Carl Davis - The Lady of the Camelias

A new release of Carl Davis' 2008 ballet score for the famous Alexandre Dumas story. Album of the Week, 12 August 2013.

Alexandre Dumas' The Lady of the Camelias has inspired plays, films, ballets and operas - most famously Verdi's La Traviata. Carl Davis' ballet version was commissioned by the National Ballet of Croatia and premiered in 2008. It went on to sell out two successive seasons.

This is classic Carl Davis, who honed his composing craft on the brilliant Thames Silents series of soundtracks for classic silent movies. Like those scores, this richly romantic music conjures up the spirits of Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and others - all with Davis' distinctive flair for the dramatic.

Even without the ballet visuals to go with it, this is a delightful listen, crisply performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer.