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Richard Strauss on CD, DVD, and Blu-ray

28K views 136 replies 29 participants last post by  Pugg 
#1 ·


This arrived today, and I couldn't help taking a quick look at it. Well, from the start I knew it was going to be special, and it was blindingly obvious why people talk about Kleiber's conducting of this. The orchestral playing is like quicksilver. It leaps, it swoops, it flows, it trills, it bubbles, and it tears at heartstrings. Really, the orchestral playing is a wonderful component of this recording. So my 'quick look' turned into watching a large chunk of Act 1; and it was so good - so very, very good, that I couldn't resist doing a sneak preview of the Presentation of the Rose, and the final trio and duet, just to see what they were like (I'd seen them on Youtube, but in poor quality).

(Gaston - to cut a long story short: just get one. OK?)

Fassbaender is a fantastic Octavian. Boyish, with a certain sandpaperiness to her voice which is quite perfect for the role. Her acting is superb. When she passes over the rose and sees Sophie, the look on her face, the arm movements, her stance, all show her amazement at what's happening to her (him, that is). In Act 1, the play between her and the Marschallin just bubbles with delight. Gwyneth Jones is a stunning Marschallin - utterly convincing - playful with Octavian at the beginning, and nobly, quietly, tragic at the end. Lucia Popp sings Sophie so beautifully that I could fall in love with her myself. Physically, she's not so lovely as Barbara Bonney (in the Kiri/Howells/Bonney production), but that's hardly grounds for criticism.

Both the Presentation of the Rose, and the finale, had me in tears. I can't fault it, truly I can't. And all the time, this magical orchestral playing is sweeping, probing, embellishing, and enlivening the action. Oh and I haven't mentioned the sets - they are lovely.

Is it better than Kiri/Howells/Bonney? I've no idea. It's different, and certainly no less wonderful. I think it's just necessary to have both.

Some youtubes (poor sound quality, and don't do it justice, not at all):

Presentation of rose

End of Act 3 (Watch Gwyneth Jones's quiet but quick departure - the flickering of changing expressions on her face as she decides to leave, and turns ... and have the tissues ready)
 
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#3 ·


I'm going to rave about this again. Watching through Act I again, I'm quite overwhelmed - most particularly with Gwyneth Jones's performance as the Marschallin. She simply is the definitive Marschallin as far as I'm concerned. Her acting is superb, and her singing exquisite. That, coupled with Kleiber's quicksilver orchestral work, means that all the time my emotions are shifting - up, down, roundabout - matching hers. Eyes suddenly filling with tears, then smiling a few moments later. Wonderful though I think the Kiri/Bonney/Howells DVD is, I think I'm persuaded that this is the one I couldn't manage without.
 
#4 ·
Wanna hear something funny? The Kleiber DVD I've got is a different one from yours. :eek: I've just noticed it when I re-read this and saw that you singled out Gwyneth Jones' Marschallin for special praise, and in another post you mentionned Brigitte Fassbaender's Octavian. Mine is with Felicity Lott (Marschallin), Kurt Moll (Ochs), Anne Sofie Von Otter (Octavian) and Barbara Bonney (Sophie). ......



..... a mistake easily made because how many conductors have two recordings of the same opera for the same company (DG)? I don't really regret buying this though, because it's a very good performance.
 
#7 ·
I've just seen the Jones/Fassbaender/Popp/Kleiber Rosenkavalier, Alan. It's everything you said it was and more. The absolute star for me is Carlos Kleiber. His tempos are often a bit faster than usual, but they always sound absolutely right. And the colours he brings out of that orchestra are amazing. All the principals are in excellent voice. Lucia Popp was arguably a bit too old for the role, but all that doesn't matter anymore once she starts singing. The final scene (trio and duet) is the most moving one of all three Rosenkavaliers I have - and the two others provide stiff competition. A lot of the credit for that must go to Kleiber - he really builds it towards a climax that had me literally in tears. Gwyneth Jones is as you say ideally suited to play/sing the marschallin. Every gesture or facial expression is spot on. The only role I have some minor reservations about is Manfred Jungwirth's Ochs. Not that he's bad, but I prefer the truly hilarious and pompous looking Aage Haugland on the Solti DVD. But that's only a very (and I mean VERY) minor criticism because what I've just seen and listened to is a 10/10 DVD for me. So, thanks Alan for turning me on to this one - it's a winner!
 
