Herold - La Fille Mal Gardee / Collier, Coleman, Shaw, Grant, Ashton, Royal Ballet

This is a very cute ballet, and has a very very cute ballerina in the lead role. Lise, the lead "La Fille" is played by Lesley Collier and her heart throb is played by Michael Coleman, who both have roles in the RB version of "The Tales of Beatrix Potter"..... Tales of Beatrix Potter .....Lesley is a destructive little mouse named Hunka Munka and Michael is a very high leaping Jeremy Fisher, the leapfrog.This ballet is a little "wacky", but that is what makes it so much fun. There are a few "it couldn't have happened that way" moments, such as the farm hands getting to "La Fille's" back yard before the cock crowed or even got off the roost, but I guess that is part of the silliness of the ballet. When the cockerel does get off the roost, he and his hens do a very good chicken dance to some equally good chicken music. Widow Simone is played by Brian Shaw and he is a pretty good characature of a mother determined to marry off her daughter to someone she doesn't love. He does a wonderful performance in the wooden shoe clog dance, in the second act. There are several "ribbon dances" in both the first and second acts, which you are sure to like. One ribbon dance is done from a maypole using lots of dancers moving in and around each other and tangling the ribbons to the degree that it's hard to believe they will ever get them untangled, but they do.Widow Simone and her vintner neighbor are so determind to marry off Lise to the vintner's son, they have a notary come in to draw up a marrage agreement, but when Lise and her lover Colas are discovered embracing in her room, the agreement is nullified and the widow agrees to let Lise marry Colas. My goodness, all they did was kiss each other.A silly, wacky, funny ballet that everyone in the family WILL enjoy. Great music composed by Ferdinand Herold, conducted by John Lanchbery, Dolby 2.0, full screen format, 96 minutes duration, good color and costuming, well lighted stage and an all around fabulous ballet corp. You can't go wrong buying this ballet....Richard.

I've waited years to own this performance, ever since I taped over the cable TV broadcast. On DVD, it's brighter and better sounding than ever, and viewing it for the first time in many years, I didn't realize how much I missed it. I cannot imagine Leslie Collier in any other role - her Lise is vivacious, charming, and completely unforced and natural. Her rapport with Michael Coleman as Colas is sweetly endearing, and Brian Shaw's performance as the Widow Simone - who dances a wonderful Clog Dance in wooden shoes, right out of the British music hall - is comic perfection. Sir Frederic Ashton has fleshed out the supporting roles brilliantly, each one quirky in their own way. (Just watch Graham Fletcher in the minor role of the Notary's Clerk - very funny indeed!)The score is conductor John Lanchberry's buoyant adaptation of the music of Frederic Herold, with liberal borrowings from the operas of Rossini and Donizetti, and the orchestrations are splashy, romantic, and altogether delightful. This ballet is one to treasure.

This is a lovely production and Lesley Collier is amazing but the Michael Coleman was just not good. I couldn't watch him turn at all. he managed to muster a great ending in the 3rd act but he still didn't finish the turn properly. didn't they team him that in ballet school? Also this production has one of three Lise's variations, two of the other ones that I really wanted to see have been cut. Disappointed not to be able to see them. Core de ballet was great. I probably won't watch it again

This is sheer perfection - the canonical production of La Fille Mal Gardee. The dancers are all superb, know what they're doing, and genuinely seem to be having a good time. The orchestra is similarly in fine form. And while the video isn't the latest state of the art HD 4K whatever, it is expertly directed. You get to see every detail of Ashton's brilliant choreography. There are no unseemly closeups that obscure the action. Every shot is neatly set up to show just what you need to see. If you're only going to buy one copy of this ballet, this version is THE one to get. You won't be sorry.

There is no better version of "La Fille Mal Gardee" than this one . . . totally charming and captivating in every way, especially in the performances of Lesley Collier as "Lise", Brian Shaw as "the Widow Simone" and Garry Grant as "Alain". More recent versions from the Royal Ballet offer better technical qualities in the dancing, especially in the role of "Colas", but the overall characterizations are not as good.

La Fille Mal Gardee is an adorable ballet. The music, choreography, sets, costumes and cast are all perfect. It is a very light hearted ballet with a lot of humer in it. You will laugh throughout the whole show. Lesley Collier is a joy to watch. She is beyond graceful and just adorable. Her technique is lovely making her my favorite ballerina.The only complaint I have about this DVD is that the quality of the recording. It is not very sharp and the colors seem to blend together a bit.I highly recommend this DVD to anyone who loves ballet and wants to have a laugh. It is the perfect family ballet.

This ballet is delightful. Tuneful, romantic, funny, charming, irresistible. Credit for the music is given to Ferdinand Herold as "arranged by John Lanchbery." I think Lanchbery deserves much more credit for what he did, including composing some of the music himself. I learned from Wikipedia that music of several other composers also was used by Herold and by Lanchbery, including some from an apparently unknown composer, from Martini, Rossini, Donizetti, Hertel, and Haydn. The result as handled by Lanchbery is completely coherent and effective.

its a nice play, youve got the chance to see the coreography and the scenery...i was looking for it to give me some ideas for a play in a theatre....this was an excellent movie for that..besides the technical part of the dancers...GREAT....i love tha part where the dumb gets "go with the wind" on the storm!! lol!!

La Fille Mal Gardee is proving to be my favourite ballet. How could it be otherwise when danced by the justly famous Royal Ballet Company. Apart from Frederick Aston's superlative choreography, the music, sets and costumes all combine to enhance this bright, happy and fun filled theatrical experience. The principals, Lesley Collier and Michael Coleman are perfection in their roles of the young lovers Lise and Colas, as is the late Brian Shaw as the Widow Simone and his delightful Clog Dance. Filmed in 1984 it has lost nothing with the passage of time.

Sorry for the review title - but if you have the good fortune to see this ballet, you'll understand the poultry reference and surely experience "delight"! Of the sixty or so ballets I have on DVD, "La Fille" is one of my most treasured. Although the Royal Ballet has issued a more current edition of "La Fille",(which I don't have) I can't imagine how it could top this truly exceptional performance. Mind you, this DVD was produced in the early 80's, so the technical aspect is probably not quite up to more recent DVD standards, but that's a minor point.La Fille mal gardee is one of the oldest ballets still performed. It was first staged in Bordeaux in 1789 and represented a departure from the heroic dance conventions of eighteenth century Europe, dealing instead, with simple rural life. It was an immediate hit throughout Europe. While the original musical score was long lost, the present score was written by Ferdinand Herold (b 1791 - d 1833)in the mid-eighteen hundreds.Luckily, "La Fille" found refuge at the undisputed Mecca of ballet, the Maryinsky theater in St. Petersberg Russia.Fredric Ashton, the choreographer for thisrendition was guided and no doubt inspired by Tamara Karsavina, Who had danced the role of Lise at the Maryinsky.Lise, in this edition, is danced by Lesley Collier who does a truly wonderful job of it, as does Michael Coleman and Brian Shaw. But the most endearing character to me is Alain, danced (and acted in the finest British music hall tradition) by Garry Grant.In my humble opinion, ballet on DVD doesn't come much better than this - and that's taking the age of this DVD's production into account. My advice, get "La Fille" - if you don't like it, perhaps Ballet really isn't your thing after all!

Absolutely terrific in every respect.

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