Costumes Movie Reviews

The lighting in this DVD was terrible and you could hardly see what was going on on the stage because the camera was either too far away or too close. Also the dancers were rarely together perfectly as ballerinas should be.

This is Tchaikovsky's ballet performed by the Kirov Ballet on it's Canadian tour in 1989; it contains all the ingredients to make it a spectacular success. It has, for instance, the creme de la creme of the Kirov principal dancers; Larisa Lezhnina, Farukh Ruzimatov and Yulia Makhalina. Then add to this the beautiful backdrop scenery, working fountains, huge chandeliers , sumptuous costumes for all its participants, and you'd have a production of " The Sleeping Beauty" to die for, right....well not quite. Let me explain.

Having watched this DVD performance several times, I have this gut feeling that when choreographer, Marius Petipa, saw the original score for this ballet, his initial though must have been, "my God, what I'm I going to do with these people for over 2+ hours." Despite all the positives I've mentioned above, I honestly feel that not even all this onstage beauty and talent (not to mention an incredible effort by both Lezhnina and Ruzimatov) could justify this slow paced, sometimes repetitive work. Some of the dances (excluding those of the principals) seem have little to do with the overall story: In fact, the Prologue seemed to be dragged out and some of this area of the ballet could have been significantly shortened. I must admit that during some segments, I had difficulty keeping my attention focused on this performance.

All in all, a beautifully staged and exquisitely danced production that is superbly recorded (both audio and video) but it is, simply put, too long.

Tchaikovsky's second ballet, presented at a prestigious Russian theater in the 1880's, became successful and standard for ballet dancers and is still a ballet enjoyed by many in several levels. It is the age-old Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. Aurora is the princess under the curse of a wicked fairy, doomed to sleep forever until a prince awakens her with a kiss. Bits and pieces of the Tchaikovsky score was used in the 50's Dysney animated film, Sleeping Beauty. This DVD is visually striking and the Russian ensemble who perform the ballet are exceptional. The costumes are gorgeous, true to the French-style that Tchaikovsky was going for when he wrote this (he was said to be modeling the court of King Louis XIV). The principal dancers in the roles of Aurora and Prince Desire, as well as the evil fairy, express themselves fully in their solos. Fancy footwork, pas de deux, lavish corp and the ensuing divertissements in Aurora and the Prince's wedding are fine examples of how great the ballet is visually on DVD and in the hands of the Russians.

Act I begins with the theme associated with the evil fairy, dark, powerful and fatalistic, but is subdued when the hopeful, romantically melodic theme of the Lilac Fairy (Aurora's fairy godmother) erupts into a glorius introduction. The kingdom prepares for Aurora's christening (The March) and congregate in the hall of the castle. The fairies endow the child with special qualities, beauty, grace, song, etc..keep in mind this is not all that different from the Dysney film or the fairy tale. When the Lilac Fairy is about to bestow her gift on the baby, the evil fairy and her minions storm the castle and the evil fairy rages in her fury about not being invited. In revenge, she casts a dark spell on the child. She will prick her finger on a pointy spindle and die. Of course, the Lilac Fairy offers hope and reverses some of the spell. Aurora will sleep and not die, awaken only after the kiss of her true love prince. Also, the entire kingdom will sleep with her. Act 2 features Aurora as a young woman who is awakening to her femininity, celebrating her sixteenth birthday, surrounded by loving and doting parents and many interested princely suitors. The Waltz, the Rose Adagio and Aurora's Death are the highlights. In the final act, the Prince, with the help of the Lilac Fairy, defeats the evil fairy, penetrates the castle and awakens the sleeping beauty with a kiss. Their wedding features many characters from fairy tales, including Cinderella and Puss'N'Boots. The Apotheose ends gloriously, and is without doubt Tchaikovksy's most brilliant work for orchestra.

This ballet is a great introduction for ballet novices, a lesson in good choreography and over all, a glittering rendition of the masterful art. Who says ballet is sentimental nonsense ? It is a passionate, engulfing and living art form that requires stamina, endurance and precision, full of magnetism and full of life. This particular ballet can be enjoyed in many levels. Children will like the fairy tale ambiance, adults will enjoy the developing ballet structure and balletomanes will be in heaven. I am a ballet/ music and opera teacher and encourage any medium to instill a love of the arts. On DVD, ballet is a must see, almost, but never quite, like, seeing a live performance.

