Search - Aragón: Snow White (ballet) on DVD

Aragon's Snow White is a keeper!

Richard Rawls | Dublin Ga USA | 07/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a wonderful story to make into a ballet. One wonders why no-one else has attempted to challenge Walt Disney on his apparent monopoly on this fairy tale. I am glad to see Aragon take the challenge.

First of all, I am not an aficionado of ballet in any way except for my own idea of what is beautiful. I'm a 77 years young (male) and have seen only two live ballets, "The Nutcracker" and "Coppelia". The promoters offered a money back guarantee to the patrons of the "Coppelia" if they were not satisfied with the performance. I did NOT ask for my money back.

I liked "Snow White" also. I do not agree with the reviewer who said the score seemed to repeat itself, and that there is only one theme. After viewing the ballet several times, the music has several thematic changes. There are Leitmotifs for all the characters, and of course, those are repeating motifs, so that one can say that there are several different tunes to listen to. The music was a little heavy in the bass tones (drives my dog wild) but that is probably the fault of the sound engineer by positioning the microphones too close to the bass section of the orchestra. When this ballet was started and Tamara Rojo was in Spain working with the choreographer on the production, the musical score was only ideas in the head of the composer. This is brand new music for a brand new ballet. Overall,I thought the music was very good and certainly better than some of the recorded sounds coming out of Russia. Shame on Deutsche Grammophon for not making this in a wide screen version for which the technology has been around for years prior to this release.

I agree with the reviewer who said that the Prince's entrance was rushed. He comes barging in out of nowhere to brush the mourning dwarfs aside. They had more right to kiss her than he, because they had love in their hearts and he was just a passerby. There should have been a compelling reason for him to plant a kiss on a dead woman's lips. Also, her awaking was way to quick, one moment she is apparently dead , the next she is in this strangers arms.

There could have been a little more time given to who Snow White was and her relationship to the evil Queen or what/who ever she was. Then too, we aren't told what happened to her (the Queen). The boiling cauldron scene where the Stepmother is turned into a witch while making her poison apple concoction, is absolutely spectacular. Disney could not have done it better, and this is LIVE ballet. Be sure you are with your little children when they watch this, to assure them that this is make believe.

Again I say, I don't know much about Ballet technically, but in the bonus material they talk about Tamara doing 48 fouettes. In her final variation she completed 54 pirouettes, which I consider a remarkable feat, but if the leg kick is required to call it a fouette, then there were not 48 but 37 with multiple turns for a total of 54 turns. Be that as it may, for Tamara to do 54 pirouettes with 37 using the leg kick, should end the competition to do 32 fouettes in a row. These take place at the end of the last act. Tamara Rojo is very beautiful and she's young enough to be Snow White. I am very glad to have this ballet. I believe you will love it also, and I don't believe you will ask for your money back.

Here is something to think about, this is the first ballet the nation of Spain has ever produced, and it's an excellent first."

A ballet without magic

Jose Brito | Estoril,Portugal | 02/16/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This meant to be a classic ballet is somehow disappointing...not that the dancers did not make their most,but it lacks magic ,I'd venture to say.The music by Aragón is of no consequence,though serving the choreography ,fairly good ,touching here and there real quality as in "Pas de sept" , the dwarves given the chance to display their good dancing skills.Tamara Rojo of the Royal Ballet did not shine out as she would,had she been given a better choreography to display her immense techique.As for her partner,Urluzaga, he surely was a more than correct Prince.This said, this is not a ballet to make history either for its music or its choreography."

Snow White Delight

Giles Bernard J. Hall | Tasmania; Australia | 01/07/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a delight it was to play this brand new ballet based on the Grimm brother's "Schneewittchen" (Snow White). I am pleased that they did not follow the Disney style of dwarfs, but actually used smaller male ballet dancers. Who, by the way are a wonderful collective group of dancers.
The title role of Snow White is danced by the Royal Ballets principle dancer Tamara Rojo.
The role was written for her and you can understand why when you see it. She also had input into the construction of the role plus the style of music needed for her to accomplish it. She and the composer; Emilio Aragon worked together on this project. The prince is danced by Inaki Urezaga, another accomplished dancer, however, it is not much of a role to get your teeth into. If you did not need him to wake Snow White, he could be left out. Having said that, they do complete the ballet with a wonderful Pas de Deux and solo variations. The staging is magnificent, uncluttered sets and wonderful costumes and effects. The score though written by a modern composer; is of a classical style and quite pleasant to the ear. The theatre in which it is performed is the beautiful Arriaga Theatre, Bilbao, in Spain. All the cast is Spanish and they had a tough time finding the seven male dancers required for the dwarfs, as there appears to be a shortage of male dancers in Spain. But they managed it and to great acclaim. This is a very worthy performance to add to your collection and come highly recommended. There is also a bonus section, on the background of the production. This is a real gem and it won't be long before it is taken up by other ballet companies to become part of their permanent repertoire.
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Suprised!

K. Peterson | Texas, USA | 02/27/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My 2 year old granddaughter had become entranced with the Nutcracker Ballet this past Christmas. You can only watch it so many times before you start going a little nutty! I was looking for alternative ballets to show her that she would be able to relate to. She is very familiar with what she calls the Apple Princess. I was surprised to find a ballet with the same title. The bigger surprise was how good this ballet is and what a treat it was to watch. Two of the 3 granddaughters both liked watching it as did the rest of the family."