Opera on DVD & Blu Ray

[fergus]

I have read this thread with interest and well done to Jared for his efforts. Being relatively new to Opera and still finding myself preferring to listen to it rather than watching it (???) I would like to ask the question whether a poor stage performance would put one off an opera more than a poor musical performance. I have watched a few operas and have not liked about 50% or more of the productions that I have watched and based on Jared's descriptions of many of those above I know that I would not like them either. I accept that this is strange for a genere that is very visual but I do feel that it is holding me back somewhat from progressing in this area.

[Jose Echenique]

In general I much prefer opera in audio than on dvd, and let me explain why: the visual has a different kind of impact in you. How many times can you watch a film, even if you loved it, let´s say in a year? 10 times at the most, and that would be too many. But how many times can you listen to a recording? 20 or more would be a low estimate... if you loved the recording.
Sometimes you get singers that have such prodigious voices, incomparable musicianship and even VOCAL acting talent, that you can forgive that they utterly don´t look their roles. I would love to hear Pavarotti and Caballé singing La Bohéme, their voices are ideal for that opera, but do I want to LOOK at them? HELL NO!!! Looking at them would in fact detract from the magic. Live, at the opera house, you HAVE to look at them if you want to hear their voices, but at home and with repetition it´s much better just to listen to them and imagine they are young and good looking (that´s why I prefer cds).
Every now and then comes a walking miracle worth looking and listening to. Maria Callas left tragically too little on video, but that famous clip from the Covent Garden Tosca with Gobbi makes compelling listening and watching, my God, you just CAN´ T take your eyes off her!!! every movement, every glance is unforgettable. Video was made for Callas, sadly they didn´t film her. Visconti wanted to make a La Traviata with her in Technicolor but at the time the project was considered economically unviable because most of the cinemas in Italy had very low quality audio equipment.
Producers know this very well, that´s why they demand beautiful young people for dvd productions. There´s nothing wrong with a beautiful Violetta like Gheorghiu or Netrebko, the sad thing is that important voices, often MORE IMPORTANT voices in ugly and obese bodies have been damned and sent to oblivion.
Has anyone ever heard of a tenor called Francisco Casanova? He is from the Dominican Republic and has a splendid voice. He has recorded very little and filmed absolutely nothing. Why?
He looks like Mr. Potato Head!

[Jared]

Meanwhile I watched this:

Thanks for your review of this Pepe; as you know, I have just invested in the Miah Persson version on Opus Arte which I'm very much looking forward to viewing.

[Jared]

I have read this thread with interest and well done to Jared for his efforts. Being relatively new to Opera and still finding myself preferring to listen to it rather than watching it (???) I would like to ask the question whether a poor stage performance would put one off an opera more than a poor musical performance. I have watched a few operas and have not liked about 50% or more of the productions that I have watched and based on Jared's descriptions of many of those above I know that I would not like them either. I accept that this is strange for a genere that is very visual but I do feel that it is holding me back somewhat from progressing in this area.

Thank you Fergus, I don't think my efforts in conveying my feelings have amounted to much compared with Pepe's comments and I really do understand all of your concerns. I genuinely have a real emotional dichotomy when it comes to opera, which I'm going to try and explain in point form. This isn't trying to be self-indulgent, as I'm trying to understand myself where the problems actually lie! All I can say is that I will never be in a position to be able to pass personal comments and criticisms on the genre if I haven't given it a jolly good try, so here goes:

1) Pepe's comment about 'how many times would you sit and watch a DVD' is of course, absolutely right. Fergus, as you know, I have always had a soft spot for World Cinema, when the only way of accessing a film was to buy the DVD. I would watch it twice, then put it on ebay because I knew I wouldn't want to watch it again in a long time, and it would only take up space and collect dust in the mean time. This is one of my overriding concerns about Opera Blu Rays. They are (for me) expensive and would represent considerably less value for money than a 3CD boxset, which is why I have said I'd be happy to lend my BRs to any of my friends on this site... as I know you'd only want to watch them once.

2) So, why have I gone down the Blu Ray route? Well, there are several reasons. Firstly (and I know Pepe is going to slay me for saying this) I have always struggled to listen to opera and frankly, this isn't about to change any time soon. If I was to buy some classical CDs of the human voice, then Requiems, Oratorios, Renaissance and even Lieder would come much further up the list of purchases than an opera because sonically, it is a medium I struggle to understand or get much pleasure out of. Furthermore, the later the date of the opera, the worse the problem becomes. There is no doubt that I find Baroque Opera easier to listen to than anything post-Mozart, so if I am going to try to understand Verdi, then I have to do it through the visual medium.

