The second, and longest, of Tchaikovsky’s three ballets, Sleeping Beauty was first performed in St Petersburg in 1889. Again, the theme of good versus evil is to the fore, in the form of the character

‘I accepted the commission partly for the money, and partly because I have long wanted to try my hand at this sort of music,’ wrote Tchaikovsky to Rimsky-Korsakov. For the sum of 800 roubles (around £

(conductor) USSR RTV Symphony Orchestra Melodiya RCID24689058 Numerous recordings by the good and the great ensure that the bar is set extremely high here, and among the many persuasive readings are t

Zémide*; Pygmalion** Ema Nikolovska, Virginie Thomas et al; A Nocte Temporis, Chœur de Chambre de Namur/ Reinoud Van Mechelen Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS174 80:10 mins Readers may be grateful

Maria Falconer considers…

It’s a joy watching our favourite singers or actors, but though we might admire them and enjoy the happiness they bring, do we ever give a thought as to how precarious the world of entertainment actua