An excellent production by the Vienna State Opera. Comparisons with the Met production featuring Birgit Nilsson are inappropriate - like comparing apples and oranges - as the interpretations are not comparable. The Vienna version emphasizes the "black and bright" nature of the drama (Hofmannsthal's own phrase) with stark, almost monochromatic sets. Marton makes a very convincing Elektra and Fassbaender's Klytemnestra is truly ghoulish, though a little bit over the top and one-dimensional. Klytemnestra is a woman on the verge and the actress portraying her must keep this in mind - to be convincing, she must walk a fine line between madness and sanity without falling over the precipice, and this is where Mignon Dunn's performance, in the Met version, is superior, imbued with a regal and scrupulously delineated dementia that almost manages to win sympathy. It is in the central Klytemnestra scene that the Vienna version suffers. In the Met version, Elektra's numbingly cold indifference to her mother's suffering, as portrayed by Nilsson, chills the soul. In the Vienna version, the conflict between mother and daughter is never convincingly established - and this conflict is central to the drama: the mother's need to nurture and dominate collides head-on with the daughter's alienation and need to avenge a father and an older sister. These needs are irreconcilable and tragedy results. Nevertheless, Klyemnestra's entrance scene in this version, amidst the requisite flickering torches and with Strauss' pounding score, is a particularly effective piece of staging. The production captures the almost claustrophobic terror of Sophocles' drama brilliantly. Any competent performance of this opera should leave the viewer emotionally drained - and this production certainly had a cathartic effect on this listener. Almost a century after it was written, Strauss' score remains a shocker - a marvel of inspiration and compositional technique. Though I still prefer the Nilsson/Rysanek/Dunn version by the Met, I thoroughly enjoyed the Vienna production: if gritty realism and raw emotion are what you look for in opera, this production will certainly not disappoint.

Despite what other reviewers have said, Eva Marton is, in this production, superior to Brigit N's Elektra done at the Met. In fact all the singers in the Vienna State Opera production throw themselves body and soul into their roles. The set / costume design is outstanding, dark and otherworldly but never distracting from the performances or Strauss' superior music. The one enormous set-piece is a 100-foot statue of the murdered Agamemnon, the huge head having fallen to the ground. Thus Agamemnon has an overpowering albeit mute presence throughout the show. Very effective I thought. Klytemnestra is simply odious. She looks like a grotesque parody of Tammy Faye Baker doing a "Mommy Dearest" Joan Collins impression, but with complete sincerity. That is Klytemnestra and her maid pictured on the DVD case by the way. Marton's Elektra is strong, insane, tear-streaked and oddly sympathetic.

One of the most intense performances ever. In (any!!) music category!!! look at Marton and Abbado at the end! Totally out of this world. The sets are nightmare stuff. No wonder there is some booing at the end. Those old folks at the audience probably couldn't watch it for it's a life shortening performance for people with weak hearts. Buy it!!

I rate this DVD as 3 stars, because I really got dissapointed with it. The main weekness of this production is Jago, what a bad choice by Karajan. I mean, Glosop's voice is too soft for Jago. He never sounds convincing. Vickers Otello is pretty good but not as impressive as Del Monaco's. Mirella Freni is superb Desdemona, maybe the best I've ever heard. This is her role. Karajan's conduction sometimes is little bit strange. I do not agree on some tempos. I think that Drinking scene ("Roderigo, beviam") from the first act could be played little bit faster. It is so slow that it looses all the beauty and horror of Jago's character. Also in the second act, in Jago's and Otello's duet some part of it could be played faster.
In total, one should see this production once. As far as I am concerned, I am not going to watch it second time. Why should I? I have Del Monaco's and Gobbi's unforgatable recording.

Verdi's Otello is the finest tragic opera ever written. The genial poet Boito wrote a beautifully compressed libretto that inspired Verdi to compose intensely dramatic, dynamic and complex music for great arias, duets and choral singing. Otello' s triumph over the Turks "Esultate!", the sweet and ethereal duet between Otello and his bride Desdemona "Già nella notte densa", Jago's cynical view on life "Credo in un Dio crudel", the revengeful oath-taking duet "Sì, pel Ciel marmoreo giuro!", Otello's regret for lost happiness "Dio, mi potevi scagliare", the andante then frenetic pezzo concertato of acclaims "Viva! Evviva!" (Venetian dignitaries, heralds, soldiers, Ladies and Gentlemen) ingrained with brooding soliloquies and utterances "...Emilia, una gran nube turba il senno d"Otello..." (Lodovico, Otello, Desdemona, Emilia, Jago), Desdemona's soulful prayer "Ave Maria", Otello's dishevelled suicide "Niun mi tema" and last heroic whisper "un altro bacio", the opera ending with two soft but solemn orchestral bars.

On 5 February 1887 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milano, Verdi staged the world premiere of Otello after 16 years of silence. During that period, he reflected for a long time on his experience and the musical evolution of opera. He felt he had to conceive successfully something new to stay abreast of times. Otello was born. Boito became a decisive collaborator. He wrote the libretto "a struttura continua" which allowed the great master to break the old scheme of arias, duets, recitatives and develop a completely continuous discourse.

