This two-disc set documents the revival of Peter Gelb's inaugural production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, telecast in Times Square and in the plaza at Lincoln Center to the delight of thousands when it was brand new in 2006. It is exquisitely designed by Michael Levine and directed by the late film auteur Anthony Minghella. Since the director's death, his widow and the show's choreographer, Carolyn Choa, has been responsible for the stunning, evocative action. This performance was filmed in high-definition in March 2009.

Highly stylized and in bold, brilliant colors, our first visual is of a young Japanese woman approaching from the rear or the stage, trailing twenty-foot-long red scarves from her kimono; a sloping mirror rises from the rear of the stage multiplying the image and turning it into a kaleidoscopic event. Figures in black wearing veils — a repeated image throughout — circle her and wrap her in fabric. Only then does Puccini's music begin. The entire experience is practically tactile, and the rest of the production follows suit. Han Feng's costumes constantly surprise and please and Peter Mumford's lighting, making the most of the mirror that appears and disappears throughout, adds to the all-consuming physical enchantment. Butterfly enters wearing white against a sky of brilliant blue; her love duet with Pinkerton takes place amidst dozens of white lanterns and their reflections; later, curtains of flower petals fall from the sky. The stage is almost invariably empty of props; color and action take their place and we can focus on the singers. Minghella has minimized the singers' actions as well; there is no over-emoting. The sad story is allowed to speak for itself.

But Minghella's true coup-de-théâtre begins in the second act, when Butterfly, in her confrontation with Sharpless, shows him the child she has borne Pinkerton. The boy is played by a Bunraku puppet, operated by three veiled men in black. Yes, it startles and amuses at first, but as the opera continues we grow accustomed to it. The puppet is so effortlessly manipulated that even if our disbelief is never truly suspended, we are captivated by how real he seems and how touchingly Butterfly relates to him — and him to her. Look carefully at the face and you'll realize that it is emotionless; take a longer view and you'll feel that he's real. In the interlude before the last scene, a puppet Butterfly and male dancer enact the couple's upcoming tragic meeting. It is performed while the actual cast sits perfectly still; the effect is enchanting and troubling at once.

Patricia Racette's Butterfly is magnificent. Her full-bodied voice is imbued with a warm vibrato and her phrasing is natural and sharply musical. But just as crucially, she listens and reacts like a young girl and her movements are economical; her face registers her inner feelings — a remarkable portrayal. Marcello Giordani sings and plays Pinkerton with handsome tone and intelligence; his early swagger is offset by the realization of what he's done in the final scene. Dwayne Croft's Sharpless is sympathetic and Maria Zifchak's Suzuki is grandly sung and well-acted: her silent reaction to Cio-Cio-San's conversion to Christianity speaks volumes. Patrick Summers leads with intensity and great understanding.

Both sound and picture are splendid, as is Gary Halvorson's direction for the screen.

– Robert Levine, Listen [Spring 2011]

"In every dimension Ms. Racette’s effort was exceptional; hers is a performance not to be missed." – The New York Times

"Anthony Minghella’s sumptuous production of Madama Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini’s heartbreaking tale of love and betrayal, offers viewers a rare visual treat...Minghella, who died unexpectedly in March 2008, marks his debut in opera with the re-staging of Madama Butterfly – this is also the first time in 20 years that a new production has opened at the Met. The New York Times described it as “a gorgeous cinematic spectacle.”...Madama Butterfly, conducted by Patrick Summers, features costumes by Han Feng, with sets by Michael Levine, lighting by Peter Mumford, choreography by Carolyn Choa, and puppetry by the Blind Summit Theater." – PBS.org

Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San, Marcello Giordani as American Navy Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton, Maria Zifchak as Suzuki and Dwayne Croft as Sharpless. Patrick Summers conducts the Metropolitan Opera and Chorus.