#8 ·
My lasting impression of that performance is that whoever I happen to be focusing on - Jones, Fassbaender, Popp, or Kleiber - they seem to be the star. If I focus on the orchestra, I think Kleiber is a magical sparkling genius; if Jones, I think she's the source of everyone else's energy; if Popp, I think her singing is so radiant that it must make everyone else feel that they're singing with an angel - and so on. I agree with you about Jungwirth, but I'm not in any case an Ochs fan - that is, I haven't seen an Ochs that won me over.

I was pretty sure you'd love it, Gaston, but I'm delighted to have it confirmed. What incredibly rich Rosenkavalier fare we have available to us on DVD, eh?
 
#11 ·


Robert Carsen (the guy who also directed Rusalka and Eugene Onegin in other productions featuring Fleming) sets Capriccio not in the Paris of 1775 but the Paris under Nazi occupation in 1942. As usual this sort of thing is at odds with certain aspects of the libretto. It's for example very unlikely that in 1942 people were still discussing the virtues of Gluck as opposed to those of Piccini. And we also have to accept that those Nazi's didn't drive around in cars but with horse and carriage. Other than that this production is pretty attractive. All depends on that last scene of course and Fleming looks great and sounds sensational.
 
#15 ·
Yes still the version others must be measured against.......
Fassbaender looks and "masculine" voice can really carry off the character of Octavian

How do you top Lucia Popp's performance of Sophie (with all respect to Renee Fleming and Kiri)

Thank goodness this talent was not wasted on some goofy modern experimantal production :)
 
#25 ·


I see a blu ray version just released of Schwarzkopf's Rosenkavalier, what a stacked high quality female trio we have here! Very tempted to push buy button here......

Bluray.com reports picture quality is far better than any previous release, this has to be best video document existing of Schwarzkopf with young Karajan and stellar cast, would make good companion to later Kleiber Rosenkavalier.

Schwarzkopf Rosenkavalier
 
#26 ·
Wow, this looks interesting. But I already have three versions of Der Rosenkavalier - including the Kleiber one - and I need to administer my funds more efficiently (still $85 left from the shopping spree but I'll pass)
 
#27 ·
This one is really good:



Kiri Te Kanawa shines in this one!
What a beautiful voice, precise and classy!
A bonus is a very young Natalie Dessay as Milli. It was a surprise for me, I hadn't noticed that she was in this, since at the time she was probably unknown and her name is not even on the DVD cover. But the star of the show is Kiri, no doubt about it. Even though in looks she is too old for the role of Arabella, her singing and her classy stance are so incredible that one doesn't even notice that a teenager is being portrayed by a middle aged woman.
 
#29 ·
Richard Strauss on DVD and Blu-ray



The Elektra with Leonie Rysanek in the title role, conducted by Böhm will still be difficult to surpass, but this is a serious contender. Whereas Böhm's was filmed in an abandonded factory or a warehouse and recorded in a studio, this is an actual staged performance from the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, 2010, conducted by Christian Thielemann. Eletra very much rises or falls with the three pricipal female singers, Elektra, Klytämnestra and Chrysotemis. They get good portrayals here. First, I'd like to mention the Klytämnestra of Jane Henschel, who is superb vocally despite her obviously advanced years, better even than Astrid Varnay on the Böhm DVD. Chrysotemis, Manuela Uhl, is also outstanding with a glorious voice and the good looks. That leaves us Elektra, Linda Watson, who sings magnificently, but could easily be mixed with Klytämnestra if they were wearing the same clothes...

What I don't quite understand is the men's more or less modern attire. Also, if Elektra is carrying an axe all the time, why doesn't she just use it herself?

The staging is minimalist, but that doesn't bother me at all. The first time I saw Elektra was a concert performance and it worked well. The music carries the things through. That doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate the Böhm version.

All in all, this is a performance worth seeing. My specimen was a Blu-Ray, but I don't think there is that much difference.

