Opera on DVD

[sospiro]

DVDs due for release on 13th September in UK and October in US.

Don Carlo

Don Carlo: Rolando Villazón
Elisabetta di Valois: Marina Poplavskaya
Rodrigo: Simon Keenlyside
Philip II: Ferruccio Furlanetto
Princess Eboli: Sonia Ganassi




Faust

Faust : Roberto Alagna
Mephistopheles : Bryn Terfel
Marguerite : Angela Gheorghiu
Wagner : Matthew Rose
Valentin : Simon Keenlyside
Siebel : Sophie Koch
Marthe Schwertlein : Della Jones

[knight66]

I saw a broadcast of the Faust live, it was terrific. A great production, lively and very well sung. I thought it would never be issued as I read that Alagna wanted a fee that the film company could not possibly meet.

Mike

[knight66]

One of the main themes of Otello/Othello is alienation. It is about someone who is an outsider; at home as a soldier, at sea in the choppier waters of a society that has only accepted him up to a point. A black man who marries a pale, blond aristocratic beauty. Now, it is a fairly standard combination that you see walking the streets, but in Shakespear's time, in Verdi's time, it provided a frisson and that background dug away at Otello like an open-cast mineworking.

Well, this production sidesteps this tension entirely. Can Salzburg be in the grip of political correctness? I have read over recent years references to sensitivities around having black singers white up. So we get the absurdity of a black Octavian, white powdered wig and all. Here we have an Otello who looks like a burly Russian builder having spent two weeks sunning himself on the Black Sea. They have fed his paranoia with a personable pretty-boy Cassio, one who would have been an excellent ticking bomb to an insecure black man with a beautiful white wife.

Not only was Otello sporting mid-brown hair, but it seemed to have blond highlights at the front. Bizarre, as in the documentary about the production, his hair looked almost black. For me a very important element, the background mainspring for what happens and why, is omitted.

So, what do we have.

We have Muti absolutely on peak form in charge of a Rolls Royce orchestra, the Wienner Philharmonika. The depth of sound is a wonder, the low strings have no trouble with that difficult opening to the final act. Muti finds drama, fire and tenderness. The great Act 3 ensemble is not the one we are used to. No, not the butchered version Karajan imposed last on Salzburg, rather the revision Verdi wrote for Paris. I prefer the original which is more direct and has an inevitability that this longer version misses.

The revelation of the night was the lyric-spinto soprano Marina Poplavskaya. She was new to the role of Desdemona, I cannot imagine it being more perfectly inhabited. She was not a mere passive doll, but a passionate, tender woman who shows the fundamental shock and confusion as her life suddenly tilts. Lambent eyes, she uses a lot of subtle facial expressions. She is utterly beautiful and her opening to the final act was the core of the performance, complete concentration from both sides of the stage lights. At the right time the audience showed her how appreciative they were. It is a warm voice with dark colours towards the bottom. She can float a soft phrase and project it, but not for show, but expressively. Judge for yourselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x2zzCSVCcc

She is slated for this month's Pappano Don Carlos DVD and I will be ordering it. There is next to nothing of her available, I predict that that will shortly change.

The Jago was Carlos Alvarez. I liked him, he is a natural stage animal, but he was so clearly plotting and winnowing away, that as a friend to anyone, his manner did not strike true. He was unable to beguile the time by looking like it; from the back of the gods, he screamed 'villain'. One interesting production point was that for his Credo, he drew the stage curtain and confided his bile from the front of the stage directly to the audience.

Otello was sung by Aleksandrs Antnenko, of at least Russian heritage, he speaks excellent German in the accompanying documentary. He is also a good deal more mobile in his facial expression off-stage. On stage, he raised his eyebrows, but otherwise, his face might have been botoxed. It was his first stab at the role. He has heft, the bottom half of the voice is dark, the higher you go the harder the tone is. He looks uncomfortable and although he managed the vocal demands, he shows no inclination to savour the words. Remember Vickers's use of the word 'Gloria' when close to the end, so much expressed in one word, here it was just a hook for a note.

Well, this piece is already too long and I have given no idea of the production. It all takes place on one set with no furnature. This works well for the public scenes, but the final act, set in a bedroom, is handled in that vast bare space, the singers on a tilted pier-like perspex floor. As much of the final act was in close-up, that outdoor effect was largely eliminated.

There are moments of symbolism, the stage splits early on exposing a chasm and in death the two protagonists lie one either side of that chasm. There are other such things, but they are hackneyed and obvious. The costumes are superb, the lighting atmospheric. 

I will watch it again for the many pleasures. The quest for the perfect performance goes on, and probably will never finish.

One last carp; the English subtitles are sparse. When Otello greets Lodovico his asides cursing Desdemona are absent from the screen, you need to know the piece to get the best from the DVD

Mike.

[kaergaard]

Has it been that long since somebody bought an opera DVD? 

Among many performed, praised, and loved Richard Wagner's operas he wrote more, not so familiar and condemned to the dust bin by most critics and opera lovers alike. Now there came this inventive, intelligent director, Philip Stölzl who rescued one of Wagner's early works, Rienzi and the Berlin Deutsche Oper performed it early this year and even recorded it to make it available on DVD.