Jon Vickers - The great Canadian tenor was born in 1926 at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. After studying under George Lampert in Toronto, he made his debut in 1954 as the Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto) with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. During an illustrious career spanning over 28 years, he sang a variety of roles excelling in Beethoven's Fidelio as Florestan, the Wagnerians Siegmund, Parsifal and Tristan, the Italians Canio and Otello, the French Don José and the English Peter Grimes, in most of the major theatres of the world. His debut as Otello dates back to 1970 during the Salzburg Festival where he sang the role for the ensuing two years.

In this 1974 rendition of Otello, one senses Vickers' mastery of the role and profound identification with the character throughout. When called upon to put on show the arduous vocality of Otello, some mediocrity creeps in. "Esultate" is not in the Lauri-Volpi or Del Monaco's glorious Italian tradition, the key words "Vien" and "un bacio" in the ethereal, amorous duet "Già nella notte densa" are whispered although some redemption is restored with a well sustained mezza voce in "...Venere splende", the ferocious and solemn oath-taking duet with Jago is a bit disappointing at the end, where "Dio vendicator" is a surprisingly short and colourless squillo, "Dio, mi potevi scagliare" is good in the piano monotone but colourless in the squillo "...Oh, gioia!" but "Niun mi tema" is quite a remarkable fraseggio. His Italian diction is fair.

Mirella Freni - She belongs to the cream of Italian sopranos who made singing history from Storchio, Pandolfini, Favero, Pampanini, Olivero and recently to Scotto. Her Mimì was the most celebrated, perhaps the greatest of all Puccini's frail seamstresses. For vocal, expressive and scenic qualities, she became household name at Salzburg as Zerlina, Susanna, Elisabetta di Valois, last but not least Desdemona in the repertoire of the Austrian city' supreme son, Herbert von Karajan. Freni never performed better with any other conductor than with Karajan.

In this 1974 edition of Otello, her Desdemona is cajoled, inspired, advised, even pushed by Karajan to use colours, refinements and sfumature to which she was not used. Her amorous canto in the love duet, the passionate, pure-hearted and exhilarating lament "A terra...si...nel livido fango..." prostrate on the floor of the castle hall of ceremonies in front of the stupefied Venetian dignitaries, the meditative, sad recollections in the Willow song and soulful prayer "Ave Maria" in her bed chamber are striking proof of an exceptional voice-orchestra fusion.

Peter Glossop - A distinguished English baritone born in Sheffield and an excellent interpreter of the Italian Romantic Opera at Covent Garden and the major theatres of the world. His repertoire included Rigoletto, Count di Luna, Scarpia, Simon Boccanegra, Guy de Montfort (I Vespri Siciliani) and Jago. He had voice for sale, warm, expressive accents and great acting ability. His Rigoletto in particular was a voice of decades gone by.

In this 1974 edition of Otello, his Jago is almost unmatched. His scenic presence is imposing, gestures and facial expressions, supported by a good mezza voce, weave a diabolical cynicism of nearly Tito Gobbi's dimensions while his "Credo in un Dio crudel" crowns him as the Mephistophelean villain so much aspired by Verdi, who found the monologue "most beautiful and wholly Shakespearean!"

Herbert von Karajan - A native of Salzburg, he was only nineteen when he became permanent conductor at the Opera of Ulm in 1927, of Aquisgraine from 1935 to 1942, took the place of the great Wilhelm Furtwangler as conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1954 and became the Salzburg Festival director in 1956. He conducted in Italy frequently by interpreting Wagner and Mozart but also the Italian masters' operas, including Lucia, Falstaff, Traviata, Boheme and Cavalleria rusticana. He interpreted Tosca in Berlin, Trovatore in Vienna and Don Carlos at Salzburg. He was admired for a vast symphonic and operatic repertoire, conducting authority, live, incisive and dramatic style, great plasticity and constant pursuit of sound, vocal and orchestral beauty.

In this 1974 edition of Otello, Karajan is the orchestra conductor, artistic and stage director. Known for his unsurpassable analytical ability, he leads the orchestra to a dismembering of each detail of the score with the best timbre possible. The tempi and sound of this Otello as interpreted and executed by Karajan are majestic, glorious, solemn, totally innovative and mesmerising.

The staging is outdoors and not on the theatre platform. It is confined, done exquisitely and gives the impression of a stage production despite that the act I tempest scene is real and shot on the screen. The picture quality is excellent. The sound is superb stereo. Beautifully illustrated, the booklet is in English, German and French, contains a synopsis of the opera, no libretto but a partition of each act into the salient arias, duets, ensembles each accompanied by a very informative sequence of the plot and corresponding DVD track number.

This film by Hebert von Karajan is the best rendition of Verdi's "Otello" available in any video format. The conducting and singing are superb and the drama is expressed with the utmost intensity. Jon Vickers is the best Otello in recent memory, superior even to Placido Domingo in vocal and dramatic power. Mirella Freni is a bit light-voiced for Desdemona, but she sings beautifully and looks like an angel. Peter Glossop sings the role of Iago with beauty and power, and sets just the right tone of evil playfulness. Picture and sound quality are both just fine. The supporting cast is wonderful, too, and includes Jose van Dam (Lodovico) and Michel Senechal (Roderigo).

