Opera, Ballet and Classical Music discs - Page 2

A question for Andrew_HD: I noticed that Opus Arte announced a new Swan Lake with Marianela Nunez and Carlos Acosta on DVD for release in September (very exciting if you haven't seen these two dance). Will there be a BD version, too?

--Andre

As far as I know- yes

Andrew

Excellent! Thanks.

BTW, it's Nunez/Soares, not Acosta as I mistakenly typed above.

--Andre

Well,not for me.

May I ask which swan lake do you like more? Paris Opera ballet one is already out there, as well as Kirov Ballet one from Universal. I was comparing those 2, and then the 3rd comes in already!

I'm not Andrew, but I'll reply anyway.

This is one of those things that's kind of personal. A lot of people really don't like the Kirov staging because it does away with the mime, adds the jester, and has a happy ending. The dancing is pretty fantastic, and you get to see one of the great Kirov ballerinas (Uliana Lopatkina) do her thing in a benchmark ballet, though again her style doesn't appeal to everyone. Personally, I like the Kirov version for what it is, and there is a lot to like in it. The Act 2 white scene is pretty incomparable for its corps work and the central pas is very nice, too. The Act 3 party scene is pretty great for its character dancing.

The POB version has beautiful dancing and technique (check out those feet!), as you can always expect from them, but I think their Swan Lake is a bit anonymous, and I am not a big fan of the girl who dances Odile/Odette, Agnes Letestu.

A lot of ballet fans are looking forward to the Royal Ballet version that's coming out for many reasons. First, Marianela Nunez is one of the brightest stars of the Royal with great technique, and great stage craft. She is a strong and elegant dancer who can pull off the extremes of the role, and she's received very good reviews on her performances of this role. You should see her in La Fille mal Gardee, which is out in the UK, and coming out soon in the US, as well as her Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty (both available from Opus Arte, though SB is DVD-only).

The Royal's stagings also tend to bring out the dramatic story aspects of the ballet (whereas the Kirov basically treats it as a giant divertissement --- oversimplified yes, but not entirely unfair), and you will see the best mime practiced today in their production. The dramatic awareness extends to their dancing and staging as well. There's a video around of Dowell/Sibley rehearsing when Siegfried meets Odette, and the detail that they go through is pretty impressive. Where the Kirov feels a bit cold, there is quite a bit of humanity in the Royal staging.

There's also a DVD of American Ballet Theater's Swan Lake, but we do not speak of that production in polite company.

Anyway, I hope that gives you an idea of why we're excited about it. It has a legitimate chance at being the best modern recording of Swan Lake.

--Andre

None- I'm not a "classical" guy. I just work with it
I like some of them more than others, but I'm not the person to judge artistic values.


Andrew

I have that disk too and I can confirm the above mentioned issue. It happens all the way through during faster left-right movements. It isn't necessarily awful, but great it definitely ain't...

I just wanted to add a quick recommendation for the Marinsky Nutcracker Blu-ray
http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Nu...7419027&sr=8-1

With the exception of two SD cameras (!) the production values and stunning detail and color (and the presence of two very hot ballerinas!) make this my new favorite Christmas Nutcracker disc (replacing the great Maurice Sendak Nutcracker which isn't out on DVD...)

I emailed the Met and asked if any of their HD broadcasted performances would be making it onto BD any time soon and got this:


Dammit.

Count me as one of those potential customers who did not buy any of the 6 EMI DVD releases but would have bought them all on BD. I also think EMI will get in game within the next couple of years. Until then I'll hold on to decent copies from the PBS HD telecasts. (BTW, thanks R Johnson for that Mariinsky NYTimes link and for starting the new thread!)

---

We'll be getting our first complete Wagner RING on Blu-ray this year from Arthaus Musik, beginning in May with:

Wagner: DAS RHEINGOLD - Mario Hoff, Erin Caves, Christine Hansmann, Tomas Möwes, Frieder Aurich, Renatus Mészár, Hidekazu Tsumaya, Alexander Günther, Jean-Noël Briend, Marietta Zumbült, Nadine Weissmann, Silona Michel, Susann Günther-Dissmeier, Christiane Bassek; Michael Schulz (dir.); Carl St. Clair (cond.), Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, 2008

I understand the plan is to release one opera a month after that, ending with the complete box set later in the year. The DVD version of DAS RHEINGOLD just received a less than enthusiastic review in the April issue of Opera News. "A huge disappointment" writes reviewer Larry L. Lash. Oh, well. I like to judge for myself anyway.

