Opera on DVD

Started by uffeviking, April 08, 2007, 12:54:48 AM

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marvinbrown

Quote from: Lethe on October 25, 2007, 01:46:23 AM
It's important to point out that I went for the first based soley on reading reviews on sites like Amazon, and so have no insight that anybody else could have after a few mouseclicks - I could be missing out on something great in the 2nd recording - but unlike many of the reviews say (in recommending buying BOTH), I am happy enough with just one, and it's a fun production. :)

Maybe flip a coin :D You don't want to be without a Kleiber DVD for too long, you could be hit by a bus next week :P

  Mike and Lethe, sorry for not writing back with an update but I already ordered the Munich recording (the earlier one) two days ago  :).  and yes based on what I have read one should not be without a Kleiber DVD for too long.....



  marvin

Lethevich

Quote from: marvinbrown on October 25, 2007, 02:24:38 AM
  Mike and Lethe, sorry for not writing back with an update but I already ordered the Munich recording (the earlier one) two days ago  :).  and yes based on what I have read one should not be without a Kleiber DVD for too long.....

:D I hope you like it :) Maybe you could confirm or deny the potential singing problem with Ochs to help Mike choose - I don't think he will be a problem, though.
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

DanielFullard

This thread is brilliant ;D

I'm a huge Opera DVD buyer and will add my view when I can.

All I will say for now is if you're a fan of Carmen then you can't go wrong with the BBC Opus Arte production starting Anne Sofie Von Otter. I must have seen countless Carmen's but for me this is the most enjoyable and the one I keep coming back to.


Would be interested in hearing anyone's Ruslaka recomendations?

Siedler

Well, there's not much choise...only three DVDs:
Opera National de Paris with Fleming and Larin

Czech film

ENO with Elder and Treleaven (in English)


I'd say the best bet is the Paris one, if you like Fleming. I have borrowed it from library but haven't watched it yet...

yashin

I am currently working my way through these:

Giulio Cesare - from Copenhagen with Andreas Scholl.  All i can say is that this is excellent singing and a terrific production so far.  I would even rate it above the glorious Glyndebourne production which i love.

Aida- from Zurich with Nina Stemme and Salvatore Licitra.  An unusual production i would say.  The magazine Gramophone gave it a very good review saying that it is the Aida we have been waiting for on DVD.  Whilst Stemme sings well i cannot replace Chiara on the Arena di Verona DVD.  Salvatore Licitra impresses with his controlled singing too.  BUT-there are no sparks between the main characters and therefore the tomb scene looks like they are going through the motions.  Stemme and Licitra look uncomfortable to be honest.

For the Rosenkavalier - i have not seen the more recent DVD from TDK (with Adrianne Pieczonka) but i do have the Zurich production with Stemme, Kasarova and Alfred Muff. I really enjoy this whole production.  The acting is super and the singing is sublime.  I think it is a fairly cheap buy too these days.

What i would like to know is has anyone seen the La Calisto DVD?  I have read some good things, but then Gramophone magazine did not like it.


Lethevich

Quote from: yashin on October 27, 2007, 04:55:47 PM
For the Rosenkavalier - i have not seen the more recent DVD from TDK (with Adrianne Pieczonka) but i do have the Zurich production with Stemme, Kasarova and Alfred Muff. I really enjoy this whole production.  The acting is super and the singing is sublime.  I think it is a fairly cheap buy too these days.

I like that one too (the only I have in addition to the Kleiber), but I'm not sure if Marvin likes updated productions (unless I'm mixing people up - sorry if I am). But for Zurich, the staging relatively inoffensive (that OH really hates traditional productions, it seems), and the cast sound good - the princess and Octavian also don't act like statues, which is always nice... :)
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

Heather Harrison

Quote from: yashin on October 27, 2007, 04:55:47 PM
What i would like to know is has anyone seen the La Calisto DVD?  I have read some good things, but then Gramophone magazine did not like it.

I have seen it, and I loved it.  I thought the production was interesting, the story was entertaining, and the performance was very good.  Of course, this sort of opera might not appeal to everybody.  I wonder what Gramophone didn't like about it.

Heather

marvinbrown

Quote from: Lethe on October 27, 2007, 05:18:55 PM
I like that one too (the only I have in addition to the Kleiber), but I'm not sure if Marvin likes updated productions (unless I'm mixing people up - sorry if I am). But for Zurich, the staging relatively inoffensive (that OH really hates traditional productions, it seems), and the cast sound good - the princess and Octavian also don't act like statues, which is always nice... :)

  Sorry not to have responded sooner about the Munich Der Rosenkavalier (Kleiber).  After a very busy weekend I got Sunday afternoon free to sit back and enjoy this DVD (Der Rosenkavalier, Kleiber, Munich) recording and I was very impressed.  Kleiber seems to have the score of this Strauss' opera in his bloodstream. The music was absolutely beautiful (Straussian magic). Didn't even notice any trouble with Jungwirth's voice at all-  I do not know what that amazon reviewer was complaining about. I loved the costumes and sets most of all- no modern adaptation here (you know I hate those)- definitely recommendable!!

  marvin

   

Lethevich



I just finished watching Korngold's Die tote Stadt. I was initially surprised when getting into opera that the much talked about genre of German opera had so few works to its name. Despite being a relative obscurity, Korngold's style fits perfectly alongside Strauss's, and judging from the plot of this piece, as does the dreamlike and symbolic libretto.