Karajan's cinematography is not as polished as Zeffirelli's, but it does present the essentials of the drama honestly and straightforwardly. The Zeffirelli film, although it has an excellent cast and looks beautiful, is an abomination. Starting with a perfectly good soundtrack, Zeffirelli proceeded to destroy Verdi's dramatic and musical conception by cutting out little snippets of the score (seemingly almost at random) to bring his movie to a length of less than two hours. As far as I know, his film has never been issued on DVD. I hope nobody bothers with it. Karajan's film is more stagebound and the lip synch isn't perfect, but his version is complete and dramatically compelling.

There are two other good renditions of this opera on DVD: a London (Royal Opera) performance with Placido Domingo, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Sergei Leiferkus and a 1958 RAI telecast with Mario del Monaco, Rosanna Carteri, and Renato Capecchi, conducted by Tullio Serafin. The London performance is beautifully played and sung, but it's dramatically less intense than Karajan's film. The Italian telecast is a wonderful historical document, but it is better to hear than it is to see. The monaural sound is good and the black and white picture is clear enough, but the singers don't always appear comfortable lip-synching to a prerecorded sound track. Nevertheless, I recommend that you get it for the remarkable performances of del Monaco and Capecchi. But if you're looking for the one best "Otello" video, Karajan's is it.

Unconvincing acting from Jerusalem and Weikl, insufficient seductive beauty from the Flower Maidens, ridiculous coughing from the audience and the "End of Act II Fiasco" as already mentioned by another reviewer are only some of the problems with this production.

But above all else, the staging is a bore. Couldn't Parsifal be done as a film instead of these cheesey sets?

Thus, we are left with Wagner's glorious music and not much else.

Still enjoy Kurt Moll's voice though so 3 stars.

Overall, I was pleased with this production of Parsifal. I did have a few issues with this DVD though.

The first is the audience. Having been to the Met a few times and having seen several of their video productions, I must say they have the single most obnoxious audience of any I know of (except maybe the Cleveland Orchestra's). Why anyone would choose to film in front of any audience, let alone the Met audience, is beyond me. The coughing never ends, and what's more disturbing is the applause before the end of the second act. Do Met audiences not understand that Wagner intended us to hear the last bar of the act? Something I found interesting is that the audio is immediately cut at the last note of the first act. This is a great move for editing, since even today Bayreuth audiences hold applause until the second act, giving the first act the feel of a religious sacrament.

The second complaint I have is Bernd Weikl as Amfortas. His singing is simply beautiful, which is exactly the problem. In order to be an effective Amfortas, one must sing not beautifully, but instead painfully. Amfortas is suffering personified, and his suffering should be heard in the voice. Weikl acts the part very well, and always looks the part, but his singing simply does not convey the character the way I've heard it by others.

Waltraud Meier is wonderful as Kundry, and her makeup and costuming wonderfully displays her transformations from the "wild woman" to the sexy temptress in the second act. Her singing is standard. Kurt Moll gives an exceptional Gurnemanz, which is always important seeing as how he has more lines than anyone else in the opera.

The only other complaint I had was the makeup on Siegfried Jerusalem. He looks like porcelain in the close-ups. True, a lot more makeup is needed when performing in front of an audience than on camera, which is yet another reason that operas, especially one as sacred as Parsifal, should not be filmed in front of audiences.

Overall I enjoyed the film. Much of my criticism is simply a matter of personal preference, but there are several things I would like to change about his production.

After hearing both the Von Karajan and the Kna performances, but never seeing the Opera in person I bought this DVD after reading the varying reviews listed here. While it is true that both the Von Karajan and the Kna performances are utterly magnificent, they are both different. THIS performance is also magnificent, but again, different from the other 2.

Regarding the tempi, I do not find the tempi too slow, but rather find it a very creatve interpretation and courageous.
The second half of the first act is magnificent musically. True, Jerusalem sort of just stands there, but I prefer to accent the outstanding musical interpretation and ignore the flaws in the acting.

The Second Act is breathtaking. Franz Mazura (Klingsor) is marvelous and the whole scene is just magnificent. The spontaneous clapping at the end does not bother me since I wanted to stand up and cheer too after that act. I guess the New York audience is less conservative than a typical European audience, but I found it wonderful to see an audience reacting with such excitement.

I find the beginning of the Third Act a bit slow after the excitement in the Second Act, but this is personal. The end of the Third act is stunning.
Jerusalem is a wonderful Parsifal and manages to portray the "child" image well. Weikl is a great Amfortas. While he didn't sing like he is in pain, but looking closely his watering mouth and sweating face, he portrays his condition well. Moll is fantastic as Gurnemanz, and of course Meier is a an outstanding Kundry.