Region 0 - All Regions

Note: This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Franz Léhar
THE MERRY WIDOW
(Sung in English)
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Anna Glawari – Yvonne Kenny
Count Danilo Danilovitch – Bo Skovhus
Valencienne – Angelika Kirchschlager
Camille de Rosillon – Gregory Turay
Baron Mirko Zeta – Carlo Hartmann
Vicomte Cascada – Curtis Sullivan
Raoul de St. Brioche – Jonathan Boyd
Kromow – Bob Amaral
Olga – Marnie Breckenridge
Pritschitch – William Saetre
Praskowia – Jayne Taini
Bogdanovitch – Peter Strummer
Sylviane – Colleen McGrath
Njegus – Elijah Chester
Zozo – Janice Lynde
Maître d’hôtel – Matt Logan

San Francisco Opera Ballet
San Francisco Opera Chorus
San Francisco Opera Orchestra
Erich Kunzel, conductor

Lotfi Mansouri, stage director

Recorded live at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco on 8 December 2001.

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis and cast gallery
- Impressions - Lotfi Mansouri, Yvonne Kenny, Bo Skovhus, Angelika Kirchschlager and Gregory Turay discuss The Merry Widow.

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 4.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: French, German, Spanish
Running time: 189 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (BD 50)

Francesco Cavalli
ERCOLE AMANTE

Ercole – Luca Pisaroni
Iole – Veronica Cangemi
Giunone – Anna Bonitatibus
Illo – Jeremy Ovenden
Deianira – Anna Maria Panzarella
Licco – Marlin Miller
Nettuno / Tevere / Spirit of Eutyro – Umberto Chiummo
Bellezza / Venere – Wilke te Brummelstroete
Cinzia / Pasitea / Spirit of Clerica – Johannette Zomer
Mercurio / Spirit of Laomedonte – Mark Tucker
A Page / Spirit of Bussiride – Tim Mead

Netherlands Opera Chorus
Concerto Köln
Ivor Bolton, conductor

David Alden, stage director

Recorded live from the Het Muziektheater, 2009.

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis.
- Cast gallery.
- Behind the scenes with Johanette Zomer.
- Behind the scenes with Luca Pisaroni.
- The making of Ercole Amante.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo and 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch
No. of DVDs: 2

Many operas, tragic in nature, leave an audience deeply affected. But Wozzeck holds a special place: its "man's inhumanity to man" and "society and the system will destroy you" messages go straight to the heart and leave us feeling dejected. The recently-released 1970 film of the opera from Hamburg by Rolf Liebermann perfectly captured the work's bleakness and nihilism, and I suspect that for sheer atmosphere and honesty to the text it never will be bettered. But for an almost unbearable, ghastly view of life, madness, and uncaring, this present production, from the stage of Barcelona's Teatre del Liceu--directed by bad-boy Calixto Bieito--will hereafter be the one to beat.

This isn't one of Bieito's juvenile-delinquent ravings like his Ballo with the conspirators on toilets; rather, he just takes a life-deadening score and plot and degrades the characters even further by placing them in a sunless underground world of the future. The life-is-pointless theme remains, but now life is made up not only of heartlessness, but filth and human innards, no natural light, and necrophilia. It's amazing that the audience doesn't go crazy the way Wozzeck does; indeed, near the opera's close, naked cast members, covered in God-knows-what sort of excremental grime, walk into the audience, zombie-like.

We are, I believe, in an oil refinery or petro-chemical plant (Wozzeck is no longer a soldier, just a lowly employee with the captain as Foreman), with acres of twisting pipes looking for all the world like the intestines the doctor rips out of the dead bodies he then cuddles up to. Wozzeck and Marie live in a fluorescently illuminated box with a patch of green shrubbery that Wozzeck tends until it, too, gets destroyed and leaves the scene lifeless. The Drum Major is a local entertainer dressed as either an Elvis- or Elton John-impersonator that Marie sees as an alternative to the dreary slime around her; her child, invariably in a fetal position (though he's big enough to be 10 years old) or on his omnipresent hobby horse, has open sores, is bald, and must breathe through an oxygen mask. (Others in the cast are similarly afflicted.)

