Opera on DVD & Blu Ray

[Jared]

I purchased this a couple of days ago and rewatched it, because I principally wanted to see whether my views had changed on this one. You'll remember the gentleman who, along with his Partner (Bob & Christine) who had originally got me exploring CM in some depth? Well Bob has a serious passion for Beethoven, Mahler, Wagner and erm... well, he thought Rossini was a God. He lent me the DVD which I watched and whilst I enjoyed the stage set a great deal, felt that if the Opera were a food, it would have been a meringue; light and fluffy yet sickly sweet, made of little substance which required a main meal afterwards to sustain a person.

Well, over 4 years on now and I'm not quite that damning any longer. I feel I can appreciate its message and historical context considerably more now and, whilst it will never be one of my favouirite pieces of music, I feel I have relaxed enough to appreciate it for the art it is if I'm only able to suspend disbelief and go with the flow... yes, I admit I enjoyed it, but it won't change my world...

[Jared]

well, I really have been summoning up the strength to sit down and watch this one and to be honest, it wasn't as taxing an experience as I had feared... in fact this is actually a fairly magnificent achievement in many ways, and well worth a view.

filmed in the Drottningholm Theatre, the best preserved mid 18th Century theatre left in Europe, this intriguing opera is part theatre, part ballet and dance, telling of quite a complex plot between good and evil, with various shades of grey in between, in many ways seems to be ahead of its time. Authentically staged and thoroughly researched, you can almost imagine Louis XV being in the audience of its 1749 premiere.

My reaction here is oddly quite different to that of the Handel in a way that I find hard to reconcile at present, being as they were contemporaries... I would probably prefer to have Ariodante on a CD set, because the power is all in the music, whereas with Rameau, it tends to be more in the plot and stage set which keeps the viewer permanently occupied during its nearly 3 hour run time... if you are into opera from the late baroque period, then this would be very highly recommended, even if you just viewed it the once. For me, it has helped make more sense of the work and world of Rameau as it comes with an hour long documentary, which I found highly enlightening.

Edit: My goodness, I've just re-read my first post, and this Blu-Ray has been sat on my shelf collecting dust for nearly 10 months!! Oh, shame on me!!

[Jared]

a complete joy and pleasure for all of its 58 mins run time; why oh why has it sat looking at me from my shelf, collecting dust for the last 9 months? I have seen slight criticism of this production in terms of the ballet interludes not being to everyone's taste, but I can't see why that should be... the performances are wonderful, but more importantly, they are coherent to the plot and highlight the emotions of the main characters.

yes, the set is minimalist to say the least, but that doesn't detract from the powerful, stripped down simplicity of the story and with soloists as great as Sarah Connolly & Lucy Crowe in the cast, this really does have a 'Best of British' feel. I have to be honest, my only gripe with the overall production of this Blu Ray is quite simply that for an Opera with a 58 minute run time, they could have splashed out on considerably more than 14 mins of extras, especially when you have Christopher Hogwood and the OoAE involved... and he didn't even get to give an interview on the music! A great shame and an opportunity missed, especially as it was released for Purcell's anniversary year in 2009, but this still was a wonderful watch for anyone who finds themselves suddenly converted to the genius of Purcell after Simon's thread.

[Jared]

by way of contrast, this one arrived yesterday and got an immediate watch. This is O&E in a highly contemporary form which probably won't please traditionalists, but I felt it was highly imaginative and accomplished. We commence with the colours and merriment of a riotous wedding feast before witnessing the results of a car crash and the ensuing graveyard scene where Orpheus laments his departed beloved Eurydice, all during the time it takes to play the overture! Certainly in terms of special effects on a theatre stage, this has pushed the boundaries about as far as they can go, and is certainly compelling viewing throughout.

The character of 'Love' has been written out in favour of a darker 'Guide', the undertaker who leads Orpheus into the underworld, containing labyrinths of suspended bodies and throngs of spirit beings... really imaginative stuff to be fair. Likewise, there is no happy ending here; this isn't a version of the Greek Myth which places the wedding feast at the end... Roberto Alagna is in excellent voice throughout as the noble Orpheus, whilst Serena Gamberoni's Eurydice is given a slightly more sinister, frivolous, flirtatious side to her character, performed with relish.

Well worth seeing to be fair, although I would suggest that this wouldn't be the only production anyone would want in their collection.

[Jared]

well, I have to say I enjoyed this thoroughly... possibly even more than the Glyndebourne production but that maybe down to familiarisation with the plot. Still, it's hard to imagine that you can find such a minimalistic set so compelling, but the acting and singing were completely top notch here, throughout the whole of the production. Obviously Gergiev has a special feel for the music as we all know, but you could feel the pain and emotional anguish the characters were being put through in each scene, especially with Lenski's dual scene and in Onegin's ultimate rejection... really fabulous stuff to be fair.

