DESCRIPTION:
A spectacular tribute to Balanchine, beautifully served by the breath-taking technique of the NYCB dancers ; now available on DVD and Blu-ray !

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The New York City Ballet, with its collection of extraordinary dancers and its unique repertoire, is one of the most prestigious dance companies in the world. This exceptional production, performed in Paris after eight years of absence, revolves around three great French composers who inspired NYCB founder George Balanchine : Charles Gounod, Maurice Ravel and Georges Bizet…

The four ballets performed, choreographed from 1925 to 1980, perfectly encapsulate Balanchine’s genius and his very own neo-classical style. They also provide a particular insight on the bonds that tied Balanchine to France. What is known today as Walpurgisnacht Ballet was a ballet choreographed for the opera Faust (Charles Gounod) at the Paris Opera in 1975. It premiered as an independant piece in New York in 1980. Sonatine, set to a music by Maurice Ravel, was created by two New York City Ballet French principals, the recently departed Violette Verdy and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux. La Valse was originally composed by Ravel for the Ballets Russes and Serge Diaghilev, then exiled in France, shortly before Balanchine entered the company. Symphony in C (Georges Bizet), better known as Le Palais de Cristal, premiered at the Paris Opera.

WALPURGISNACHT BALLET
Choreography : George Balanchine
© The George Balanchine Trust
Music : Charles Gounod | ballet music from Faust (1859, ballet music added in 1869)
Costumes : Karinska
Lighting design : Mark Stanley
Premiere : 3 June 1975 at the Opéra de Paris
NYC Ballet Premiere: 15 mai 1980 at the New York State Theater
With : Sara Mearns, Adrian Danchig-Waring, Lauren Lovette, Kristen Segin, Sarah Willwock

SONATINE
Choreography : George Balanchine
© The George Balanchine Trust
Music : Maurice Ravel (1906)
Lighting design : Mark Stanley
Premiere : 15 May 1975 at the New York State Theater
With : Megan Fairchild, Joaquin de Luz

LA VALSE
Choreography : George Balanchine
© The George Balanchine Trust
Music : Maurice Ravel | Valses Nobles et Sentimentales (1911, orchestrated in 1912), La Valse (1920)
Costumes : Karinska
Décors : Jean Rosenthal
Lumières : Mark Stanley
Première : 20 February 1951 at the City Center of Music and Drama (New York City)
With : Sterling Hyltin, Jared Angle, Amar Ramasar, Marika Anderson, Meaghan Dutton-O'Hara, Gwyneth Muller, Lauren King, Antonio Carmena, Ashly Isaacs, Sean Suozzi, Ashley Laracey, Zachary Catazaro, Ralph Ippolito

SYMPHONY IN C (LE PALAIS DE CRISTAL)
Choreography : George Balanchine
© School of America Ballet. Inc.
Music : Georges Bizet | Symphonie en ut majeur (1855)
Costumes : Marc Happel
Lighting design : Mark Stanley
Premiere : 28 July 1947 at the Théâtre National de l’Opéra under the name Le Palais de Cristal
With : Tyler Peck, Andrew Veyette, Teresa Reichlen, Tyler Angle, Alston Macgill, Anthony Huxley, Brittany Pollack, Taylor Stanley

New York City Ballet
Ballet master : Peter Martins

Orchestre Prométhée
Conductor : Daniel Capps