P.S. I also have a MET version with Birgit Nilsson as Elektra and Rysanek as Chrysotemis, for nostalgic reasons. Nilsson is definitely past her prime, but quite formidable still.
 
#33 ·
The Elektra with Leonie Rysanek in the title role, conducted by Böhm will still be difficult to surpass....
I agree. I'm surprised that it is rarely mentionned on favorite or most essential dvd threads on our forum because it's absolutely essential. Every Strauss lover and even opera fan in general should have a copy.
 
#30 ·
Der Rosenkavalier



This serves as a memento from the bygone days, but feels so terribly outdated that I feel compelled to warn you! Much as I have liked Karajan's studio recording with Schwarzkopf, Ludwig et al., this is just too prim for me. The picture quality is as good as can be in a performance recorded in 1962 at the Salzburg Festival. The sound is not as good. It tends to get distorted quite often, but it's not impossible to listen to. Amazingly, the Presentation of the Rose, one of the most magical moments in the opera, is not very impressive here. The final trio and duo left me also oddly cold. What possible use do we have for a Rosenkavalier, if it doesn't work in those critical moment's? I can understand that the production is perhaps much closer to what was seen at the premiere, but I like indefinitely more our modern versions, with Gwyneth Jones or Renée Fleming, for example!
 
#31 ·


I just watched this, too, and here are my 2 cents: Unlike Herkku, the magical moments worked their magic just fine for me, and I quite enjoyed the whole production. Sound quality definitely is a major concern, and there are also quite a few strange glitches and hiccups, and some cuts (I'm wondering if these were also done in the original performance, or if these portions of the film were beyond repair), among them an especially strange one near the end of Act 2, when Ochs's livery responds to something he should have sung, but didn't.

Unfortunately, Kultur again lives up to their reputation for sloppy productions: What on earth were they thinking providing English subtitles only?

My final verdict would be that this is a historical document worth having for us Rosenkavalier addicts, but I much prefer the (equally traditional and near perfect, in my opinion) Covent Garden DVD with Te Kanawa as the Marschallin and, a special treat, Haugland's wonderful Ochs.
 
#34 ·
My final verdict would be that this is a historical document worth having for us Rosenkavalier addicts, but I much prefer the (equally traditional and near perfect, in my opinion) Covent Garden DVD with Te Kanawa as the Marschallin and, a special treat, Haugland's wonderful Ochs.
Yes, Der Rosenkavalier is very well represented on DVD. Both Kleiber performances are excellent with Natalie's fave as maybe the marginally better one of the two and maybe even the best of them all. The one with Kiri is wonderful as well. Apart from that beautiful creamy voice that always sounds great in the music of Strauss she has an elegance and regal quality about her that makes her ideally suited for the marschallin. And I agree that it has the best Ochs I've seen. I have, but haven't yet watched the more recent updated version with Renée, but I've heard a lot of good things about that one as well. So competition is fierce when it comes to Der Rosenkavalier.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Rosenkavalier is an opera that seems often to avoid being subjected to updating (although there is a version with Renee Fleming that seems a little more modern)

Although I like the Te Kanawa version, and the production on Met Player with Fleming and the glorious Susan Graham, my benchmark version is this one conducted like no other by Carlos Kleiber:

 
#35 ·
Richard Strauss: Daphne on DVD



The opera itself is beautiful. The big star is R. Strauss' orchestration.
The production has very good singing and good playing/conducting.
That's where the good ends.
This is a non-staging. It's staging minimalism pushed to an extreme.
This is no different from a CD.
The images don't add *anything* to the opera.
Nothing happens in terms of staging. Apollo has no arrows. Every time people talk about his arms, he just stands there with no arms whatsoever. Daphne doesn't change into a tree, she just walks around during the famous metamorphosis scene. The ballet is very mediocre. The characters most of the time throughout this production just stand and sing. They sing well, but there is no need to buy this as a DVD. Just get a CD. And by the way, the soprano who does Daphne looks much older than her mother Gaea. Apollo doesn't look godly at all, much less the Sun god, dressed in... guess what? A simple black gown. And don't get fooled by the cover. There is nothing inside that looks like the cover.
This is complete dissociation between the music/libretto, and the staging. Complete. If I didn't have the stage directions from a libretto that I downloaded from the internet, I wouldn't have understood the plot, because when essential events are happening during the vocal or the orchestral numbers as per the narration in the stage directions (e.g., "Apollo points an arrow at Leukippos while Daphne tries to get in between them") on the screen there is absolutely nothing happening... just people standing and singing or waiting for the orchestra to get to the next part. It's like a concert version, except that there is this elaborate machinery in the middle of the stage with holes and moving parts (which makes no sense whatsoever). At least in the first scene there is a tree - the only prop in the whole thing. If you happen to bump into this DVD and it's cheaper than a CD version, then buy it, put it in your DVD player but turn the TV off and just listen to the opera (which is beautiful enough).

