Ernest Ansermet – The Royal Ballet Gala Performances 2LP Analogue Productions

Ernest Ansermet – The Royal Ballet Gala Performances

Double LP plus gatefold jacket with an integrated multi-page book inside

Mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog tape

180-gram double LP plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings

"Analogue Productions' Classic Records buyout brought with it metal parts for many albums, cut by Bernie Grundman, including for this record. ... AP chose to produce a new stamper using the "mother" cut from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman. ... I compared this 33 1/3 reissue to the Classic 33 1/3 reissue and to an original pressing that I'm lucky to own. ... The QRP pressing was definitely more open, extended and focused on top and transients were sharper though in a completely natural way. The Classic sounded somewhat softer and veiled. If you've got both, you'll hear it in the percussive transients first and then consistently throughout. ... If this is one of your "go to" sonic spectaculars and you have other versions, you ought to consider adding this one, though you'll have to wait for the re-re-press. Both the sound, including dead quiet vinyl, as well as the packaging are first-rate." — Music = 11/11; Sound = 11/11 - Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com. To read Fremer's full review, click here.

In the hearts of thousands, No. 1 on the Top RCA list. While the bulk of Ansermet's recordings were made with L'Orchestre de la Susise Romande, there were a few with the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra and the very occasional foray into recordings with London orchestras, one of these being with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1959.

Analogue Productions  is proud and excited to be bringing back such a classic. Not just for the music, which is superb, but also for the detailed packaging, which in this case takes the form of a 22-page lavishly illustrated book that's integrated into the tip-on gatefold jacket. If you're new to ballet, this pictorial history will introduce you to some of its most famous productions — old favorites such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, for example — but also less familiar tales such as Carnaval, Les Sylphides and Coppélia. You'll also make the aquaintance of famous ballerinas of the Royal company, such as Margot Fonteyn, Nadia Nerina and Beryl Grey. as well as choreographers such as Jules Perrot and male dancers Alexis Rassine and Michael Somes.

Musically you can't get better than the 180-gram dead-silent platters pressed by Quality Record Pressings, makers of the world's finest-sounding LPs. Of course the best vinyl reflects the best mastering, and that's accomplished here by Bernie Grundman working from the original analog tape. Stoughton Printing expertly handled the intricate gatefold tip-on package.

Audiophilia Online Magazine wrote: "This is the stuff of which dreams are made. The Royal Ballet Gala is one of the finest RCAs recorded in London's Kingsway Hall. The chunks of great ballet music are well served by orchestra, conductor and engineer. Performances are executed to a very high standard - the Royal Opera House Orchestra, both then and now, rank as one of the finest of opera orchestras.

"Conductor Ansermet keeps the pace moving, giving the listener the impression of a dance event rather than a dramatic concert hall reading. With the exception of some of the Tchaikovsky scenes, the music is light and remains so under Ansermet's gentle touch. Each ballet is given full attention by the players, something not always attained at Covent Garden during long ballet nights! The threat of eternity does have it's merits. The recorded sound is simply amazing! Lustrous is one word that comes to mind, accurate is another.

"Tonally, Messrs. Williamson and Wilkinson have used their considerable talents to capture the orchestra superbly. Woodwind and strings glow and resonate, transporting this listener to a time when simpler recording was better. Brass ring out thrillingly and percussion effects are very musical. Be it a bang, swish, rattle, crack or snap, each percussionist is situated perfectly within the beautiful Kingsway soundstage. Even the difficult-to-record sound of the celeste is captured in it's purely mechanical form. It's delicate sound is heard to great effect during the Nutcracker - originating stage left, the sound decays across the stage of Kingsway with sparkling beauty. Wonderful."

Tracklist:
The Nutcracker Suite
A1 March
A2 Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy
A3 Arabian Dance
A4 Chinese Dance
A5 Dance Of The Toy Flutes
A6 Waltz Of The Flowers
La Boutique Fantasque
A7 Tarantella
A8 Andante Mosso
A9 Can Can

Coppélia
B1 Act 1: Introduction And Mazurka
B2 Introduction And Waltz
B3 Czárdás
B4 Act 2: Valse De La Poupee
Giselle
B5 Act 1: Introduction And Waltz
B6 Act 2: Pas De Deux And Variation

Swan Lake
C1 Act 2: Scene – Dance Of The Little Swans (Pas De Quatre)
C2 Scene – Pas De Deux
C3 Waltz
Carnaval
C4 Pierrot
C5 Reconnaissance
C6 Aveu
C7 Pantalon Et Columbine

The Sleeping Beauty
D1 Introduction, Prologue: The Lilac Fairy
D2 Act 1: Rose Adagio; Pas D'Action
D3 Waltz
Les Sylphides
D4 Overture: Prelude In A, Op. 28, No. 7
D5 Mazurka In C Major, Op. 67, No. 3
D6 Grande Valse Brillante In E Flat Major, Opus 18

Label: Analogue Productions
Released: 1959/2016