The staging on this DVD is very good. The sets and costumes are "updated" and sometimes quite impressive. Generally it resembles an aesthetically deconstructed "traditional" staging - rooms have some old looking furniture, but it's in a state of disrepair, and neither the rooms or the furniture are arranged in a standard way. There are probably some tweaks to the stage directions as well, but as I have nothing to compare this staging to, I am only assuming so. For example, when Paul asks for some roses to be brought into the room to brighten it, Brigitta brings in some floral wallpaper and pastes it to the wall, or when Marietta demonstrates her dancing to Paul, instead of actually dancing, she poses like Marilyn Monroe over an upward blowing vent. These touches generally work well and are not too jarring. Only the second half of act 2 could be considered truly "Eurotrash" by whoever still uses that word (a bar scene is depicated as a [again] deconstructed 50s style American diner with the occupants in flourescent costume), but this brightness was a lift from the dourness everywhere else, and that fits with a bar being somewhere to go to enjoy yourself. Good use is made of darkness and coloured lighting throughout (especially in act 1). The staging borders on macabre, which can be interesting in itself - Paul hugging the rotting skeleton of a deceased wife, the vision of the holy men rising from a deep split in the ground, zombie-style.

The libretto itself is rather confusing - when watching an opera I haven't seen before, I like to read the synopsis afterwards, so that the action on screen is a "surprise" to me - and perhaps more than any other opera I've yet to see, what seemed to be happening in the piece was entirely contradicted by the later synopsis read :D With almost the entirety of act 2 and 3 occuring as a hallucination, the transition didn't come across at all, so a previously dead character appearing again as if nothing had happened shortly before the end was rather jarring. This could've perhaps been remedied by the set of act 1 being very "realistic" when compared to the surreal rest, but evidently that wasn't a plan of the director. The music is substantial and rich, the choral music is truly beautiful at times. Torsten Kerl is great as Paul, and sings wonderfully what is apparently a very demanding role. Angela Denoke looks near ideal for the role of a figure of obsession, looking very pre-Raphaelite in this production. She sings well and acts brilliantly.

Picture quality is very good and happily it is in 16:9 format. If nothing sounds too repellent about the staging (which I enjoyed), I would recommend this to fans of Strauss, Zemlinsky, Schreker, and the rest of the rather tonally exotic sounding early 20th century Austrians and Germans.

My own screencaps, apologies for the low quality, but my PC (or VLC Media Player) doesn't enjoy DVDs. Click to enlarge:

Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

uffeviking

Excellent review, beautifully written and I thank you sincerely, Lethe!

I have had this DVD in my collection for quite some time and pull it up every now and then, especially for Korngold's great music. Denoke was still young when this was recorded in 2001; I understand by now she has graduated to Richard Wagner, but can't recall which one and where, sorry! Torten Kerl also was not yet a household word but his voice and outstanding acting impressed me. He too is doing Wagner now. Korngold a stepping stone for Wagner and Bayreuth?  ;)

Lethevich

#310
Quote from: uffeviking on October 30, 2007, 06:59:23 PM
Excellent review, beautifully written and I thank you sincerely, Lethe!

I have had this DVD in my collection for quite some time and pull it up every now and then, especially for Korngold's great music. Denoke was still young when this was recorded in 2001; I understand by now she has graduated to Richard Wagner, but can't recall which one and where, sorry! Torten Kerl also was not yet a household word but his voice and outstanding acting impressed me. He too is doing Wagner now. Korngold a stepping stone for Wagner and Bayreuth?  ;)

:) Kerl is now well and truly on my radar, his performance was very good (I couldn't manage put much about the singing into words though, it's a big weak point for me).

Korngold's operas are supposedly among the most demanding before Wagner, so I'm not surprised that singers in Korngold could excell in Wagner too - especially as the tenor voice required in Die tote Stadt is quite heldentenor-like.

Edit: added two words to avoid potential confusion.
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

yashin

Die tote stadt is amongst my favourite operas. Torsten Kerl and Angela Denoke are amongst the best interpreters of the role to be found today.  I was lucky enough to see Kerl in Amsterdam on several occasions and then again in Barcelona- all as Paul.  He is superb as is Denoke on the cd from Salzburg- in the Willy Decker setting.