Bernal

Opera on DVD/Blu-ray List
http://stridonolassu.googlepages.com

I guess we should be happy that a Ring cycle is forthcoming, but there are others I would have preferred: Barenboim/Kupfer from Bayreuth, or perhaps the Copenhagen Ring or the Amsterdam-Audi version, either of which would be spectacular on Blu-ray. Thank you for this news, Bernal, and I agree we should withhold judgement until we can see for ourselves.

Speaking of the Met. Their new Ring cycle gets underway in about a week and a half. The cast seems mixed, but hopefully it will be filmed for possible release. It would be nice to have a new look at this work under Levine to compare with his historic cycle that was aired by PBS back in 1990. It seems like another lifetime, but I remember recording the entire performance on VHS tape ... and then I never watched it.

-Rod

I remember recording the entire performance on VHS tape ... and then I never watched it.


I still have my beta tapes of that.

A friend of mine attended the entire Ring Cycle of the Levine/Met performances. He returned exhausted, but very satisfied. We can only hope they attain that level again, and it's captured on Blu-Ray.

Lee

My wife and I really enjoyed this BD. IMO, most of the criticisms in the review are nitpicks.

Also, I saw no signficant motion blur (unlike the few ballet BDs where motion blur is a major problem).

Shakespeare's play is a great story to adapt to opera. Gounod's music is beautiful.

I just noticed on the Opus Arte website that Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is coming soon on BD. This a powerful work given an acclaimed reading by Mariss Jansons and featuring Eva-Maria Westbroek, who was terrific in Die Walküre, in the title role. The production is somewhat controversial due to some graphic scenes, but this is a welcome addition to the BD catalogue.

Tan Dun's Marco Polo is also coming soon. I'm not at all familiar with this work, which I think was his first opera. I was less than impressed by his latest opera, The First Emperor, which seemed musically lifeless in comparison with its grandiose stage designs. Dun is best known for his original score for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The aforementioned Swan Lake was also announced, although it is not due for release until September.

Wish someone would put together and maintain (sticky) a definitive list of all classical BD titles including audio only BD's.

Stridonolassu who often post on these pages has 2 good sites:
http://stridonolassu.googlepages.com/operaondvdblu-ray
http://stridonolassu.googlepages.com/

Also this is a good site:
http://www.musicalcriticism.com/

I personally refer to the following magazines (including back issues) for reviews when they appear on BD:
The Gramophone
Diapason (French)
Classica Répertoire (French).

Of course having a sticky on AVS as you suggested would sure help.


Mériadec.

She was Sieglinde in Die Walküre, not in the title role.

I guess I should have used parenthesis to separate the comment about Walküre from the rest. I was referring to the title role in Mtsensk.

Excuse my misunderstanding.

No excuse necessary. Westbroek is certainly worth an extra mention. She is without a doubt one of the finest light dramatic sopranos currently singing. She owns the role of Sieglinde and has also sung Gutrune in Götterdämmerung. As her voice matures, hopefully we might see her in other Wagnerian roles such as Kundry and Isolde, perhaps even Brünnhilde in the years to come. She is the main reason I am looking forward to the BD of Mtsensk.

This just-released (on BD) ballet is pleasant and colorful, but without spectacular dancing. There's some clever action involving ribbons and a maypole, but nothing that would challenge Cirque du Soleil.

The best news is NO MOTION BLUR.

Oh, and the "royal" curtains (the venue is the Royal Opera House) are really cool.

... a mildly amusing romantic comedy, lasting 107 minutes, that won't stress your brain or funny bone.

The next BD from TDK. It came out on DVD in 2006:

Mozart: LA FINTA GIARDINIERA - Rudolf Schasching, Eva Mei, Christoph Strehl, Isabel Rey, Liliana Nikiteanu, Julia Kleiter, Gabriel Bermudez; Tobias Moretti (dir.); Nikolaus Harnoncourt (cond.), Opernhaus Zürich, 2006

Wow, different strokes, I guess. The act 2 pas wasn't spectacular? Fille is one the classic Ashton ballets, showcasing all of his style and nuances, and I would not be surprised if it's one of the handful of 20th century ballets that's around for a long time. And Nunez's performance as Lise is pretty spectacular --- you won't find much better than that dancing today.

--Andre

The official U.S. release date for the following discs is May 26th, 2009:

- Arthaus Musik: Das Rheingold
- Opus Arte: Don Giovanni, Giselle, Lohengrin
- TDK: La Finta Giardiniera

Which production of Das Rheingold is this?

Thanks.

fafner