Research Catalog

Title

Arabian nights [excerpts] [videorecording] / produced by Guy Lombardo ; entire production staged and directed by Robert H. Gordon.

Publication

1954.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Lombardo, Guy, 1902-1977.
• Gordon, Robert H., director.
• Rychtarik, Richard, 1894-1982.
• Lazowsky, Yurek
• Mayer, Lottie
• Morrison, Paul, 1906-1980.
• Slavenska, Mia
• Vitale, Adriano

Description

1 videodisc (NTSC) (18 min.) : si., col.; 4 3/4 in.

Summary

Excerpts from a musical extravaganza incorporating water ballet, ballet dancing, acrobatics, high diving, and ice skating. The stage is an island in a lagoon, which separates it from the audience's grandstand. In the opening water ballet, part of Aladdin's adventures in China, the performers of Lottie Mayer's Disappearing Ballet enter the water in elaborate Chinese costumes, which they gradually doff until they appear in swimsuits. An extended ballet sequence and the story of Sinbad and the whale follow, as does a second water ballet. Yurek Lazowsky's choreography won the Dance Educators of America 1954 award for Distinctive Contributions to the Dance. Yeichi Nimura's interest in this production may be attributed to his acquaintance with ballerina Mia Slavenska; in May 1953 he had facilitated the Slavenska-Franklin Ballet company's tour of Japan.

Donor/Sponsor

Bequest of the Estate of Lisan Kay Nimura.

Series Statement

Yeichi and Lisan Kay Nimura Collection

Genre/Form

• Dance.
• Video.

Note

• The opening water ballet and fireworks display are out of focus; light levels are sometimes very low, and the camera is at some distance from the stage.

Credits (note)

• Book, George Marion, Jr. ; production director, Allen Zee ; scenery and costumes, Richard Rychtarik ; choreography, Yurek Lazowsky ; water sequences, Lottie Mayer ; lighting, Paul Morrison. The music and lyrics for this production, absent on this silent film, were by Carmen Lombardo and John Jacob Loeb.

Performer (note)

• Lauritz Melchior (Sultan), Helena Scott (Scheherazade), William Chapman (Prince Ahmed/Sinbad/Aladdin), Ralph Herbert (Grand Vizier), Mia Slavenska (Prima Ballerina), Adriano Vitale (Premier Danseur), others.

Event (note)

• Recorded in open-air performance at Jones Beach Marine Theatre, Long Island, New York, in July 1954.

Funding (note)

• Processing and cataloging made possible by the Estate of Lisan Kay Nimura.

System Details (note)

• DVD, transferred from 16mm film.

Source (note)

• Estate of Lisan Kay Nimura

Call Number

*MGZIDVD 5-5711

OCLC

682605334

Title

Arabian nights [excerpts] [videorecording] / produced by Guy Lombardo ; entire production staged and directed by Robert H. Gordon.

Imprint

1954.

Country of Producing Entity

United States.

Series

Yeichi and Lisan Kay Nimura Collection

System Details

DVD, transferred from 16mm film.

Cast

Lauritz Melchior (Sultan), Helena Scott (Scheherazade), William Chapman (Prince Ahmed/Sinbad/Aladdin), Ralph Herbert (Grand Vizier), Mia Slavenska (Prima Ballerina), Adriano Vitale (Premier Danseur), others.

Credits

Book, George Marion, Jr. ; production director, Allen Zee ; scenery and costumes, Richard Rychtarik ; choreography, Yurek Lazowsky ; water sequences, Lottie Mayer ; lighting, Paul Morrison. The music and lyrics for this production, absent on this silent film, were by Carmen Lombardo and John Jacob Loeb.

Event

Recorded in open-air performance at Jones Beach Marine Theatre, Long Island, New York, in July 1954.

Funding

Processing and cataloging made possible by the Estate of Lisan Kay Nimura.

Source

Gift; Estate of Lisan Kay Nimura, Sept. 2007. NN-PD

Added Author

Lombardo, Guy, 1902-1977. Producer

Gordon, Robert H., director. Director

Rychtarik, Richard, 1894-1982. Set designer

Rychtarik, Richard, 1894-1982. Costume designer

Lazowsky, Yurek, choreographer.

Mayer, Lottie, choreographer.

Morrison, Paul, 1906-1980. Lighting designer

Slavenska, Mia, dancer.

Vitale, Adriano, dancer.

Research Call Number

*MGZIDVD 5-5711