Sballati.per.le.feste.2015

Though Swiss-born, Le Corbusier is known as a French architect, writer, urbanist, and designer, having become a citizen in his 30's and doing to majority of his work as a French citizen. He is best remembered for his pioneering vision and contributions to what is referred to as Modern Architecture by critics, historians and artists alike. His fifty year career produced some of the most iconic structures built all over the world. As an architect, Le Corbusier has designed everything from villas, to the UN Headquarters in New York City.

The Vivaldi Edition is up to its astounding 54th volume with Concerti per Fagotto IV, and this collection introduces a selection of the finest Baroque works for bassoon. In a magical performance, the bassoonist Sergio Azzolini along with the L'Onda Armonica ensemble creates an indispensable recording that entices us into the pieces and compels us through each as if on a journey.

Set in the exotic surroundings of the Ottoman Empire and with a narrative encompassing abduction, murder and shipwreck, Le Corsaire is a swashbuckling pirate drama that delights for its spectacular nature and which includes some of the most bravura male dancing in the ballet repertoire. The work’s evolution has been a complex one, its libretto and choreography subject to numerous revisions since its first appearance in Paris in 1856, and in this English National Ballet production – the first British staging of the work – former-ballerina-turned-choreographer Anna-Marie Holmes adapts the 1974 Petipa-Sergeyev Kirov version to create ‘brisk, stylish entertainment’ (Guardian) that is visually enhanced by Hollywood designer Bob Ringwood’s ‘superb’ (Daily Telegraph) Orientalist sets and costumes. First-rate dancing by the company and its soloists – including Alina Cojocaru’s ‘radiant performance’ as Medora (Independent), Yonah Acosta’s ‘vividly drawn and villainous’ Birbanto (Financial Times) and Vadim Muntagirov’s ‘compelling’ (Daily Telegraph) portrayal of Conrad – underscores the ‘roaring, madcap success’ (Financial Times) of this production.