Nureyev's choreography for Romeo and Juliet was created for the London Festival Ballet in 1977, and in 1984, shortly after he had taken over as director of the ballet of the Paris Opera, he produced this large-scale and gl... more »oriously colorful fresco for the company of the Paris Opera. His version, which takes into account all parts of the score, follows Shakespeare's original very closely, and it is said that he read and studied the text again and again. The numerous crowd scenes, folk dances and fencing scenes, which are danced with extraordinary vitality, are proof of Nureyev's outstanding talent as a dancer and choreographer.« less
Don't waste your money--not the full length ballet!
Opera fan | Southampton, NJ United States | 11/09/2003
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Beware! it's a " documentary " and not the ballet itself.There are just talking and talking and talking and...... with maybe a few minutes of dancing. There is nothing about Nureyev either. If you want a full length Romeo and Juliet, shop around. Maybe the ABT at La Scala with Angel Corella and Ferri."
Magic
06/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This documentary is one of a series and should be viewed before the DVD of the full ballet is seen. The performance by Manuel Legris as Romeo is wonderful and can be much more fully understood and appreciated after Nureyev's intentions and those of everyone involved in the ballet's creation are heard. Patricia Ruanne, one of his early Juliets who coaches the dancers, is particularly fascinating. A must have! My only gripe about this series is that although there is a marvellous DVD of the "Raymonda" documentary there is no accompanying DVD of the full ballet."
Beautiful, inspiring documentary
Grace W. | 11/17/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This wonderful DVD is a documentary on Rudolf Nureyev's 'Romeo and Juliet.' Nureyev, while mainly known as a dancer, clearly possessed the creativity of a genius when it came to conceiving, choreographing, and staging ballets. The Paris Opera Ballet is shown rehearsing 'Romeo and Juliet' for performances after Nureyev's death. I saw this documentary before seeing the full-length production of the same ballet, and it greatly enhanced my understanding and enjoyment. This DVD, as well as its companion, "Dancer's Dream - The Great Ballets of Rudolph Nureyev: Raymonda," should not be missed."
TO COMPLEMENT THE FULL BALLET DVD
M. N. A. Cenani | Istanbul, Turkey | 11/15/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Very interesting and informative documentary, but I agree with
the previous reviewer that it should be bought to complement
the full ballet DVD available from Amazon under ASIN B0002HODDG"
Great documentary of the ballet
Grace W. | NY USA | 11/15/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love the "Dancer's Dream" series of Paris Opera Ballet, especially this one and "Raymonda". I watched this documentary and bought the DVD of the full length ballet of POB. It helps me immensely understand and enjoy Nureyev's choreography. In my opinion, Nureyev's choreography conveys much more information of the characters, and matches Prokofiev's heavily modern style music more. In Nureyev's version, it's not only a sweet romantic love story as most people think. It's grander and much more dramatic. I personally found Nureyev's approach more faithful to Shakespeare's original work. And the dancers, Manuel Legris and Elisabeth Maurin, cannot be more perfect in the roles. I love watching dancers rehearsing in the studio as well as listening to them talking about their understanding of the roles and the ballet. Very informative."