ASHTON, Frederick: Dream (The) (PAL)

Alessandra Ferri, Ethan Stiefel, Herman Cornejo,
American Ballet Theatre,
Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Ormsby Wilkins

Choreography by Frederick Ashton
Based on A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Arranged by John Lanchbery

Staged by Anthony Dowell with Christopher Carr
Sets and costumes by David Walker

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
Picture Format: 16:9
Menu Languages: D, F, GB, SP
Region Code: 2, 5
Running Time: 54 mins
DVD 5 / PAL
Cat no.: 100 456

Arthaus Musik pays homage to Britain's greatest choreographer on his 100th birthday!

Widely considered as one of the last century's most prolific and important choreographers, Frederick Ashton brought an unmistakably lyric style to British ballet. The Dream was Ashton's contribution towards Britain's celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth. In it, he condenses the plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream to the forest scenes only, focusing on the fairy kingdom of Oberon and Titania and the lovers and rustics who stumble into it one moonlit, magical night. The exquisitely calibrated choreography bears Ashton's customary hallmark of precision, lightness and fluency and demonstrates his gift for storytelling.

The one-act work, recorded live at the Orange County Performing Arts Centre, California, was staged by Anthony Dowell and Christopher Carr, produced by five-time Emmy Award winner Judy Kinberg and directed by Matthew Diamond - who took a Directors Guild of America Best Director Award for Dance in America's From Broadway.

"Television has brought dance to millions of viewers, but there will always be those for whom the flat screen is no substitute for the immediacy of a live performance. Then along comes The Dream…."-- The New York Times

"The Dream, a gorgeously poetic abbreviation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is an ingenious distillation of midnight confusion and knotted and untangled love. There are many wonderful moments in this production…among them the glorious final duet that Ferri and Stiefel dance, which Ashton so imaginatively infused with surrender, trust and tenderness." The Washington Post