Pianos, Marie and Wozzeck's living quarters, other spaces, descend into the playing area in front of the piping; an area of the stage will be illuminated to represent, say, the tavern, while the remainder goes dark. The scenes in the tavern are wild, the Idiot deformed and screaming, with television director Pietro D'Agostino's close-ups horrendous. The turning point comes in the third scene of the second act (although the opera is performed uninterrupted, in one act) when the Doctor, Captain, and Wozzeck meet on the street. The Captain dances insanely as the Doctor does sexual push-ups on the dead body of a woman he has carried onto the scene. Wozzeck, thoroughly confused and trying to get away from them, goes mad. He seems suddenly to realize that the only way to conform is to be as lunatic as they are; his murder of Marie, as they sit on a pipe in a world without a moon, is a thing to do and seems undriven by passion. He shoves her into a pipe drain from which dirty water has been spewing and climbs in there himself in the opera's penultimate scene.

We must be grateful that Sebastian Weigle, the Liceu's music director, leads a reading of the score that is an antidote to the filth in front of him. Weigle takes every opportunity to express Berg's lyricism rather than his harshness. (I was reminded of Richard Strauss' admonition to the orchestra at the premiere of Elektra to play softly because the music on the page was already so loud.) One of the production's real mistakes is Bieito's decision to keep the stage lit and the action going during Berg's all-important orchestral interludes. Berg's transitions are descriptive enough and need no distractions; thanks to Weigle and his orchestra they almost have their full effect. The overwhelming interlude before the opera's last scene is beautifully played; Bieito's intrusions upon it scarcely matter. And there are moments of such tenderness between Marie and her child that humanity does creep through. In addition, Weigle's cast never overplays the Sprechgesang; there is always "gesang" present with Wozzeck and Marie, so we can continue to feel what softness has been left them. The orchestra's control of dynamics, from Berg's pppppp to fffff, can take your breath away.

The cast is remarkable. Franz Hawlata, all-too-human as Wozzeck, has a fine baritone, his pitched speaking as impressive as his more melodic work. He roams the last third of the opera filthy and shirtless, looking like someone on a terrible precipice, which is just what he is. He never breaks character. Angela Denoke, in red overalls like the other workers, has the full compass of the role of Marie both vocally and dramatically--so much a victim, so uncomprehending of what is going on around her, wanting just a bit more out of life. Hubert Delamboye's Captain is terrifying, his falsetto like a train whistle. Johann Tilli's Doctor is not someone you'd want to meet on a dark street; his cannibalism seems the least of his issues. David Kuebler as Andres sings stentorianly and with misguided passion; Reiner Goldberg's Drum Major is glitter and no-substance, sort of an even-dumber and more treacherous Siegfried. And once Steven Cole's Fool opens his mouth and starts wailing, there's no turning back.

My first choice of video Wozzecks remains the 1971 film; this version is startling in its unpleasantness, and as such becomes a work of art, albeit a work hard to come to terms with. Perhaps it's a misreading--maybe Bieito is telling us that our environment can make us insane, and that isn't quite Berg's point. But it is ferocious in its persuasiveness, the opera is superbly served musically, and you won't forget it.

--Robert Levine
FORMAT: All Formats
REGIONS: All Regions
PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
LENGTH: 129 Mins
SOUND: DTS 5.0 SURROUND/ LPCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/CA
NO OF DISCS: 1

Wozzeck: Franz Hawlata
Marie: Angela Denoke
Drum Major: Reiner Goldberg
Margret: Vivian Tierney
Doctor: Johann Tilli
Captain: Hubert Delamboye
Andres: David Kuebler

Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Vivaldi Chorus – IPSI – Petits Cantors de Catalunya
Musical Director: Sebastian Weigle
Stage Director: Calixto Bieito

Plus
Documentary, including interviews with Sebastian Weigle & Calixto Bieito

Paul Dukas
ARIANE ET BARBE-BLEUE

Barbe-Bleue – José van Dam
Ariane – Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet
Nurse – Patricia Bardon
Sélysette – Gemma Coma-Alabert
Ygraine – Beatriz Jiménez
Mélisande – Elena Copons
Bellangère – Salomé Haller
Alladine – Alba Valldaura

Liceu Grand Theater Chorus and Orchestra
Stéphane Denève, conductor

Claus Guth, stage director

Recorded live at Gran Teatre del Liceu, June and July 2011

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM Stereo 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Catalan, Japanese
Running time: 120 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD


This release is a delight, a relay from Covent Garden which was, as far as I’m aware, broadcast live into cinemas last December. It features their current production which has been doing the rounds since the early 1970s, here revived by the original director himself. Copley’s production is traditional and beautiful, its chief concern being to tell the story directly. In December 2009 some criticised it for looking a little worn and shabby. Don’t believe a word of it! In the close-up of the screen it looks neat, fresh and as good as new, every piece of furniture and inch of set design serving the purpose of the drama nicely. The garret is well designed on two levels so that the most intimate action takes place closest to the audience, away from the busyness of the entries and exits. The Barrière d’Enfer looks beautiful with its warm looking tavern and gently falling snow. The Cafe Momus is uncrowded and easy on the eye, though the action in the street outside seems rather cramped. Costumes and sets place us firmly in Paris in the 1830s and there is nothing to detract from the basic narrative. Some might find this unimaginative, but there is a lot to be said for telling a story well and this is certainly one production (or, by extension, DVD) to which I would happily take a newcomer to opera.

The cast of singers are all young up-and-comings, but they are all the better for that. Bohème is all about the energy of youth and the excitement of young love, and this cast all look the part as well as sounding great. Hibla Gerzmava is a lovely Mimi, lyrical and vulnerable with a very beautiful voice: she is at her best during the parting duet of Act 3. Teodor Illincai is a very fine Rodolfo with a great ring to his voice and lots of youthful ardour. Strangely, though, Che gelida manina is probably the weakest point of his performance as he attacks from below the note – a shame as the top of his voice is thrilling. Inna Dukach is a characterful Musetta, her bright, slightly sharp soprano contrasting well with Gerzmava’s. Viviani is a warm, likeable Marcello, powerful in Acts 2 and 3 and very moving in the duet at the start of Act 4. Kostas Smorginias is of rather pale voice until the Raincoat aria which he sings with strength, and Jacques Imbrailo’s Schaunard is lovely of presence and voice. Benoit and Alcindoro are acted well by two stalwarts who love every minute of it.

Like his cast, conductor Andris Nelsons brings youth, vigour and energy to this ever-young score. The pulse of the first Act is infectious and the great crashes that begin and end Act 3 are razor-sharp. The orchestra play this most familiar of scores as if it were the only performance they would ever give, enthusiasm and virtuosity coming through in every bar. They are helped in this by production values of the highest order: the DTS sound, in particular, is outstandingly clear and well-separated without drawing attention to itself. The picture is also crystal-clear and the camera-work is effective and entirely non-intrusive.

Opus Arte’s usual high standards are maintained in the presentation and title menus, and there are brief interviews with Nelsons and Copley about the production. There are many Bohèmes available on DVD, but this one is as recommendable as any, and it feels good to be able to say this about such a home-grown product. Covent Garden have kept this production for so long because it works so well, and I think that anyone with this DVD in their collection would feel the same way.


-- Simon Thompson, MusicWeb International

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

J Regions: All regions
Picture Format: 1080i High Definition / 16:9
Sound Type: 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 DTS Surround
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian

Rodolfo: Teodor Ilincai
Mimì: Hibla Gerzmava
Marcello: Gabriele Viviani
Musetta: Inna Dukach
Colline: Kostas Smoriginas
Schaunard: Jacques Imbrailo
Benoit: Jeremy White
Alcindoro: Donald Maxwell
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Andris Nelsons
Director: John Copley

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, in December 2009

Extra features:
Cast gallery
Interview with Jonathan Copley
Interview with Andris Nelsons

*** This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD or HD DVD players. ***

Picture Format: 1080i High Definition, NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound Format: 2.0 and 5.0 PCM audio
Region Code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running Time: 149 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

*** This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD or HD DVD players. ***

Picture Format: 1080i High Definition, NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound Format: 2.0 and 5.0 PCM audio
Region Code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running Time: 172 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

Principal cast: Laura Cherici (Soprano - Martesia) ,Mary-Ellen Nesi (Mezzo Soprano - Antiope), Zachary Stains (Tenor - Ercole), Randall Scotting (Counertenor - Teseo), Marina Bartoli (Soprano - Ippolita), Filippo Mineccia (Countertenor - Telemone), Luca Dordolo (Tenor - Alceste).

