Within The Golden Hour [Beatriz Stix-Brunell; Francesca Hayward; Sarah Lamb; Royal Opera House; Jonathan Lo; Andrew Griffiths] [Opus Arte: OA1300D]

Three very different pieces are on this disc. Within the Golden Hour is beautiful, very reminiscent of some of Balanchine's abstract pieces, though slightly more modern in its choreography. Medusa is a fascinating retelling of her story (not the one I learned as a child!!) and powerfully done. But Flight Path is emotionally astonishing - telling the story of a group of refugees, I had tears running down my face before the end. The booklet is excellent and there are interviews with all three choreographers.An excellent programme - but not an easy, comfortable watch, and probably two are not for very young children. I bought it on spec and am glad I did. Very relevant for two major issues of our day.

I saw this production at the Roya Ballet in May 2019. So pleased that its released on DVD to relive the memories. Kept me smiling through out.Top level dancing from all artists, fine orchestra and stunning set designs. Natalia Osipova is an outstanding performer. Matthew Ball has a brilliant dance technique and shining aura. Marcelino Sambé acrobats are first class!My favourite show is Flight Pattern, I absolutely connected to this type of choreography. Made me feel spiritually uplifted.I learnt quite a bit about stage presence and dance conviction from these performances. Highly recommend this DVD to anyone interested in dance. 5 Star +++I love Royal Ballet productions, they are so ethereal ❤💙💚💛💜❤

All three ballets on this DVD are very different. Within the Golden Hour has very beautiful choreography. Medusa is probably the most traditional in style in that it tells story in a more classical way and Flight Pattern is quite haunting in its story of refugees. Really beautiful and well worth watching.