The sound and the sets are really fabulous.

Perhaps some of the other reviewer have already seen a performance of Parsifal. I never had that experience. I wat not disappointed and I constantly watch sections that I especially enjoy over and over.

I highly recommend this DVD set. If you have heard another performance, you might need to keep an open mind because this performance is different and does not try to be Von Karajan or Kna. However, this performance holds its own as being no less magnificent then the other 2.

Let me admit right off the bat that early twentieth century opera -- Puccini, Strauss, and Janacek -- is my first love. I put off for a long time getting this Monteverdi work, fearing that it would be a bloodless, continuo-dominated bore. What an eye-opener it was when I finally bought it and watched it! This opera has nothing but gorgeous, dramatic music from beginning to end.

It helps that this production has a world-class cast, headed by Sir Thomas Allen. I think (and this is admittedly a personal opinion) that it also helps that the orchestration has been done by a world-class contemporary composer. Since Monteverdi's orchestration, if in fact he ever did it, has not survived, the choices are limited: create some presumably Monteverdi-like imitation, or go with what works best. Henze did the latter, and the result is music to my ears. The staging and technical aspects of the production are also admirable.

This production may not appeal to period purists, but I found it most enjoyable, and suspect that other aficianados of modern opera will as well.

It's like Monteverdi himself came back to bring this
Opera up to date ! STAGING MAKES FANTASTIC CONCEPTS
MANIFEST INTO REALITY-- surreal. Zeus IS on a throne in
the clouds with an eagle stained glass window, Diane's chariot
IS riding the clouds, Neptune DOES rise out of the Sea in
a chariot drawn by giant sea horses. Ulysses cries out
as Saturn (the grim reaper with wings), cupid, and destiny
ACTUALLY terrify him AND YOU !!! The singing done on a stage
that looks like a giant atom-- AND YOU ARE THERE !
The camera-man does his job well, and it's NOT like camera
on a tripod. The recording is clear. The performance is
outstanding. The orchestra does an excellent job with
modern instruments-- the only way it could have been more
authentic would be to break out museum instruments !!!
Monteverdi clearly intented music for scenes like
Neptune rising out of the sea and Zeus thundering in the
heavens to have a "KINGLY" sound like a entrance for CAESAR
(or something like that)--GODS NEED THE HORNS -- and the
ORF Symphony Orchestra does an excellent job of providing them.
The music is supposed to provide an AWESOME sound effect,
and the use of instrumentation provides that.
Unlike "L'ORFEO", where the music often needs to be that of sweet
nymphs and shepherds, "IL RITORNO D'ULISSE IN PATRIA" is about
large gods and large scale events.

This is one of my very favorite videos. Allen's double duty as
L'Umana fragilita & Ulisse makes perfect sense. I think the work goes to another level when this pairing is practiced.

Allen is naked enough for us to get the idea. Ideally, L'Umana fragilita SHOULD be naked, however, I don't believe we as a society are quite advanced enough for this nudity not to get in the way of the message. Some day.

For me, one of the most heart lifting moments in all of opera occurs is the recognition and scene ending duet which occurs between Ulisse and Telemaco. In the space of a moment, Allen's Ulisse changes from old man (far more then just a disguise, in my opinion), to father reunited with his long lost son, and warrior/hero finally ready to return home to his beloved. A
magnificent characterization.

There isn't a false moment in this production and Allen & Kathleen Kuhlmann's final duet is as glorious to see as it is to hear.

At first hearing, Henze's realizations of Monteverdi's score puzzled me just a bit however now it falls beautifully on the ear. While some have denounced it as unlistenable, I think it's among Henze's finest achievements. If you have only room for one type of interpretation - authentic - this is not the video for you. While I love authentic sounding Monteverdi, I have more than ample room to enjoy this production.

The physical production is wonderful and gives the singers great space to work in.

I revisit this DVD with great frequency and cannot recommend it highly enough.

p.

First off this was the fisrt time I have ever watched FMW so im not one to judge but if this is the best FMW has to offer its pretty bad, There where more bad matches then good and the commentary was terrible, I cant even start on how bad the commentary was. There was a good match Matsunaga vs Mr.Pogo that had tables, chairs and some sort of knife but it still wasint a 5 star match.

I am probably going to buy an other FMW DVD just to give it a fair try out but so far it seems terrible and I woulldent recommend this FMW tape.

i have only seen 3 of the matches and just those 3 make this a 5* dvd

i have only watched 3 of the matches the main event the masato tanaka match and the first one (forgot there names) and just those 3 make this a 5* dvd

Reading the other reviews on this page convinced me to buy this DVD, and reading them again makes me think I have to give it at least one more viewing. But I have already tried two or three times to watch it, attempting to be as open-minded as possible about the dancing, and I couldn't get more than half way through. If you are a lover of modern dance, you may like Mark Morris and his group, but as a lover of baroque music and opera, I found the dancing totally out of harmony with the "soft" and "gentle" spirit of this beautiful music (to quote from the famous death song with which the opera concludes, "With drooping wings ye Cupids come").

