Description
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland DVD 2011 Ballet in two acts / The Royal Ballet - Conducted by Barry Wordsworth / Directed by Jonathan Haswell / Royal Opera House - BBC / Opus Arte - World premiere recording
UPC 809478010562
MADE IN UK
REGION 0 NTSC DVD (ALL REGIONS)
AUDIO: DTS 5.1 LPCM 2.0
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, German
TOTAL RUNTIME: 150 minutes
English Summary:
This ballet performance of Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland performed by the Royal Ballet features such renowned dancers as Lauren Cuthbertson andSergei Polunin in the leading roles, with choreography by Christopher Wheeldon.
Royal Ballet principal Lauren Cuthbertson leads the cast in Christopher Wheeldon's production of Lewis Carroll's classic tale, filmed at the Royal Opera House in March 2011.
Other cast members include Sergei Polunin, Edward Watson, Zenaida Yanowsky and Steven McRae.
Barry Wordsworth conducts.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a ballet in three acts by Christopher Wheeldon with a scenario by Nicholas Wright, based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was commissioned by The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, and the National Ballet of Canada, and had its world premiere on Monday, 28 February 2011. The music by Joby Talbot is the first full-length score (1 hour 40 minutes) for the Royal Ballet in 20 years. It is also the first full-length narrative ballet commissioned by The Royal Ballet since 1995
The work is based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 well-known children's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Wheeldon was attracted by the physicality of the characters and the perfect central role for a ballerina: "The Royal Ballet already has a wealth of full-blooded ballets. I wanted to create something lighter and more friendly." He chose Lauren Cuthbertson for the lead role of Alice as someone who could "captivate the audience and make them believe in Alice." As for the music, Talbot explained that he "wanted to find a new sound, the right timbre for Wonderland." His orchestral score has a large percussion section and four female voices.
Karen Kain, the artistic director of National Ballet of Canada contacted the Royal Ballet and proposed a co-production after learning about the ballet.The company had the production's North American premiere in 2011, starring Jillian Vanstone.
By 2012, Wheeldon had changed the structure of the ballet so that it consisted of three acts instead of the original two and had inserted an additional pas de deux for Alice and the knave.
The ballet had since been performed by Royal Swedish Ballet in 2016, Royal Danish Ballet in the 2016-17 season and The Australian Ballet in 2017
Joby Talbot
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
Alice - Lauren Cuthbertson
Jack / Knave of Hearts - Sergei Polunin
Lewis Carroll / White Rabbit - Edward Watson
Mother / Queen of Hearts - Zenaida Yanowsky
Father / King of Hearts - Christopher Saunders
Magician / Mad Hatter - Steven McRae
Duchess - Simon Russell Beale
Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Barry Wordsworth, conductor
Christopher Wheeldon, choreographer
Bob Crowley, set and costume designer
Natasha Katz, lighting designer