Sometimes stage directors do too much. This one did too little. Weird. Because if they wanted a concert version, then why have the elaborate stage machinery? With the money they spent with the moving parts of the stage, they could have bought some arrows for Apollo and had some leaves sprig on Daphne...
 
#36 ·
Richard Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos



Probably not the best version around but good enough, especially because of outstanding singing from Susan Anthony in the title role, pretty good Bacchus with Jon Villars, and excellent Zerbinetta in terms of acting (not as much in terms of singing, small voice) with Iride Martinez, plus very decent conducting by Sir Colin Davis. Sophie Koch was a rather annoying Composer. The minor roles were OK. Staging was rather ugly and bleh in the first act, better in the second act. Anyway, Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera that takes a while to get going (the entire first act is rather boring with all the whining) but when it does, it delivers (the second act has some of the best R. Strauss music). It is theatrically problematic with a lack of unity, and too messy in its attempt to mix opera buffa and lyric tragedy, so, it's one of these operas better listened to than seen, except that this version is pretty good in terms of acting as far as Zerbinetta is concerned, so it's nice to watch that part, but still, it's better to just listen to the outstanding music in the second act than to try to get in the mood of the farfetched double opera inside the opera.
 
#37 ·
Richard Strauss: Elektra on DVD



Eva Marton is a fearsome Electra. She is a little passed her prime with some wobble but one hardly notices it thanks to her excellent acting, powerful stage presence, and intense emotional impact with her her heart and soul fully expressed to the point of tears while she sings. Claudio Abbado in my opinion was excellent and got from the Vienna State Orchestra a rather full and resonant sound, I really can't understand why he was booed at the end. Brigitte Fassbänder steals the show even though Klytemnestra has less stage time. She is crazed, decrepit, deranged, frightening, incredibly effective. Cheryl Studer is excellent as Chrysothemis as well. It's a rather fabulous cast.

The staging is another high point of this production. It is appropriately dark, with a huge statue of Agamemnon that has been decapitated. The head lies on the ground at the back of the stage, and Elektra roams all the time around the feet of the statue, with very interesting symbolic effect. There are ropes hanging from the top of the statue like they're preparing to finish bringing it down, and the characters keep getting entangled in the ropes, adding to the oppressive atmosphere.

Highly recommended, folks!
 
#38 ·
Arabella - Janowitz, Solti



I have always had a troubled relationship with Arabella. As much as I have wanted to like it, it has been a disappointment. Nothing in it reaches the divine musical heights of Der Rosenkavalier and I don't even like the plot very much, an impoverished (the father a gambler - there is professional help nowadays for that kind of addiction) noble family with two daughters: one dressed as a boy (cheaper?) and the other waiting for finding der Richtige, which in the eyes of the parents, at least, means a man with suitable prospects, to put it Jane Austenishly. Also, the audio recording with Kiri te Kanawa was completely marred for me by the horrible Zdenka of Gabriele Fontana, who makes the best bit of the opera, "Aber Der Richtige", intolerable.

For my first Arabella on DVD I chose the oldish (1977) "movie" version with Gundula Janowitz in the name part, Sona Ghazarian as Zdenka, Bernd Weikl as Mandryka, René Kollo as Matteo, Edita Gruberova (!) as Fiakermilli and even an old veteran like Martha Mödl as the fortune-teller. So, quite a cast! Everything conducted by Sir Georg Solti and directed by Otto Schenk. I know that there are more modern versions with Felicity Lott, Kiri te Kanawa and Renée Fleming as Arabella, but this is where I start from.

Janowitz sings with her immediately recognizable angelic voice, but is not a very convincing actress and looks too matronly for her role. For one thing, because the sound is apparently recorded in a studio and the filming made afterwards, she doesn't even look like she was singing the notes that we hear. Solti's audio recording of Eugene Onegin was used in a "movie" version filmed in Poland with Polish actors, who were more convincing in that aspect, although they weren't even singers! Ghazarian as Zdenka is very good as both an actor and a singer. So is the ardent lover, Mandryka, performed by Bernd Weikl. No complaints about any others, either. But if you have an opera called Arabella, you would expect the most of your heroine, and you don't get it here, no matter how beautifully Janowitz sings. I don't know if everybody even likes her voice. I remember having read somewhere that Herbert von Karajan "discovered" her, singing The Voice from Heaven in Verdi's Don Carlo. Indeed, her voice sounds angelic, but she is not the best possible interpreter of feelings even in her singing, let alone acting.

The recorded sound here could be better in general and the whole concept of presenting opera like this feels a bit outdated. I think all of us would rather watch real performances on stage. The only merit I can think of this kind of "opera movies" is that you get to see everything in as authentic surroundings as possible. Even that doesn't matter in Arabella so much, but if you have seen the Onegin I mentioned, you know what I mean. There the party scenes and dances are something that simply couldn't be presented as lavishly in any opera house! I must also mention the Böhm's Elektra with Rysanek that was made recording the sound separately in a studio. That happens to be a total (hair-raising) success. Losey's Don Giovanni and Rosi's Carmen have also succeeded in making real movies of opera.
 
#41 ·


I have always had a troubled relationship with Arabella. As much as I have wanted to like it, it has been a disappointment. Nothing in it reaches the divine musical heights of Der Rosenkavalier and I don't even like the plot very much, an impoverished (the father a gambler - there is professional help nowadays for that kind of addiction) noble family with two daughters: one dressed as a boy (cheaper?) and the other waiting for finding der Richtige, which in the eyes of the parents, at least, means a man with suitable prospects, to put it Jane Austenishly. Also, the audio recording with Kiri te Kanawa was completely marred for me by the horrible Zdenka of Gabriele Fontana, who makes the best bit of the opera, "Aber Der Richtige", intolerable.

For my first Arabella on DVD I chose the oldish (1977) "movie" version with Gundula Janowitz in the name part, Sona Ghazarian as Zdenka, Bernd Weikl as Mandryka, René Kollo as Matteo, Edita Gruberova (!) as Fiakermilli and even an old veteran like Martha Mödl as the fortune-teller. So, quite a cast! Everything conducted by Sir Georg Solti and directed by Otto Schenk. I know that there are more modern versions with Felicity Lott, Kiri te Kanawa and Renée Fleming as Arabella, but this is where I start from.

Janowitz sings with her immediately recognizable angelic voice, but is not a very convincing actress and looks too matronly for her role. For one thing, because the sound is apparently recorded in a studio and the filming made afterwards, she doesn't even look like she was singing the notes that we hear. Solti's audio recording of Eugene Onegin was used in a "movie" version filmed in Poland with Polish actors, who were more convincing in that aspect, although they weren't even singers! Ghazarian as Zdenka is very good as both an actor and a singer. So is the ardent lover, Mandryka, performed by Bernd Weikl. No complaints about any others, either. But if you have an opera called Arabella, you would expect the most of your heroine, and you don't get it here, no matter how beautifully Janowitz sings. I don't know if everybody even likes her voice. I remember having read somewhere that Herbert von Karajan "discovered" her, singing The Voice from Heaven in Verdi's Don Carlo. Indeed, her voice sounds angelic, but she is not the best possible interpreter of feelings even in her singing, let alone acting.

The recorded sound here could be better in general and the whole concept of presenting opera like this feels a bit outdated. I think all of us would rather watch real performances on stage. The only merit I can think of this kind of "opera movies" is that you get to see everything in as authentic surroundings as possible. Even that doesn't matter in Arabella so much, but if you have seen the Onegin I mentioned, you know what I mean. There the party scenes and dances are something that simply couldn't be presented as lavishly in any opera house! I must also mention the Böhm's Elektra with Rysanek that was made recording the sound separately in a studio. That happens to be a total (hair-raising) success. Losey's Don Giovanni and Rosi's Carmen have also succeeded in making real movies of opera.
Great review as always, Herkku. I agree that Arabella never quite gets up to the dizzying heights of Der Rosenkavalier, but I nevertheless like it. Let's just say that if Der Rosenkavalier belongs in the 10/10 category than Arabella is an 8/10 opera for me. I have the DVD's with Kiri and Renée of which the one with Kiri is easily the best for me - mostly because the production is much more to my liking.
 
#43 ·
My impressions of the one with Renée....



Bad news first: I don't like the production here. Although there are many exceptions (if it works it works) - more often than not I don't like it when a producer finds it necessary to move the action of an opera to another (usually more recent) era because what I hear in the music and what's in the libretto is so often at odds with what you see on the stage. And this is especially true for an opera like 'Arabella' which Strauss intented to be a satire of the decadence of Viennese society in the mid-19th century. The going's on of this opera and the way the characters relate to each other is absurd if you move it to more modern times. To make a long story short: I have no need for (producer) Gotz Friederich's 'interpretation' - give me Strauss instead.

Good news: Musically this is good - just missing out on being uniformally great. Morten Frank Larsen as Mandryka doesn't always make the most attractive sounds, but he puts a lot of heart into his performance and that makes up for it to a degree. The star attraction of the show - Renée Fleming as Arabella - is in excellent voice and looks absolutely stunning too. Just as good is Julia Kleiter as her sister Zdenka. Conductor Franz Welser-Most does a solid job, but not as good as Christian Thieleman on the Metropolitan DVD with Kiri Te Kanawa which overall is the better set of the two.
 
#44 ·
more often than not I don't like it when a producer finds it necessary to move the action of an opera to another (usually more recent) era because what I hear in the music and what's in the libretto is so often at odds with what you see on the stage. And this is especially true for an opera like 'Arabella' which Strauss intented to be a satire of the decadence of Viennese society in the mid-19th century. The going's on of this opera and the way the characters relate to each other is absurd if you move it to more modern times.
Perfectly expressed.
 
#49 ·
Ochs is a pig. But he's so full of himself that he believes that someone with blue blood can never be a pig no matter what he does....."a cavalier is a cavalier and doesn't need to prove it." He's hilariously funny though because he believes himself to be superior while he is clearly the dumbest person on that stage.
 
#53 ·
I'd like to call Herrn von Hofmannsthal to the witness stand:

Die Musik ist unendlich liebevoll und verbindet alles: ihr ist der Ochs nicht abscheulich - sie spürt, was hinter ihm ist, und sein Faunsgesicht und das Knabengesicht des Rofrano sind ihr nur wechselweise vorgebundene Masken, aus denen das gleiche Auge blickt.

The quote is quite well known, I believe, I'll try a translation:

The music is very loving and combines everything: Ochs isn't detested, and the music feels what is behind him, and his satyr's face and the boy's face of Rofrano are only changing masks that hide the same eye.

I've also read characterizations of Ochs as a toy version of Don Giovanni, quite fitting, I think, and Don Giovanni, too, does some things he probably shouldn't have done, but he's just so dashing and has so many redeeming qualities that you just have to forgive him, especially if the opposition can't muster more than that laughable bore of a Don Ottavio. And again, when things finally go wrong for him, he impresses (in this case with courage rather than sportsmanship).

(I'm afraid I'm in for another round of stormy rebukes now.)
 
#54 ·
I've also read characterizations of Ochs as a toy version of Don Giovanni, quite fitting, I think, and Don Giovanni, too, does some things he probably shouldn't have done, but he's just so dashing and has so many redeeming qualities that you just have to forgive him, especially if the opposition can't muster more than that laughable bore of a Don Ottavio. And again, when things finally go wrong for him, he impresses (in this case with courage rather than sportsmanship).

(I'm afraid I'm in for another round of stormy rebukes now.)
I wonder what would happen if they staged it with Ochs by a handsome, slim singer instead of the usual fat disgusting old man.
 
#62 ·


Was somewhat surprised to see that this version hadn't yet been reviewed. As it was my first encounter with this opera, many of my thoughts will be on the opera itself, as well as this production.

First off, I must say that this opera is a most unusual work. In the prologue it's discussed how they are going to make some kind of unusual dramatic / comic hybrid, and sure enough such a Frankensteinian work is the result. Works of any nature with such tonal shifts rarely become popular; I guess it is inherent in human psychology to expect a certain consistency in feeling throughout the course of the work. I was reminded of the movie Practical Magic, which by turns was a rom-com, a family drama, and a supernatural thriller and left me feeling similarly out of sorts.

This production features two headliners, in the form of a recently post-surgery Natalie Dessay, here looking in the full bloom of her mature beauty, and Deborah Voigt, pre-"Little Black Dress" scandal. The production itself was rather unusual (though perhaps it is standard for this opera) in the sparseness of the stage design, given that this was presented at the Met. The set for the prologue featured a set typical of the Met -- several levels, immaculate construction, lots of detail. The remainder of the opera has a set featuring a stage with a rock (seashell?) in the middle, and a starry night backdrop. It's certainly the most minimalistic stage I've ever seen, even moreso than, say, the charming minimalist design of the Bryn Terfel / Alison Hagley "Nozze".

That said, other aspects of design - costuming and presentation - are done well. The nymphs / sylphs are particularly striking, gliding around the stage on 15+ foot platforms hidden underneath their dresses. Very well done by the stagehands in charge of their movements.

With such a set, the focus falls naturally on the performers, even moreso than usual. Ms. Voigt acquits herself well, as does Richard Margison as Bacchus. Susanne Mentzer as The Composer in the prologue -- well, her acting was great, ranging from comically pretentious to heartfelt, but I wasn't fond of her singing. It's likely just me -- mezzos are very hit-or-miss for my taste, and I'm at a loss to say precisely why I prefer one and not another.

Despite having less stage time than Ms. Voigt, Ms. Dessay is clearly the star of the show and I was most fond of the middle portion of the opera, which features her prominently. "Großmächtige Prinzessin" is of course the show-stopping aria, as well it should be given that at ~13 minutes it comprises fully 10% of the opera's running time. And just a year or so from surgery, Ms. Dessay pulls it off with perfection -- by turns witty, funny, touching, earnest, and always lovely to the ears. The crowd clearly agreed, with an 80 second ovation (yes, I counted :) ) that was only halted by the continuation of the opera itself.

As I'm not yet overly familiar with the music, I can't comment on Mr. Levine's conducting thereof. To my ears, the score sounded very Wagnerian in influence, particularly in the duet between Ariadne and Bacchus. But, and not to harp on it, the stylistic difference between the Zerbinetta section and the Ariadne sections could not be more striking, and I can't help thinking I would have enjoyed this opera more had it been opera bouffe all the way through. Obviously, this is not a criticism of this production, it is just the nature of this particular opera; and perhaps I will grow to enjoy the entire work more.

In short, if for no other reason than Natalie Dessay (is there anything more charming than Ms. Dessay in a comic role? Nothing comes to mind :p ) this is a version worth watching.
 
#63 ·
is there anything more charming than Ms. Dessay in a comic role? Nothing comes to mind :p
Yes, there is. Anna Netrebko in a comic role. Just watch her in L'Elisir d'Amore or Don Pasquale.;)

About the opera itself, I quite like it. It would be the Frankenstein you've mentioned if the entire thing was a misguided attempt at combining two genres, but the fact that it is intentionally done as an opera within the opera, combining two troupes of actors, actually works perfectly in my opinion, and makes of this work something unique and delightful.
 
#67 ·
I just watched Der Rosenkavalier with Fleming and Graham from the Met, but it sadly left me a little underwhelmed. The closing scene of the first and the third act, and the opening of the second, are spectacular enough, but I don't know... Maybe I was just expecting too much, maybe I'll like it better after a second viewing.

I think I'll pass judgement after I've seen the Kleiber version, which seems to be regarded as the best throughout this thread. Or should I rather try the one from Covent Garden with Kiri Te Kanawa?
 
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