To me the dancing seemed gross, lacking in gracefulness and subtlety, and often too reminiscent of the movements of callisthenics. Mark Morris, the choreographer, epitomizes these qualities that I found grating, and his large and masculine appearance and movements on stage were the very antithesis of everything I associate with Purcell's music and Baroque. I found his attempt to play two diametrically opposed roles - both female - without any change of costume totally confusing.

The dancing only managed to continually draw my attention away from the beautiful music, making it impossible to really enjoy it. Finally it occurred to me, why not turn the TV off and just listen to the music? At first this was an infinite improvement, as the music is very well performed, and I realized that it is is sometimes best not to have any visual distractions if one wants to really concentrate on listening to music. But I soon found that the loud clumping sounds of the bare feet jumping around on the stage were still spoiling the music.

I needed a recording of this opera to help prepare for a performance of the final two numbers by our opera company (Singapore Lyric Opera), but it was clear this DVD was not going to help. In desperation, I went to a local classical music store and asked for the best CD of Dido and Aeneus. I was introduced to the classic 1961 performance by Janet Baker and the English Chamber Orchestra, recently reissued in 24-bit sound in Decca's "Legendary Performances" series. This is the version of Dido and Aeneus to own! Aside from being an unforgettable performance, the booklet includes the full libretto and an introduction in English, French and German. I hope, however, that someone issues a performance of this opera AS AN OPERA on DVD sometime soon.

I purchased this DVD based on my interest in Baroque music and having seen on TV some of Mark Morris's interpretations of Handel, which were wonderful. However in this case, I found the choreography odd and and awkward. I am not an expert in dance and probably don't understand what Morris was trying to accomplish, but this intrepretation didn't connect with me at all. On the other hand, I thought the singing was terrific.

Henry Purcell's music lends itself well to modern styles of interpretation. Perhaps that's down to its forthright nature. Purcell could write a melody to break your heart, but he never succumbed to mere prettiness. There are taut sinews not far beneath the surface of everything he wrote.

Mark Morris' choreography and his personal approach to movement recognise the angularity of Purcell's compositional style and make the most of it. You won't find much prettiness here - or even elegance - but you will find grace and passion.

The performace is superbly filmed, maintaining a fine balance between close-ups of the principals one one hand and showing the overall shape of the dance on the other. I personally found the occasional inclusion of the singers in-shot to be intrusive, but I appreciate that other reviewers have liked this.

Technically the DVD is OK. There are a few speckles near the end, but the colour and clarity are both good. A gripe, though - the picture is 1.88:1 letterboxed, not anamorphic, so there is a vertical resolution of less than 300 lines, which is worse than TV in the 1960s! There is no region coding, which is handy. The subtitles are on by default - irritating! - but can be switched off.

The sound is uncompressed PCM stereo of good quality. It's not afraid to present the sound of the dancers' feet on the stage so you could never listen to the soundtrack by itself.

I'm disappointed by the production and the performances. While it's a good idea to stage this opera in a naturalistic manner, the stage direction is disappointing, as can be witnessed from the comical episodes involving the Rhinemaidens and the various transformations by Alberich.

The cast fails to do justice to Wagner's score. Morris is hampered by bad stage direction all the way and he is less than dramatically vivid. Ludwig is well past her prime, as is the Alberich. In fact, the other roles are not that well taken, too, with the single exception of Jerusalem's Loge. But a good Loge cannot rescue the entire opera. Levine's slow tempo is also a liability even though the orchestra performed well.

Wagner's masterful score is well-executed by Levine, if you can ignore the audience, which coughs like it has TB. Visually, this production is atrocious. The Rhine-daughters are about as graceful as three-legged cows and are costumed like cheap mermaid prositutes or fishy spokesmodels for a seafood place. Loge looks like he's wearing Star Trek TNG latex. As he climbs the rock to get the gold, Alberich makes the whole thing wobble like something put together by middle-schoolers for their first production of The Ring. Bad stage direction all around. The only part I think lived up to Wagner's vision was the cool rainbow bridge at the very end, but you can see that by looking at the DVD case. Remind me not to attend the Met. Sounds good but best to watch when blind.

