Kirov Nutcracker Tchaikovsky Blueray

This stunning audiophile download celebrates one of Tchaikovsky’s most beloved works, The Nutcracker. The ballet is an absolute masterpiece from start to finish. Under the leadership of acclaimed conductor Andre Previn, the London Symphony Orchestra blends clarity with flawless technique. Upheld to the highest standards, Previn delivered a masterful interpretation of this historic work complemented by the orchestra’s relentless commitment.

Here is yet another major recording of The Nutcracker. Undoubtedly its great success stems a good deal from the superlative Berlin Philharmonic, but if also confirms Semyon Bychkov as a major new presence on the recording scene. He has the singularly important gift of bringing music to life in the recording studio as at a concert, and every bar of this performance is tingling with vitality.

Tchaikovsky’s most famous work, The Nutcracker, is presented in this stunning new recording by the world’s greatest orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker, under the baton of their celebrated conductor Sir Simon Rattle. This musical fairytale follows Clara and her unusual prince and protector, The Nutcracker, through adventures and exotic delights in the magical Kingdom of Sweets.

The elegant “Jane Austen” costumes, designed by co-choreographer Toer van Schayk, indicate that the production has been set at about the time E.T.A. Hoffman’s original story was written—1816. Great care has clearly been put into getting the “look” right, for even Anna Tsygankova’s tiara in the Grand pas de deux replicates one worn by Napoleon’s Empress Josephine just a few years earlier.

Gennady Rozhdestvensky is the guest conductor who…"drew ravishing playing from this most ravishing of Tchaikovsky's ballet scores." (Guardian) Though the original scenario for The Nutcracker was considered to be fatally flawed, this magical work has survived to become one of the firmest favorites in the ballet repertory. This production by Artistic Director of Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, Peter Wright, with the help of Tchaikovsky ballet expert, Roland John Wiley attempts to rescue from far-flung archives surviving evidence of the original Ivanov/Sergueyev staging, combined with some captivating modern stage effects. Starring Lesley Collier as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Anthony Dowell as the Prince. With Julie Rose, Guy Niblett, Michael Coleman, Jonathan Cope.

Mariinsky Theatre Musical Director, Valery Gergiev, conducts Tchaikovsky’s glorious score in this enchanting, traditional, Russian production of The Nutcracker. Vainonen’s stunning choreography is complemented by Simon Virsaladze’s wonderfully colourful designs, and the roles of Masha and her Nutcracker Prince are danced by two of the Mariinsky’s award-winning, international soloists, all of which make this as magical and memorable a Christmas treat as ever.