, the middle of the XIX century. Young Marius Petipa is going on a long journey to St. Petersburg, where he is invited to become the first dancer. He doesn't know that his life will develop both happily and dramatically, and his work will be the glory and pride of Russian ballet.

On Christmas Eve, a young girl has a dream... Emotional awakening, physical transformation, childhood that slowly merges into adulthood... behind what seems to be a tale for children slowly emerges a danced initiatory journey. And while children revel in Drosselmeyer's magic tricks and enjoy a good scare with the apparition of the Mouse King, the adults notice all the finesse that pervades this narrative and admire the virtuosity of the choreography.

Bolshoi Ballet stars Vladimir Vasiliev and Ekaterina Maximova dance this 1982 performance of "Anyuta," the story of a small-town woman who purposely marries above her social status only to learn that popularity comes with a price. Maximova performs the role of Anyuta; Vasiliev plays Anyuta's drunk father.

An old timbal performer in a puppet theater has a secret past.

Going to see Nutcracker with the whole family has been a tradition in other countries for many years. Now it is a tradition in the Netherlands as well. It became apparent that the Netherlands had also adopted this tradition in 1996, when the Dutch National Ballet presented its own version of the famous fairytale ballet. It is a magical production that has won the hearts of more than 250,000 people to date. Choreographers Toer van Schayk and Wayne Eagling created a Nutcracker for the children and adults of today. It is more dynamic and exciting, and less sweet than usual. They also chose to give a Dutch twist to their interpretation of the story, with skaters on the canals and a living room that transforms into a snowy forest. Unlike the original story, the production by Eagling and Van Schayk (who also designed the delightful sets and costumes) does not take place on Christmas Eve in a German town, but during St. Nicholas celebrations in Amsterdam, around 1810.

With the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra and conductor Brian Castles-Onion, a gritty set design, sumptuous bold costumes, stunning choreography, and the inestimable direction of Gale Edwards and Bizet's glorious opera is brought to life like never before in this second Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour.

Product Description ••••• A complete 1978 performance of this classic ballet stars the magnificent Nadezhda Pavlova and Vyacheslav Gordeev; the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra is conducted by Alexander Kopilov. DVD Bonus: Scenes from Don Quixote filmed at the Bolshoi in 1964 and starring the legendary dancers Maya Plisetskaya and Maris Liepa; Bolshoi Orchestra conducted by Youri Fayer.

William Shakespeare's tragedy about the feuding Montagues and Capulets, whose children find each other and overcome the deep-seated hatred, has inspired countless artists. John Cranko also took up this timeless material in 1962 and created one of his most popular ballets. Sergei Prokofiev's descriptive music - in combination with Jürgen Rose's opulent sets and costumes – forms the perfect back drop which allows the scenes to unfold just as if they had sprung directly from an Italian Renaissance painting.

Director and choreographer Matthew Bourne's radical reworking of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. The score remains the same, but the famous corps de ballet is now danced by men.

Birmingham Royal Ballet perform Don Quixote in a production by Carlos Acosta. Based on Spain’s most famous novel, the classic ballet follows Don Quixote’s extraordinary adventures as he helps young lovers Kitri and Basilio find happiness. Filmed at the Birmingham Hippodrome, Don Quixote features some of ballet’s most iconic and virtuosic dance moments. Starring Momoko Hirata as Kitri, Mathias Dingman as Basilio and Tom Rogers as Don Quixote.

"Lady of the Camellias" (Kameliendame) was premiered in Jan 1978 at the Stuttgart ballet. Choreographer and text writer was John Neumeier who had been requested in 1972 by ballerina Marcia Haydee to write a full length ballet. He suggested "Lady of the Camellias" , the Dumas fils autobiographical novel. The idea of using Chopin music was suggested by ballet conductor Gehart Markson. The ballet was a success and this version was also presented in 1979 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Neumeier revised it for the Hamburg Ballet now directed by Brazilian ballerina Marcia Haydee after the death of famous director John Kranko. The revised version with sets and costumes by Jugen Rose and conducted by Heribert Beissel was recorded as a movie in 1987.

The Blu-ray Experience II: Opera, Ballet & theatre

Nutcracker Sweeties is Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington’s big band take on the Tchaikovsky classic—The Nutcracker as you've never seen or heard it before! It portrays Broadway and America in the 1940s: full of humor, irony, commentary, swing, and blues. The cast, dressed in an array of glamorous Jasper Conran costumes, includes pom-pom girls, drum majorettes, sailors, GIs and Candy Kane. David Bintley’s choreography is a catwalk of jazz styles. With its eye-catching clothes and flashing neon sets, Nutcracker Sweeties is imaginative, funny and visually irresistible.

It is a story in which the young heroine, dying from a broken heart, mysteriously hears the call of ghosts tempting her to join their round dance, and having become one of them she saves the lover who betrayed her.

The first revival of Wayne McGregor’s critically acclaimed ballet triptych to music by Max Richter, inspired by the works of Virginia Woolf.

The Sleeping Beauty holds a special place in The Royal Ballet’s repertory. It was the ballet with which the Company reopened the Royal Opera House in 1946 after World War II, its first production at its new home in Covent Garden. Margot Fonteyn danced the role of the beautiful Princess Aurora in the first performance, with Robert Helpmann as Prince Florimund. Sixty years later, in 2006, the original 1946 staging was revived by then Director of The Royal Ballet Monica Mason and Christopher Newton, returning Oliver Messel’s wonderful designs and glittering costumes to the stage.

Now celebrating its 50th year, George Balanchine’s sparkling ballet still shines with all the brilliance of the gemstones that inspired it.

Oscar©, a powerful exploration of the life and writings of literary legend, Oscar Wilde. A spectacular new full-length ballet by Tony Award-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon In a celebration of the beauty and complexity of love in all its forms, Oscar© brings queer romance to life through Wheeldon’s innovative and heart-stirring choreography. Oscar© journeys through the extraordinary life of Wilde – a man who dared to live and write with unapologetic boldness – while masterfully integrating two of Wilde’s best-known works, The Nightingale and the Rose and The Picture of Dorian Gray.