There is more to like...and less to be somewhat
dissatisfied with...in this Metropolitan Opera
Television Production of -Das Rheingold-. In the order
of my preferences, from best to lesser, are the
visual effects, the sets, the music and conducting,
the costumes, and some of the singing. But even
the singing which is less pleasing is only unequal
in certain parts, such as parts of the opening
Rhine scene and with the giants and the gods
in their first encounter. But this was a live

production, and the mircrophones were placed
as a distance, not right in front of the singers,
as they might be in a recorded version. So some
of the singing by Alberich in the first scene
seems not quite loud and forceful enough, but
then he is clamboring over the rocks. The
singing of the giants is also less than a bit
loud enough...and forceful. But then, things
change...and Alberich's singing in Nibelheim
is very good.
The visual effects are very captivating to me...
the mists...clouds...that rise from the blue
watery murkiness of the Rhine up to the god-
haven...as the camera pulls back, there is
a wondrous castle in the background...and Fricka
and Wotan are somewhat "dwarfed" by it as they
recline on a spiral, slanted set -- meant to represent
some sort of gigantic saucer-shaped rock or cliff
top...but which has wondrous similarity to a
textured, rough, rocky spiral galaxy. Then
there is the red mist...cloud...on the descent
into Nibelheim...and the passing shot in the
background of small dwarves at work in their
cave compartments with shining gleams cast off
here and there...the Nibelheim section is the
best part, as far as I am concerned...the
set is wondrous...a circular cave opening in
the back with the red background...it looks
like some eternal eye...or a gigantic worm-hole
into a fated eternity...
Also what should be mentioned is the English
translation of the libretto which can be added
by clicking on the opening bars...the translation
is very tough...elemental...pagan...not poetic
or lyrical. It gives a very real, ominous...compelling...
forceful...underpinning to the visuals and the
German singing going on in the visuals.
The style of the production is of the Wagnerian
Romantic late 1800s style...the costumes have
that "period" look, but the sets are timeless
and elemental, not weirdly modern and anachronistic.
I much prefer the look of this production over the
descriptions given by some of the posters of
the Bayreuth production conducted by Boulez where
the opening Rhine scene, apparently, is set
under the shadow of a hydro-electric dam! And
the Rhine Maidens appear to be "call girls."
The viewer should also consider several levels
of meaning and awareness as he or she watches
this production...and relates the meaning of what
is being said...thoughts about gold, and wealth,
and power, and greed, and revenge...and renouncing
love in order to gain power. There is definite
social...and psychological critique going on here.
Alberich's critique of the pleasure lives of the
gods sounds as if it might be from the lips of
a Platonist contemplating the fate of the Atlanteans...
or of a 19th century socialist...or of a transcendental
critic/rebuker like Thoreau. The giants' warnings
to Wotan about the sacredness of contracts and
the bond of one's word, sound like thoughts to think
about in relation to government and governing...
and law...their talk of how Wotan used the pledge-
power of his spear to wield their compliance, sounds
like something out of Thomas Hobbes, and the whole
idea of the social contract. The more one watches
and listens...and lets several levels of possible
meaning come together, the richer and more
powerful and gripping the genius of bringing
so much myth/psychology/and inspired alienation
and passion together in a work of art, and drama,
and music becomes...
If you think an opera can't be overwhelming
and stun you...watch the giant Fafner kill the
other giant Fasolt...and watch the stunned,
horrified looks on the gods' faces...and Wotan's
shocked, chastened, brooding look as he realizes
what is happening as a result of the ring's curse.
The scene is powerful...and gripping...
and moving in a profoundly deep and elemental
way... you are truly "within the spell" of
the cycle to come...and its relentless
unfolding possibilties...moving ever slowly
but enigmatically...and sadly... toward fatal
fated conclusion...

This is a solid performance that provides a decent idea of what this opera is like. The singing is uniformly good and Beethoven's stirring score provides it share of goosebumps. Some of the singers are pretty effective actors, particularly Rocco. But I find Pizarro a little wooden and un-scary (with an expression suggesting the eating of too many pickles); and Leonore/Fidelio not at ease with her character. Another poster commented on Florestan's plump physique, and I agree; the dungeon seems actually to have agreed with him. As for Leonore, I realize that no woman singing a role in drag could fool anyone in the real world. This Leonore, though, barely tries, given her ample bosom (which is apparent behind her coat) and netted long hair in back. This is asking for a bit too much suspension of disbelief. I would prefer a less buxom singer who looks more appropriate in drag. As for the sets and costumes, they're conservative and rather literal, and don't add much to the proceedings. And while the story may take place in sunny Spain, I would have liked a darker, more forbidding feel.

Good, not great. For one thing, the dialogue is kinky. How could any producer of "Fidelio" omit that wonderful exchange: when Florestan tells his wife how much she's done for him, and she replies, "Nichts, nichts, mein Florestan." A real weeper, for sure. And this guy cuts it. AAAH!

Singing is good. Staging is rather less impressive than the old Glyndebourne production on video. When will someone release Bernstein's production?