John Pascoe, director, set & costume designer.
Sara Erde, choreographer.

NTSC All Region
Sound: LPCM 2.0; Dolby Digital 5.1
Color
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Duration: 136 mins.
Subtitled in Italian, English, German & French

Singers of great renown were called upon for the first performance of Ercole sul Termodonte by Antonio Vivaldi in Rome, “in the hall of Signor Federico Capranica”, on 27th January 1723. An exclusively male singing cast, as was the custom on Roman stages, to tell the tale of the battle between Hercules, accompanied by the heroes Theseus, Telamon and Alceste, and the Amazons led by Antiope. The story, which is based on the ninth of the legendary labours of Hercules, and which concludes with the traditional happy ending here decreed by Diana, who proclaims the nuptial unions of Hippolyte, Antiope’s sister, (with Theseus, prince of Athens) and of Martesia, Antiope’s daughter (with Telamon, king of Ithaca), was arranged by the “regular canon of La Carità of Venice” Don Giacomo Francesco Bussani, on a libretto that had already been performed in 1678 at the San Salvatore theatre in Venice. The opera was successful, winning appreciation and at the same time astonishment , through its introduction of many passages written in a new “manner”, with an exciting, incisive rhythmic gait. This style so excited the Romans that from then on they demanded it almost exclusively in melodramas.

After the success of 1723, however, Ercole did not circulate widely and at a certain point the score was thought to have been lost. It has only recently been reassembled thanks to the precious rediscovery of some thirty arias and two duets in various archives, and has been reconstructed in its recitative passages. Arias and recitatives are indeed the traditional dramatic pillars supporting the dénouement of the story. The recitatives are generally “secco”, recreated along Vivaldian principles of expressivity and flexibility to accentuate the quality of the individual verses and respecting the general tone of the discourse. The orchestra, however, is present, punctually and in elaborate manner, not only in the more dramatic moments but also in the bucolic, descriptive arias, and stands in the service of the voice to accentuate onomatopoeic effects and to offer clearer depictions of the characters and the feelings that drive them. Now in his twenty-second opera score, Vivaldi brings into play all the technical means at his disposal to render the story comprehensible and to present the state of mind of the individual characters. The main desire of the “red priest” was to proceed smoothly, following the expressive substance of the verses, using shifting melodic invention to set the various scenic moments against a ceaseless search for lively collaboration between voices and instruments and a skilled use of harmonies and of a fanciful search for colors. The final “product”, based though it was on the structures of Neapolitan opera, thus emerges as something unique and personal.

NOTE: Contains nudity

Featuring Gezim Mishketa; Elisaveta Martyrosian; Enrica Fabbri; Filippo Adami; Maurizio Lo Piccolo; Omar Montanari; Daivde Rocca; Massimo Pagnoni; Asia D’Arcangelo; Fabio Vichi.

Orchestra Sinfonica Carlo Coccia
Fabrizio Dorsi/Rosetta Cucchi, directors

NTSC All Region; Stereo, Dolby 5.1
Subtitles: Italian, English, Japanese
Running time: 85 minutes

ARRIGHETTO, A SENTIMENTAL FARCE
Madama Beritola, finding two goats on an island, having lost two sons goes to the Lunigiana: there one of her sons is with her Master and he sleeps with his daughter and is put in prison. Cicilia rebelling against king Carlo and the son recognized by the mother, marries the Master’s daughter, and finding his brother, in grand style they return. (Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, second day, sixth novella). Thus begins the Story of the novella from which Angelo Anelli tells us he took his libretto. It is the eternal edifying topos He who suffers may hope. Often in the past this Lombard poet as others before him had considered Boccaccio’s novelle as a mine from which to “extract subjects” in alternative to the noble French theatre, at the time much in vogue for this use. Suffice one title as example: Griselda, an oppressed married woman whose virtue finally triumphs over fate, taken from Apostolo Zeno but rewritten by Anelli in 1793. Obviously the story is semi-serious, even larmoyante, a genre halfway between tragic, comic and pathetic which at that time had become a favorite with audiences. It is precisely what the author so eloquently wrote down on the title page of the score: a “sentimental farce”.