3) So, I find a Blu-Ray for £12 2nd hand. I don't know how this works in Dublin, but if I was to go down to my local multiplex cinema to watch a new production from the Royal Opera House or Glyndebourne on the big screen, then the tickets are £12, and I get to watch my BR in the comfort of my own home, as many times as want, to familiarise myself with the work. When I sit and watch an Opera, I try to take in the stage set (often absolutely brilliant it has to be said), the direction, acting performances (such as they are) and overall atmosphere of the occasion. When I was younger, I used to love to visit the theatre, especially to see Shakespeare plays, and I guess I'm trying to tap into that same sense of wonderment, when I see the whole package.

4) I will be quite honest with you, it will be a very long time before I buy a CD set of Verdi's Falstaff because by and large I find the music fairly unexceptional and can think of far better ways of spending my money. That said, I already knew the basic storyline, because it's taken from 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' and as a consequence, I really enjoyed the Operatic version of Falstaff's antics and will no doubt watch it again. The stage set was superb, the way it was brought from 1400 into the 1930's was highly imaginative and for me, well worth the money; it's a keeper. I think both you and Sean were both quite right when you said 'pick your operas carefully' because the enjoyment from the Italian and Russian operas I have seen so far, has hung on the strength of the plot rather than the music. Eugene Onegin for instance has a taut plot, full of suspense and realistic drama, right up to its fine ending, which to me makes it well worth seeing. In it's own way, it's rather a savage indictment on the attitudes of the Russian Aristocracy during the mid 19th century which must have caused ripples in its day and still stands up as a high quality work for today. However, would I want to own a 3 CD set? I simply wouldn't.

5) Now, the baroque opera I have seen so far is wholly the other way around; I really don't know what happened to opera around the time of Mozart!! Handel's Ariodante for instance, is much more pleasurable on the ear, and I can understand why people would prefer to listen to it. It's problem is it's actually rather tedious to watch because the arias are very long (as Pepe rightly says), the story line fairly formulaic, slow paced and in my view uninspired, resulting in a work which is altogether hardly the most exciting 3 1/2 hours you'll ever spend.

These are my initial thoughts on the genre Fergus, but all in all I understand I have a long way to go in trying to do the medium justice. I realise its a terrifically expensive and time consuming medium to produce, which has meant that (in the UK at least) always maintained an air of elitism, meaning that most of us aren't introduced to it when we were young and as a consequence perhaps trying to acquire a taste for something this outlandish when you're in your 40's isn't as easy. I'm trying to remain open minded, understand it from it's cultural and historical context as best I can, and will continue to post a few thoughts every so often, as and when I watch a new one.

[fergus]

That is a super post Jared. I admire your frank and honest approach and you echo many of my own thoughts in your analysis. I think that fundamently we both have a similiar problem with the genre but that we are endeavouring to tackle it with our own individual approach. Whatever works is fine so long as we get some appreciation for and of the music and like you I intend to pursue my efforts which I must admit are becoming less of a struggle as I go on!

[Jared]

I would like to ask the question whether a poor stage performance would put one off an opera more than a poor musical performance. I have watched a few operas and have not liked about 50% or more of the productions that I have watched and based on Jared's descriptions of many of those above I know that I would not like them either. I accept that this is strange for a genere that is very visual but I do feel that it is holding me back somewhat from progressing in this area.

I have been thinking about this question Fergus and keep coming back to the feeling that the nature of the presentation and stage set is ultimately a personal thing. Speaking personally, the work which goes into designing the stage set and costumes as a means of transporting me into a world originated by the composer and interpreted (often for the modern day) by the set director is one of the principle reasons why I watch the DVD/ BR as opposed to merely listen to a CD. Providing the set is imaginatively and sensitively done, my views and tastes on the interpretation are quite catholic; I don't mind minimalism or modern dress for instance... as the appreciative viewer, I like to see myself as putty in the artist's hands.

Bringing Baroque Opera into the modern day is perfectly fine, although there is an interesting article by Richard Morrison in June's BBC Music where he criticises a modern trend to try and shock the audience through extreme violence, bloodshed and nudity when interpreting Handel or Rameau for instance, which I agree with him, is simply out of place. If you try to shock too many times, then you have to keep raising the bar to get the same response of outrage from the audience, which can only be finite, and Handel quite simply doesn't need that.

I think a more interesting question concerns the status of modern opera as a means to convey contemporary issues and topics, such as Turnage did in 'Anna-Nicole'. I can see the merits of modern opera being given licence to sail as close to the wind in our time as say Mozart did with Don Giovanni over 200 years ago, in order to challenge received notions, however my experience of modern opera is practically non-existent at present, so I shall leave the thought there... of course, the views of all our Tir Na friends would be welcomed on this issue...