Just what you expect from ROH and Royal Ballet........1000% plus

Happily, the Royal Ballet is committed to not only honour the classics like Giselle, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and its heritage works by Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan, but keep on investing in new works and recordings of them too. The 2019 performance captured on this DVD/Blu-ray is in that category: a triple bill as diverse as they come, boasting an abstract ballet, a story-telling one, and a work with the hint of a theme - in that order. The evening begins with Within The Golden Hour, an attractive ballet, with champagne-coloured costumes, set to a lovely score of selected works by Ezio Bosso and Vivaldi. Created for San Francisco Ballet in 2008, it shows Christopher Wheeldon handling the academic ballet technique, adding some fluid, contemporary twists. Though in places a little over-choreographed, with finicky port-de-bras, the overall thought is very positive. Within The Golden Hour highlights the academic style and quality of the Royal Ballet today, emphasising turn-out (without over-pushing it) and clear upper-body movement. The Royal Ballet's tableau boasts great actor-dancers with strong personalities. A ballet like Within The Golden Hour proves that a plotless series of dances benefits from that as well. Interwoven are three duets: the first is danced by Beatriz Stix-Brunell, always a joy to watch, and a surprisingly contemporary Vadim Muntagirov. Both give a spot-on musical performance with just the right zaniness. The second duet, the one with the folksy violin, is taken by Francesca Hayward and (an utmost skilled partnering) Valentino Zuchetti. Of note here is the scary off-point off-balance near the end. Hayward, a star in everything she undertakes, is the as yet uncrowned, new prima ballerina of the company - at least to me. The third duet could be called the main pas de deux. It is danced to the only Vivaldi piece of the work (the Andante from Violin Concerto in B), by Sarah Lamb and Alexander Campbell. While seeing their performance live, I sighed in appraisal of their qualities, their grand movements channelled into this tender, poetic union, their sheer joy in performing it. Writing down 'a loud bravo' is less effective as shouting it, but here it is.The second work on the programme is the world-wide debut of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Medusa. I won't sugarcoat it: it is by far the weakest link of the programme. When seeing it on stage my initial reaction was 'help!', but on DVD, the work gains substantially through clever camera work and close-ups. Created and marketed around Natalia Osipova, Medusa is a vehicle for a ballerina who has danced all there is to dance, but never much especially made for her. Larbi chose to portray Medusa, whom we mostly know as a vengeful gorgon, as a victim: we see the (version of the) story wherein the priestess is raped by the Sea God Poseidon and then punished for it by Athena. The production is breathtakingly designed, but the direction (uninviting) and choreography (wriggling) spectacularly fail to get you involved. Larbi's narrative is, in places, oddly separated from the steps themselves, making it a rather old-fashioned affair that borders on mime, while his steps lacks signature and are too even in dynamics. The visuals and approach reminded me of Serge Lifar's ballets, who also took to classical mythology (Phaedre, Icare), but the choreographic voice of this Ukrainian-French ballet master (1905-1986) was clearer and stronger. The best dancing and characterisation comes from the powerful Riyuchi Hirano as Poseidon. The choreography for Perseus (for a good part of the time indistinguishable from his companions) remains somewhat sketchy, but Matthew Ball does succeed in bringing its subdued qualities across the footlights. Olivia Cowley is a commanding Hera, very much in the Royal Ballet's tradition of acting. That leaves us with Natalia Osipova as the hapless Medusa. I don't share the general enthusiasm for Osipova's artistic achievements as a classical ballerina, considering her style of moving and pointe work too brazen and athletic for her kind and meek persona. Medusa proves she is far more suited to contemporary work, and her flexible, strong overextended limbs are amply made use of. The problem here is the acting pattern created for the heroine, which falls flat. Osipova's wig with bouncy snakes doesn't help, to be honest, it looks like something found in Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The ballet uses electronic music by Olga Wojciechowska, alternated with arias from various Henry Purcell operas. Wojciechowska helps the work. When her ephemeral, translucent sounds are heard, the spirit and atmosphere of Greek myths comes to the fore. On the other hand, Purcell's music underlines the shortcomings of what happens onstage: suddenly it all seems like much ado in a no-expense spared shop window you pass by. The Cold Song from King Arthur is used for the ballet's most iconic part: Medusa's Revenge. As she is handled by, and then killing and petrifying soldiers, the intricate choreography unintentionally borders on the humorous. But again: on the DVD, the work's arguable flaws are for the most corrected by good camerawork and close-ups.The last work, Flight Pattern, is an entirely different matter. Flight Pattern is a 2017 commission from the Royal Ballet, and its revival is what you see here. With her soulful and glorious creation, choreographer Crystal Pite ventures into waters that transcend the borders of classical and modern companies. Set to Henryk Gorecki's 3rd Symphony (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs), it won an Oliver Award in 2018, for Best New Dance Production. Apparently, the artists jumped at the opportunity to work with Crystal Pite, for there are high ranking dancers doing group work. Inspired by the plight of (Syrian) refugees, Flight Pattern sees a huge group attired in clay-coloured coats and somethings, moving towards an infinity behind door-like sets. The movements are upper-body-driven, restlessly rocking, astonishingly un-balletic and simple. They keep you spellbound. There are some occasional break-frees of the group work, like one from Joseph Sissens. The principal dancers, Kristen McNally and Marcelino Sambé, are recruited from the group too. Both give very moving performances, which I assumed would continue in the second and, especially the third movement of Gorecki's work - the Cantabile-semplice - the symphony's equally moving and elegiac last part, but that was not to be. This is the only shortcoming of a marvellous piece of dance; it could and should have gone on, have the dancers come a little nearer to the infinity the set suggests. What Pite could have done with the complete symphony rather than just the first part. More, more, more!I already spoke of the camerawork 'saving' Medusa's recorded life, but it is overall strong; leading the eye subtly and organically from group work and patterns to the individual artists and back (the director, Ross MacGibbon, is a former dancer). The extras contain some short interviews. So, resuming, we have three totally different works, which make up an evening that shows the colour palette Britain's largest dance company can produce: regardless of the only partially successful outcome of the middle work here, this triple bill testifies to The Royal Ballet's strength and versatility.

Love these ballets, especially Within the Golden Hour. Such talent on show and brilliant music.

Not bad I loved some

Medusa rather strange

There are three separate ballets on this disc, but the second ballet alone is worth the purchase. I recommend buying this disc together with "Force of Nature", a must-own disc about Ossipova that happens to have a long section with Ossipova and the choreoghrapher about the making of the ballet Medusa that is featured on this disc.

Zoals altijd prima en op tijd bezorgd een een goede verpakking.GA ZO DOOR!!!!!!!

Les trois ballets sont très réussis, mais "Within the golden hour" est une pure merveille où tout s'agence à la perfection : danse, musique et costume. C'est un grand bonheur que de pouvoir revoir ce ballet. Même si le petit écran ne vaut pas la scène, la magie est toujours là.

This has three dances - all very well choreographed and danced.

Fabuleux spectacle contemporain . Within The Golden Hour est extraordinaire de de grâce, d'élégance et de virtuosité. Une merveille.