Beschreibung (Langtext)

The DVD shows two masterpieces of French post-war ballet and a homage to Roland Petit, its most influential representative. Including the ballets Le jeune homme et la mort and Carmen in a production with the Orchestre Colonne directed by Paul Conelly. Premiered in June 1946 Le jeune homme et la mort marked the start of a whole new generation of choreography in liberated Paris, becoming the trademark of existentialist ballet. Petit choreographed his Carmen ballet, which is loosely based on Prosper Mérimée‘s story, to a musical potpourri from Bizet‘s opera. In this recording filmed at the Opéra National de Paris, the star soloists of the Opéra ballet company take on the challenge: Nicolas Le Riche, Marie-Agnès Gillot and Clairemarie Osta. Filmed with great visual and musical mastery, both works are documents of Petit’s enormous influence on post-war ballet and this DVD can be regarded as a homage to the grand seigneur of French dance.