I'm not sure whether more run throughs of Pique Dame will offer such redemption, but you never know...

[Jared]

there is no doubt that about it that La Trav does seem to get better and better with each viewing, especially when you are in the company of Mme AG who seems to have made the role of Violetta almost her own, and is ably supported by Vargas and Maazel behind the baton.The subtleties within the storyline concerning the social conventions of the time certainly come to the fore with repeated viewing and the scenes at the second dinner party and final bedroom scene are so laden with emotion that it is difficult not to be gripped by the drama unfolding before you. Superb settings and performances here; I can fully understand why this has never been out of favour in the regular operatic programme.

[Jared]

well there's no doubt about it, Franco Zeffirelli's first return to La Scala after a 20 year absence is right out of the 'Cecil B Demille' school of stage sets... I was kind of waiting for the dancing bears or the elephants bedecked in tutus to appear, but alas had to settle for Alagna in a skirt and the cast of Ben Hur (similarly dressed, it must be said).

To be fair, this really must have been quite an experience in the audience, back in 2007 during the halcyon days of Angela Merkel's chancellorship when she had time to go to the opera rather than spending her evenings bailing out small European countries' banking systems. The libretto is quite well written and would hold the interest of most within the audience who didn't know the story-line, although I can't help feeling it doesn't have the timelessness of either La Trav or Falstaff and feel its probably suffered from the ravages of time as much as your average Gilbert & Sullivan. Better than I probably expected, but I can't see it ever becoming my favourite Verdi....

[Jared]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Puccini-Boheme- ... 129&sr=1-1

After having had a brief hiatus, I came across this La Boheme in a charity shop for the price of a cream cake and snapped it up. Karajan's 1967 recording with Zeffirelli's fantastic stage set, offers strong performances all round, especially from Mirella Freni as Mimi. Of course the recording and picture qualities are both a little grainy, but that is to be expected. There is no doubt that both plot and stage direction are very evocative of mid 19th Century Paris, set somewhere between the 1830 and 1848 revolutions which respectively brought Louis-Philippe to power and swept him from it. I liked the idea of the draughty garret where impoverished intellectuals, heads full of post-Byronic Romanticism struggled through their transient lives, beating back hunger, cold and the landlord's cries for rent. Strangely, I have seen this in the past without realising I had done so, but then it's so very well known that's hardly surprising.

[Jared]

Message for Pepe:

I have just noticed that three new Blu Ray disks are being released in the UK next month, which may be of interest to you; Handel, Cavalli & Scarlatti Operas from high quality orchestras, the Cavalli being William Christie. I have posted you the linkl below, so you can at least have a peruse of the information to hand thus far...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_nr_n_3 ... eleasedate

[Jose Echenique]

Thanks Jared, the 3 look very enticing and will certainly be collected as soon as they are available.
I especially look forward to the Glyndebourne Rinaldo conducted by Ottavio Dantone, yummy!

Meanwhile I watched this:



The singing is absolutely gorgeous, especially from the countertenors. As Nerone Philippe Jaroussky sings very high, moulding every phrase with supreme elegance, while Max Emanuel Cencic as Ottone sings lower, almost mezzo-like, and his musicianship is quite simply unmatched. A special mention to Anna Bonitatibus who sings Ottavia, her poignant "Addio Roma" is a highlight, no wonder she is now a William Christie favourite, featured also in the forthcoming Cavalli La Diddone.
The ensemble of Les Arts Florissants play like gods, nothing new there, though some will question the adding of woodwinds to the score, especially a variety of recorders, since it´s known that in the public Venetian opera houses they only had a couple of violins and continuo.
The problems start with the production. I have seen some magnificent productions by Pier Luigi Pizzi, especially a gorgeous Aida in Houston, but this Poppea is highly provocative. Poor Jaroussky is made to look like a vulture, with gruesome makeup and a black feather vest that must be seen to be believed. Max Emanuel Cencic wears 20th Century military boots the likes of which I strongly doubt were in vogue in Nero´s Rome. The glorious duet between Lucano and Nero is turned into a love duet with very explicit physical action, so Nero not only lusts for Poppea´s body but he also enjoys boys on the side (maybe that´s not historically inaccurate).
Antonio Abete as Seneca sings well but more dignity should have been given to his suicide.
All the singers act with skill and determination, whatever they are asked to do, but the sets are too gloomy. In spite of my reservations musically this is definitely a great Poppea, and I ´ll be very happy to HEAR IT again ha, ha.