The thorny subject of marital violence is set against a hilarious backdrop in this one-act farce where, contrary to what we are used to seeing in opera, tenor and baritone do their best to free themselves of the female protagonist, to whom both are married. No doubt, Gaspar's aria on the joys of chastising one's wife in the way she deserves causes a few raised eyebrows nowadays, but the funny side is genuine and the music brilliant, making of this forgotten little opera a true gem. Donizetti composed Rita, ou Le mari battu, which would be staged posthumously at the Opera-comique on 7th May 1860, with Caroline Lefebvre as protagonist. The concise story of the waspish innkeeper Rita, her husband Peppe and first husband Gaspare, the latter believed dead in a shipwreck, unrolls in a single act, effectively divided into eight closed numbers: one aria for each singer, three duets, one trio and the finale. The apex of this delightful divertissement, both from the point of view of the action and the music, is the duet where the two men rival each other, albeit in a way that is diametrically opposed to what we are used to seeing on an operatic stage: instead of contending for the female protagonist, like all respectable tenors and baritones in love, they gamble her away, both desperately trying to lose. The writing is that of a consummate composer, flowing and refined. Characters are portrayed with terse effectiveness, situations never trespass into the grotesque. The result is a perfect balance of all elements, which makes of Rita a small but significant example of Donizetti's musical experience in the 1840s, an experience that can truly be called European.

Featuring:
Conductor: Claudio Scimone
Orchestre de l'Opera de Wallonie
Stage Director: Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera
Scenes: Jean-Guy Lecat
Costume Designer: Fernand Ruiz
Choreographer: Antonaeta Alexieva
Rita - Priscille Laplace
Peppe - Aldo Caputo
Gaspar - Alberto Rinaldi
Opera Royal de Wallonie, 2010

Also available on Blu-ray

Richard Wagner
DIE FLIEGENDE HOLLANDER
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Dalland – Robert Lloyd
Senta – Catherine Naglestad
Erik – Marco Jentzsch
Mary – Marina Prudenskaja
Der Steuermann Dalands – Oliver Ringelhahn
Der Hollander – Juha Uusitalo

Netherlands Opera Chorus
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Harmut Haenchen, conductor
Martin Kušej, stage director

Recorded live at the De Nederlandse Opera, February 2010.
Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Insights and interviews

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch
Running time: 166 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

R E V I E W:

Director Martin Kusej has been responsible for one of the worst Don Giovannis I've ever seen (Salzburg, 2006--Decca DVD) and the best Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (BBC--Opus Arte), so I wondered what to expect from this Netherlands Opera Dutchman, recorded in February, 2010. As it turns out, it is indeed "controversial"--it takes startling liberties and doesn't always make sense--but it's a very strong performance.

But before I get into its look and dramatic execution I must give utmost praise to conductor Hartmut Haenchen, who offers a whip-smart account of the score in the original one-act version, taking just two hours and 15 minutes. It never feels rushed but it does feel inexorable, with the orchestra playing with amazing transparency: you can hear Wagner's genius creating and growing. I don't want to call it a chamber-like approach because it is anything but delicate and miniaturized, but each instrumental section gets its due and is crystal clear; the balance between stage and pit is invariably right (bravo to the engineers as well), and somehow Haenchen manages Wagner's awkward mood/tempo changes as if they were organic.

The second act, with Erik popping in all hot and bothered, and then later, Daland, after the big duet, is normally clumsily done; here drama remains heightened. The chorus also is remarkably handled, particularly given what they have to do physically.

I can understand people despising Kusej's approach, but the care he gives to the characterizations somehow makes up for the overall approach which, as suggested above, is quirky. We are on a cruise ship, all glass doors and a deck, in modern dress. (The roomy, wall-to-wall set is by Martin Zehetsgruber and costumes are by Heide Kastler). The tourists, in true tourist outfits (floral shirts, shorts, sunglasses) are terrified of what is on the other side of the glass doors: it is the Dutchman's crew, who appear to be zombies. Well, maybe not zombies, but undesirables--like refugees from one of those unhappy countries who are being ferried to more stable places, each person with a look of desperation on his or her face. Perhaps they are asylum seekers, looking for a homeland, with a doomed captain looking for redemption and love.

