George Balanchine and the Paris Opéra always enjoyed a special relationship after Jacques Rouché, the then administrator, offered the young choreographer the post of ballet master in 1929. Balanchine declined the job, but he created several ballets for the company and came to the Palais Garnier regularly to oversee his works. In 2000, seventeen years after his death, a rare and precious ballet arrived at the Paris Opéra: Jewels, a work first performed by the New York City Ballet in 1967. This alluring, abstract ballet, a triptych in which each piece sparkles with the brilliance of a precious stone, is a lyric tribute to women and to the capital cities of the great dance schools. Couturier, painter and craftsman Christian Lacroix created the glorious costumes and sets which, together with the outstanding performances of the dancers and the sensitive musical direction of Paul Connelly, results in a celebration of sumptuous splendour.

Choreography George Balanchine / Ballet de L’Opéra national de Paris
Music Gabriel Fauré, Igor Stravinsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Orchestre de L’Opéra national de Paris / Paul Connelly
Set and costume design Christian Lacroix

Repertoire Gabriel Fauré - Pelléas and Mélisande and Shylock

Igor Stravinsky - Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Symphony No.3 in D major

Plus
George Balanchine forever - A film by Reiner E. Moritz, including interviews with Barbara Horgan, chairman of the Balanchine Foundation, Brigitte Lefèvre, director of Ballet de L’Opéra, designer Christian Lacroix and star dancers Laëtitia Pujol, Clairemarie Osta, Aurélie Dupont, Agnès Letestu and Marie-Agnès Gillot

Reviews
‘A gem of dazzling brilliance.’ The Independent

CAT NO: OA 0951 D
FORMAT: All Formats
REGIONS: All Regions
PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
LENGTH: 0 Mins
SOUND: DTS SURROUND / LPCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT (Extra Feature only)
RELEASED: 01/05/2006
NO OF DISCS: 1