Yes, this recording is for the person familiar with the ballet and wants to be transported back to the stage. The tempo is just right for your imagination to allow the performers to dance in your head. Other faster recordings may be more accessible to people not as familiar with the ballet, such as Dorati. My reason to listen to ballets, operas, soundtracks etc. is to go back to the performance and feel the emotion which makes the music all the more enjoyable and significant. You can listen to this CD in it's entirety (that's right entirety) at naxos.com and make a completely informed decision....

I've been a Tchaikovsky afficionado for several years, and because his three ballets have remained my favorites among his works, I was determined to own the finest performances given of them. Regarding Sleeping Beauty, I had to sample a multitude of recordings before discovering the finest of them all-- the Naxos version conducted by Mogrelia. The reason should be clear to anyone who has experienced it: the strings are flush with vivacity and resonance; the overall tempo is nearly perfect; and the acoustical quality transports one to a choice seat in a symphonic hall. Final verdict: Buy it!

Tchaikovsky was a great composer who wrote symphonies, concertos, and other works which are beloved by classical music lovers. But his greatest compositions almost certainly were his three ballets, and the most uniquely beautiful of Tchaikovsky's ballets is The Sleeping Beauty. In my opinion it is the most beautiful ballet -- and one of the most beautiful works in any genre -- ever written by any composer. My favorite (five star) performances of The Sleeping Beauty are those by Richard Bonynge and Andre Previn. But Andrew Mogrelia is a very fine ballet conductor and this complete 3-CD set is a wonderful bargain.

Except for the famous waltz, Sleeping Beauty lacks the catchy tunes of Swan Lake and the Nutcracker, and its pace is stately rather than dramatic. Even so, the music rates as the most sophisticated that Tchaikovsky wrote for the dance. For many listeners the lengthy score loses interest before it's over (not true when you see the ballet on stage), and there have been few really outstanding recordings. One of the best, from Ernest Ansermet on Decca, has never been released on CD to my knowledge.

This bargain version from Andrew Mogrelia, conductor of the San Francisco Ballet, is refined and elegnat. It makes Previn seem anemic and Gergiev too rough-handed. The light, springy rhythms remind me of Dorati's approach on Philips. I agree with the reviewer below who says that you can see the stage in your mind's eye -- Mogrelia's tempos are eminently danceable. Naxos provides good engineering, althoug the woodwind solos are a bit far back. If only the orchestra were better, but they play stylishly and with conviciton. The somewhat scrapy execution that crops up here and there keeps this from being a five-star recording, so if that's not much of a concern, this set deserves the highest recommendation.

I love this 3 cd set. It covers the original Tchaikovsky :Sleeping Beauty and it makes you feel like you are at the Ballet years ago~~

Thanks!