I really enjoy this DVD production too.  I think the singing is first class.  Some might not like the 'eurotrash' european style of the performance but it is always heartfelt and well acted.  I for one love the ending where Paul slits his own wrist singing 'O Freund' and then tries to leave the stage but ends up dying at the door with a sign above it saying 'NO EXIT'.  For me this is a beautiful moment and i wish i could see it live.  It sums up the feeling of helplessness you sense Paul feels.  True it might not be the intention of Korngold but it is a really good idea.

If you look on youtube you can see James King in this opera.  In this ending he takes a gun and puts it to his head.  Again, purists will frown saying that Paul should leave Bruge alive.  But i would love to see this ending in a production too.

Some find Korngold's music too sentimental but i can't recommend this opera enough.

marvinbrown


  Figured it was high time I bumped this thread.  No one has posted here since Halloween  :o.  Haven't seen any operas this week though  :o (its unlike me, I usually like to watch a couple of operas every week after work)  But I did purchase the following two from amazon marketplace sellers and I can not wait to see these next week:

  This one was inspired by the Tristan und Isolde DVD thread and after discussions with Lis and Wendel_E I finally caved in and bought it:

 

  this will be my first Barenboim opera  :).

  I also picked this up for £13, an often neglected opera (I have a CD recording of it without any libretto but I just love the music, I felt I needed to get into the story- hope this DVD serves me well):

 

  marvin
 

 

Anne

#313
Has anyone heard Katarina Dalayman sing?

I heard her singing Marietta"s Lied from Die tote Stadt last night on the 2nd Cd, 19th track, of the sampler Cd that comes with the 762-page book from Opera A - Z from Naxos that I posted yesterday.  Her voice gorgeous!  She hits the high notes without the slightest strain.

Does anyone know if she has recorded other Cd's?

Wendell_E

Quote from: Anne on November 08, 2007, 06:24:38 AM
Has anyone heard Katerina Dalayman sing?

Does anyone know if she has recorded other Cd's?

In addition to a complete Die tote Stadt , she's also recorded Marie in Wozzeck for Naxos.

The only recording of hers I have is as Brangäne on the Met DVD of Tristan und Isolde.  Next season at the Met, she's supposed to sing Isolde.

"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

Anne

Quote from: Wendell_E on November 08, 2007, 06:57:07 AM
In addition to a complete Die tote Stadt , she's also recorded Marie in Wozzeck for Naxos.

The only recording of hers I have is as Brangäne on the Met DVD of Tristan und Isolde.  Next season at the Met, she's supposed to sing Isolde.



Thanks, Wendell.  I have the Met Tristan and enjoyed listening to it this afternoon thanks to your reminder.  Much appreciated

Wendell_E

#316
Quote from: Anne on November 08, 2007, 04:18:27 PM
Thanks, Wendell.  I have the Met Tristan and enjoyed listening to it this afternoon thanks to your reminder.  Much appreciated

Speaking of Dalayman CBC Radio 2 (http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/) just started a broadcast of Shostakovich's Katerina Ismailova from the Théâtre du Chatelet, with Dalayman in the title role.  I would have mentioned it earlier, but the CBC website lists Solveig Kringelborn, but the announcer just said Dalayman.

It starts at 1:00 p.m. for each time zone covered by the CBC, so you listen to the broadcasts that begin later here: http://www.cbc.ca/radio2/mediaPlayer.html?
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

Anne

#317
Thanks, Wendell.  I went to a children's performance of a ballet (Christmas Carol) this afternoon.  (They used a beautiful recording of Schubert's Unfinished Sym. for some of the music.)  Consequently, I did not read your note until now.

The Naxos Cd's of Die tote Stadt with K. Dalayman and Thomas Sunnegardh arrived today.  Leif Segerstam conducts the Royal Swedish Opera Chorus and Orchestra.

I can't believe it.  The recording does not have a libretto, only a summary.  Grrr!

If you hear of her singing anywhere else, will you please tell me?

PS.  I have the Met's Tristan you mentioned and listened yesterday.  With Eaglen, Heppner, Dalayman, and Pape, it was a wonderful vocal performance.  I may just put it on Cd.

Wanderer

Quote from: Anne on November 10, 2007, 02:15:00 PM
The Naxos Cd's of Die tote Stadt with K. Dalayman and Thomas Sunnegardh arrived today.  Leif Segerstam conducts the Royal Swedish Opera Chorus and Orchestra.

I can't believe it.  The recording does not have a libretto, only a summary.  Grrr!

As a compensation, though, the performance and recording are more than satisfactory. Some minor cuts, but Segerstam conducts with impressive feel for the music and the protagonists sing beautifully.

Anne

Quote from: Wanderer on November 10, 2007, 10:33:19 PM
As a compensation, though, the performance and recording are more than satisfactory. Some minor cuts, but Segerstam conducts with impressive feel for the music and the protagonists sing beautifully.

I agree with you so much regarding the conducting and the beautiful singing.  Before, after watching part of a DVD of this work, I had decided this opera was not for me but the Naxos performance is so beautiful that it will be easy to like.  What a difference another performance makes!