Tchaikovsky Swan Lake
July 2007 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: HD DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Discounting nature films that use classical music as background, this is the first high-definition release of a classical favorite on HD DVD. It has been eagerly anticipated. Was it worth the wait? Well, yes and no.

The performance itself is a resounding "yes." The Paris Opera Ballet dances a production choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev, which it premiered in 1984. In it, Prince Siegfried becomes the central character, and the tutor, Wolfgang, who doubles as the wicked part-bird-part-man Rothbart, is made more sinister and manipulative. This version is at times homoerotic. Wolfgang gets a dance with the prince in act I, and the big courtiers’ dance in that same act is danced by the 16 men of the corps de ballet rather than the usual mixed couples. Overall it is a more dramatic and gripping presentation than other versions provide.

The dancing from the principals and the corps de ballet is first rate throughout. The sets are minimal but an excellent lighting plan compensates handsomely, and the costumes have good color and design. It is only acts 2 and 4, set by the lake, that have ballerinas in traditional white tutus. Even those are dramatic in this production. In act 4, as the other swans try to protect Odette, they swirl around her, creating a remarkable vision in which they remind one of white-capped waves on a stormy sea. The orchestra plays Tchaikovsky’s famous score with verve and precision, never slighting lyricism. Conductor Vello Pähn gets marvelous results from his superb musicians and keeps things fresh and alive.

The camera work and television direction strike me as occasionally odd. A lot of the time we see long shots which encompass most of the stage. At other times there are balcony shots that really pay off in ensemble numbers, particularly in acts 1 and 2, but there are a few close ups that are never what you might expect. The camera is often focused on the dancers’ hands, rather than their faces or feet.

The actual HD transfer is a bit of a disappointment. Shots are clean, but not always crisp, and nothing ever pops or registers as great high-definition demonstration material. However, contrast is exceptionally good and the shadowy portions of the picture have lots of detail. The sound is quite good, too. It is just normal DTS 5.0 or 2.0 48kHz/24-bit, but has wonderful presence and stereo separation which really captures the whole idea of a pit orchestra and allows some instrumental interplay between sections of the orchestra that is not usually heard. Opus Arte tells me future releases will probably use one of the lossless formats, either DTS HD MA or Dolby Digital TrueHD. Time will tell that tale.

There were some severe navigation problems with my disc. At the beginning, it played all the company logos but then froze. I had to hit play to get it to move forward. Then at the end of "The Big Swans’ Dance" in act 2, the disc froze again, presumably at the point where the dual-layer disc shifted layers. I had to call up the menu to get out of that. My player is top-of-the-line first generation; maybe it works on the second generation without a hitch.

Opus Arte is planning 60 HD releases, also Blu-ray discs. The company has some of the best opera and ballet performances in the catalog to draw from. This one has its flaws but is still highly enjoyable and points the way to the future. I remember those first operas on laserdisc, 15 or so years ago. This HD DVD is certainly light years ahead of them.

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