Finally! A version of Rienzi enjoyable to watch and listen to! Carrying the performance from beginning to end, is, as Rienzi, Torsten Kerl an artist I have first appreciated in Die Tote Stadt ably partnered by the soprano Camillla Nylund and the conducting of Sebastian Lang-Lessing.

Wagner titled the opera Der Letzte der Tribunen and Stölzl vaguely but cleverly, portrayed tyrants of the past, like Mussolini and Hitler, et al. We are familiar with the overture, but Stölzl created a great moving picture you'll always remember when hearing it.

A DVD you will not ban to the dust bin! 

[knight66]

Well, Lis, thank goodness you are back. Welcome. Not sure I can be tempted into Reinzi, the bits I have heard are not that memorable. Though no doubt a good productrion can make it worthwhile. Have you got any verdion od Die Feen?

I have reviewd an opera DVD subsequent to that Otello, Don Carlos....perhaps I dumped it into the Verdi thread. I have the new Faust on DVD. But no chance to watch it yet.

Mike

[kaergaard]

Aulis Sallinen! In 1978 one of Finland's top composers, gave the opera worldThe Red Line a gripping story about the first parliamentary elections in Finland, the gripping story experienced by the poor crofter Topi and his family. A man who never had anything to say about life, is being given the chance to vote, to influence his life. Arguments between The Party and The Church along The Red Line, are but one of the issues in Topi's life; there is the bear decimating his flock of sheep. Sallinen based his opera on the novel by Ilmari Kianto, and in the words of the director Pekka Milonoff, came close to composing it as a Gesamtkunstwerk.

There is sublime humour, romance and tragedy. In the second act scene the choir is asking if it is spring in Finland. The romantic Sallinen doesn't let them answer directly, but he tells of the flowers in the meadow laughing! Lovely music, yet in the closing scene Sallinen's music is so tragic, it causes the conductor Mikko Franck to admit, a tear is rolling down his cheek every time he conducts a performance of The Red Line

The opera is carried by the baritone Jorma Hynninen, who has sung the premiere performance in 1978 at age 38, around 110 times in opera houses all over the world, yes even at the NY Met, as well as this one in 2008, recorded on an Ondine DVD.

Put your toe into one of Finland's beautiful lakes and test Aulis Sallinen supported by a strong cast in a very special opera.

[sospiro]

My latest purchase



Reviews have said too many leaves & too many chairs but those didn't bother me. Vargas was perfect as the nerdy poet, Fleming plays the naïve country girl to perfection & her letter scene is poignant & tragic. Her subsequent transformation to haughty, confident Princess who then breaks down & admits she still loves Onegin is stunning.

Hvorostovsky is in fine form vocally & brilliant as the cold hearted adventurer but his joy when his heart melts isn't convincing. His smile reminded me of a James Bond villain.

[kaergaard]

One more Don Giovanni.

Every time I buy another new DVD release of Don Giovanni I promise myself, this will be the last one. But I can't help it if there is another ingenious director coming out with a new idea of this Mozart masterpiece! In 2008 Claus Guth did it for the Salzburg Festival!

With the support of the conductor Bertrand De Billy and a cast of outstanding singer/actors, we now have the Unitel-Classica DVD of the July//August performance at the Salzburg Mozart Haus. Guth was not hampered by the small stage at this venue, he put the entire action into a forest, doing away with the "traditional pseudo-Seville squares and palaces" - quote from the insert - . The performer's contemporary outfits fit perfectly in the woodland setting, all out for a stroll, a wedding, romancing, seducting, picknicking actions. A bus stop building does not interfere with the woods at all, it gives the opportunity for everyone to wait in it, climb up on it, jump down off it and even nap on top of it.

Guth made one radical change in the very beginning of the opera - should I really give away the surprise? Sure, opera DVDs aren't exactly hot sellers here! - The Commendatore pulls out a gun and shoots Don Giovanni in the abdomen and then dies. This wound plays a significant vehicle for Christopher Maltman's brilliant acting as the Don. - Friend Tom classifies Maltman as another barihunk. There seem to be a great number of new talented baritones populating our opera stages! - Erwin Schrott as Leporello is a perfect match for Maltman, portraying the servant as a companion and friend, not as the customary bumbling sidekick. His brilliant acting and singing was a surprise for me, I only knew him as Mr. Netrebko. He doesn't need her to become a star on the opera stages of the world.

Maltman and Schrott carry this performance so ably supported by De Billy, a performance cut of it's sometimes boring last scene of the surviving cast preaching about the evils of humans. Don Giovanni has his last encounter with the Commendatore, a luxury casting of Anatoli Kotscherga, and dies of his wound, disappearing through the forest floor, not even holding the hand of his assassin!

It's different. Not really. The essence of Mozart's opera is covered very well; I didn't miss the cuts at all, the chances for the lovely ladies to show off their talents both in singing and acting are all there, as are the roles of Don Ottavio and Masetto.

Read in this month's Opera about yet another Don Giovanni at the Opera Cologne with Christopher Maltman; if it comes out on DVD, based on the review, I actually might skip this one. 