All the elements are there for an enjoyable experience. Whilst not in the front line of operas, such as Aida, Rigoletto, Carmen and La Traviata, Beethoven's Fidelio is composed of music that is deeply satisfying. The story line, when you eventually figure this out (see below), is appealing, even in modern times. The singers are quite competent and photogenic, and sing with feeling and good stage presence. It is somewhat odd that a burly and healthy looking Joseph Protschka sings the part of Florestan, when he is supposed to have been some time in the dungeon, and on "half rations", but, hey, this is opera!

The audio is very good; both PCM Stereo and Dolby 5.1 options are available; thanks mainly to the conductor (Christoph Von Dohnanyi). The video is clear and crisp.

Generally, stage presentations of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden are second only to the Metropolitan's; the less lavish budgets of the former, may account for this. The set lighting for this Fidelio is bright, and the backdrops appealing.

Then why not five stars?

Poor packaging!

It has become standard for DVD operatic presentations to come with no libretto, so I cannot complain about this. But all the packaging gives are the names of the singers. Some of these singer's voices and faces will not be at all familiar to most of us, so it is very confusing at first, to try and identify the singers and the parts they are portraying. Especially so, when, early on, one of the male looking singers, Fidelio (aka Leonore), is clearly a woman (she is - see below), and another woman (Marzelline) is in love with him (her) to the delight of the latter's (Marzelline's) father (Rocco). Confusing isn't it!

I eventually had to skip to the ending credits and write down the relevant information to resolve this unforgivable oversight. Worse! Apart from a general (and brief) blurb about the importance of the opera when originally written, there is not a hint of any synopsis of the story line. I eventually figured this one out as well.

So this presentation had to lose one star.

It is still well worth having, but to save you from unnecessary grief, I give below details on the main characters, and at the same time indicate the parts they play. This is really all the information you require to fully appreciate this otherwise excellent presentation. I'm sure you will easily figure out the rest.

They are listed in order of appearance:

Jaquino (Neill Archer) - a prison turnkey, in love with Marzelline

Marzelline (Marie McLauglin) - In love with Fidelio, who is actually Leonore in disguise.

Rocco (Robert LLoyd) - father of Marzelline, and the chief prison guard

Fidelio, actually Leonore (Gabriela Benachova) - disguised as a male prison guard to try and rescue her husband, Florestan, who, she believes, is imprisoned in the dungeon.

Don Pizarro (Monte Pederson) - the prison Governor, and the "heavy" of the story; wants to "eliminate" Florestan.

First Prisoner (Lynton Atkinson)

Second Prisoner (Mark Beesley)

Florestan (Joseph Protschka) - a "freedom fighter" and a prisoner in the dungeon.

Don Fernando (Hans Tchammer) - a "fair minded" Government Minister

Enjoy!

Only two of the matches are shown in their entirety, Tanaka/Fuyuki and H/Gannosuke. The other matches are all clipped. The two unclipped matches are excellent, and I can recognize that a major chunk of time had to be devoted to recapping the Hayabusa/Gannosuke fued, but the tape should have been extended to two and a half hours (it clocks in under two) and a couple of more matches (such as the ECW ones, which could have been used a selling point in the U.S.) shown in full. As such, I can only recommend it with reservations.

The clipping didn't bother me all that much. The Kanemura/ Balls Mahoney hardcore match was unbeleivable, the Kanemura Gullotine leg drop from the scaffold was insane. I am a big fan of Japanese wrestling and of the Heart Break Kid himself. That's right HBK is the ref for the H/ Hayabusa II match. HayabusaII gets in the busness of HBK and gets some Sweet Chin Music for his troubles. H is the real Hayabusa and Hayabusa II is Mr. Ganosuke.Two Japanses guys got their butts handed to them against Terry and Dory Funk Jr, who dedicated the match to the late Bruiser Brody. Tanaka sends Kodo Fuyuki packing in a WEW World title 15,000 volt steel cage "looser leaves town" match with the Roaring Elbow. Then he puts Fuyuki in a garbage truck. Choco Ball Mukei, Ricky Fuji, and "Flying Kid" Ichhara w/ Saina(porn actress) beat Team No Respect w/ Ms. Arai in a 6-man tag team title ladder match. Jazz and two female wrestlers lost to a female Sabu and another Japanese woman. "Bad Boy" Hido gets his butt kicked by "The Bear Killer" Willy Willaims in a Mixed Martial Arts match. Why the hell was a MMA match on an FMW card. I don't care if the styles are intertwined of not just because they are doesn't meen they can have one on FMW's Tenth Anniversary card. This is about FMW not MMA.

this dvd has all the matches from the 10th anniversary show.
sadly within 40mins they show all the matches except 3...
tokyopop have made this dvd as more of an advert for the commercial video because they cut down a brilliant 4 hour show to a meesly 2 hour highlights reel.
lets hope in future they show the full events
apart from those gripes, its a great disc with 3 excellent full matches and good highlights albeit short