[Jared]

Sometimes you get singers that have such prodigious voices, incomparable musicianship and even VOCAL acting talent, that you can forgive that they utterly don´t look their roles. I would love to hear Pavarotti and Caballé singing La Bohéme, their voices are ideal for that opera, but do I want to LOOK at them? HELL NO!!! Looking at them would in fact detract from the magic. Live, at the opera house, you HAVE to look at them if you want to hear their voices, but at home and with repetition it´s much better just to listen to them and imagine they are young and good looking (that´s why I prefer cds)!

ah yes, the suspension of disbelief... this reminds me of the Eugene Onegin performance from the Met, I purchased a few weeks ago, with Renee Fleming in the role of Tatyana.. of course, in the first two Acts, Tatyana is meant to be about 16 years of age, and in Act 3 'Some years later', she's still only about 22. This was recorded in 2007, when Renee was 48! Of course she's young looking for her age, but I think you'll agree, that's stretching things a bit! That said, she first sang the role back in 1992 with Dallas Opera (when she was 33) and nevertheless vocally, she has grown into the role of the young girl, which she performs flawlessly... and I guess, therein lies the problem for Opera. Am I right in recalling that Deborah Voight was dropped (not literally of course; you'd have needed a hoist) from an Opera where she was to appear as a sveldt-like starlet because her prodigious talent wasn't erm... the only thing considered by the stage director to be prodigious????

[Jared]

well, on Saturday night, I took the 8 minute stroll down to the Courtyard Theatre to watch the live screening from the Met, of Donizetti's comedy L'elisir d'amore, with the wonderful Anna Netrebko in the leading role as Adina, which I enjoyed very much. Like Don Pasquale, the story is light and humorous, told at a sufficiently sprightly pace and at two hours long, you find you don't get bored. I must admit I do like Netrebko, because as well as being a fine soprano, she can certainly act, helping give the poroduction another dimension. The costumes and stage setting are all great, as are all the singers.

If someone who wasn't really into opera asked me for a suggestion about what to go and see, so they could dip their toe in the water, then frankly this would be a fine choice... an excellent evening all round!

[Jared]

This was my 'house-warming' present to myself in my new flat (it had been shown on BBC 4 in episodes around the time I moved home, and sadly I missed it), and last night I took the opportunity to wallow in it. I was already quite familiar with 'Il tabarro' from the 2008 Noseda performance with the BBC Phil I have as a solo disk, and knew some music from Gianni Schicchi, the best known of the triptych, but I have to admit I was caught completely by surprise by the power and sheer beauty of Suor Angelica, the middle section which was apparently Puccini's personal favourite. Although I thought staging and performances of all three were brilliant and 'The Cloak' at least to be perfectly believable, Suor Angelica has to be one of the most powerful pieces of opera I have ever seen, which had me thinking about the devastatingly ironic build-up to the denouement, long after I went to bed.

What say you, Pepe??

[Jose Echenique]

This was my 'house-warming' present to myself in my new flat (it had been shown on BBC 4 in episodes around the time I moved home, and sadly I missed it), and last night I took the opportunity to wallow in it. I was already quite familiar with 'Il tabarro' from the 2008 Noseda performance with the BBC Phil I have as a solo disk, and knew some music from Gianni Schicchi, the best known of the triptych, but I have to admit I was caught completely by surprise by the power and sheer beauty of Suor Angelica, the middle section which was apparently Puccini's personal favourite. Although I thought staging and performances of all three were brilliant and 'The Cloak' at least to be perfectly believable, Suor Angelica has to be one of the most powerful pieces of opera I have ever seen, which had me thinking about the devastatingly ironic build-up to the denouement, long after I went to bed.

What say you, Pepe??

Suor Angelica is quintessential Puccini. For it to succeed it needs a truly great singer, on records Renata Scotto in the Maazel recording of Trittico is the one to have, but Victoria de los Angeles and Lucia Popp are incredibly moving too. I have to admit that I haven´t seen that Blu Ray yet, but I´ll certainly order it soon. I haven´t heard yet Ermonela Jaho, so I really can´t comment, but she surely has some big shoes to fit.
On the other hand I rather like Eva-Maria Westbroek who sang Sieglinde in the new Met´s Ring, so I bet she is rather good as Giorgetta, also a difficult role to sing.
In these cynical times it´s very easy to laugh at Puccini´s melodramas, but if they are done well you´d better have some kleenex at hand.