[bhodges]

Too many opera DVDs to even keep track of them all!  Lis, thanks for the Don Giovanni review, but thanks even more for mentioning the Sallinen!  Since it seems unlikely that it will show up here ( ), that particular DVD becomes almost mandatory. 

--Bruce

[Gurn Blanston]

Interesting-sounding DG, Lis. Thanks for that. As you know, I am a traditionalist in terms of opera, but this one sounds worth seeing. So few that I read about have that attraction. Seems odd that you would have to point out that Leporello and DG seem more like companions here; when I first read the libretto I thought that's how it would/should be, but there seem to be only hints of tha in the various productions I saw subsequently. So this should satisfy that idea in my head then.   Yes, I'll have to look into this. Thanks again,

GB

[kaergaard]

 --Bruce
[/quote] "that particular DVD becomes almost mandatory.

Whole-hearted agreement with you on that, but how can we convince people that there is more to the music of Finland than Sibelius? And that there is this truly outstanding actor/singer Jorma Hynninen, rarely seen or heard outside of Europe, I would call the top vocal interpreter of finnish music, his Rautavaaras for example. He is also a super Macbeth! Conductor Mikko Franck was not the only person shedding a tear during the last act of The Red Line[/i!]

[knight66]

I am tempted by both the discs Lis....but just having bought a set of four tyres, I think indulgences will have to wait. The Maltman DG that you review has had praise elsewhere. I think Jens may have reviewed it in some detail. Not sure I like the idea of the final ensemble being cut though.

Might just go have a look at Amazon, you never know whether there may be a bargain source on their marketplace.

Mike

[kaergaard]

Mike, can you tell me when Jens reviewed the Salzburg Don Giovanni? Did he do it here? I tried to find his blogs in vain.

I am wondering what your Finnish friend Juha is thinking of Sallinen and The Red Line!

Lis

[DavidW]

I don't know if this is what you're looking for...

http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=2346

[kaergaard]

Thanks, David!   
I have been at that site, but there is nothing about the Don Giovanni, thought maybe there is another blog or site where he posts.

[DavidW]

Well it says "Amid the good, the so-so, the obtuse, and the insultingly dreadful, there was one production that was a revelation, pure and simple. Opera as it should be. Perhaps the best conservative opera production I have ever seen: Claus Guth's Don Giovanni, 'new and improved' with the now competent, enlivening conducting of Yannick Nézet-Séguin."

Is that what you're looking for?  Or is it wrong performance?

[kaergaard]

Oh Dear!     I only saw the year 2010 in the title and skipped it because the DVD is from the 2008 performance. I wasn't aware Salzburg improved on the older production and brought in a new talent in Jannick Nézet-Séguin - not that Bertrand De Billy is unsatisfactory! - If the 2010 version is conservative I wonder what slightly naughty scenes they deleted. Watered it down?

[kaergaard]

This too is Aulis Sallinen!

The Palace, on the ArtHaus DVD, is from the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 1995. Kalle Holmberg directed it and the Festival orchestra is conducted by Okko Kamu. Looking at photos of the Savonlinna Festival always tempts me to book a trip to Finland and attend the performances there: An old castle/fortification totally surrounded by water; very romantic.

This opera is a complete opposite of The Red Line, from high drama to satiric comedy and takes some understanding, tolerance and open mind. I am not there yet, but I was drawn to it not only because it's from Sallinen, but the libretto has been written by Hans Magnus Enzensberger, one of the quartett of Germany's best contemporary writers. - Günter Grass, Siegfriend Lenz and Martin Walser are the others. - It's an Enzensberger creation alright, his sarcasm softened by Sallinen's music, light, varied, at times atonal, at times jazzy, rocky even.

In this opera too there is a main character carrying the performance, Sauli Tillikainen as Valmonte is the one for this opera. No doubt his wide smile constantly pasted on his face is demanded by the director, just get's a bit tiresome for my taste. Maybe repeat watching will make me accept it. For the first viewing yesterday I concentrated on the overall action, vaguely based on the overthrow of Hailie Selassie in 1974, but also shades of Mozart's Entführung aus dem Serail, use of the characters names like Constance/Konstanze, Valmonte/Belmonte, Petruccio/Pedrillo. Jaana Mäntynen, the emporer's wife Constance, has a very pleasant soprano expressing clearly variations of emotions with her voice.

From the insert: "The story of The Palace is not a fairytale but rather a pessimistic satirical commentary on how power is wielded in our modern world."

In interesting production asking for more viewing than just one, or maybe I have to better disengage my mind from Sallinen's highly dramatic The Red Line.

[listener]

duplication of a post elsewhere, but pertinent
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/11/la-operas-recovered-voices-productions-released-on-dvd.html
Naxos releases this month on DVD  BRAUNFELS  The Birds
ZEMLINSKY  The Dwarf (Der Zwerg) and ULLMANN  The Broken Jug

[Scarpia]

Have both of those blu-ray releases in my cart.  Waiting for competition to heat up and beat the price down a bit.  They're still a bit pricey.