The Dutchman suddenly appears--perhaps he's been lying down amid the guests--to sing "Die Frist ist um". When Daland arrives, he's a spiffily dressed tycoon and is interested in business--money changes everyone's status and the Dutchman realizes that. The second scene is set in a women's spa, with everyone except Senta in bathing suits or towels; she is in a black dress, actually has an old-fashioned spinning wheel (what is it doing in a spa?) and stares at a smallish painting of the sea and sky. (Sea and sky are projected throughout the overture as well.)

The last scene, after the weird back-and-forth of the sailors (in black, monkish, hooded clothing) and ladies, is stunning in its severity--just Senta, the Dutchman, and Erik against a background of roiling sea and sky. Senta has become part of her idealized picture. Will she remain true to the Dutchman until death? Apparently, since the shotgun-bearing Erik shoots them both dead at the curtain. Applicable or not--and each may decide for him/herself--this is a very good-looking, action-packed, thought-provoking show.

All of this would be for close to naught if the singing and dramatic commitment were any less fine than they are. Juha Uusitalo has found his ideal role in the Dutchman. His voice is big, with a distinct grain. It is not particularly beautiful but it is highly expressive, and if you think you've seen brooding, wait until you see him. His duet with Senta in Act 2 is so fraught with tension, attraction, disbelief, shock, relief, and sheer craziness that it could leave you trembling. He may be the finest Dutchman I've ever encountered.

Catherine Naglestad's Senta, almost perfectly sung, matches Uusitalo. She's clearly playing with less than a full deck from the start, but she gets stronger as the opera progresses and her vision becomes clearer and more real. I believe she sings Senta's ballad a half-tone higher than usual, which was Wagner's original conception, and the voice gleams. It is an ideally built sound, from the solid middle both up and down, and it's filled with warmth.

Tenor Marco Jentzsch, obviously a plot linchpin in Kusej's worldview of this opera, is active, involved, and sings with ringing if not always appealing tone, particularly above the staff. But he comes across as he should here, as a major player rather than an also-ran in Senta's life. Robert Lloyd proves that he still has the resources for Daland, and his mercenary outlook is in keeping with the text. There have been many better Steersmen than Olivier Ringelhahn, but Marina Prudenskaja's Mary is more appealing than most. Does she run the spa?

Picture, sound, and all production values are stunning, although there is no track-listing in the accompanying booklet (this seems to be a trend that is to be discouraged). There are three other performances of this opera on DVD; none is nearly as good as this one but Kultur's, from the Savonlinna Opera Festival (with Behrens and Grundheber) is extremely well sung. Subtitles are in English, French, German, Spanish, and Dutch. This may be odd, but it is not to be dismissed under any circumstances. It packs quite a wallop.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

MOZART Symphony No. 39. TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 4. DEBUSSY Trois Nocturnes: Fêtes • Georg Solti, cond; Chicago SO • ICA 5100 (DVD: 131:00) Live: London 2/2/1985

This concert was the last one presented by the Chicago Symphony under Georg Solti during its fifth European tour. If the orchestra’s first appearance in Britain (in Edinburgh in 1971) was something of a vindication for Solti following the stormy tenure he endured at Covent Garden, this one was now part of a well-practiced drill for both conductor and orchestra as conquering victors making a triumphal appearance to receive duly awaited laurels. By this time, only the orchestras of Berlin, Vienna, and the Concertgebouw could seriously presume to contest the claim of the CSO to be the world’s greatest orchestra. If the latter two could at least boast of having a more beautiful sheen of sound, none of them could match the CSO under Solti for sheer precision and brilliance of execution.

Given that, it is a bit of a surprise to encounter in Mozart’s 39th Symphony that opens this program some metrical imprecision in the downward cascading runs of the introduction to the first movement, which lack a clear sense of where the downbeat is. After that minor slip, the performance rights itself under Solti and moves forward with great efficiency. While Solti uses a reduced orchestra with a 12-10-8-6-4 string section deployment, the sound is still quite full compared to those from present-day period instrument ensembles. The interpretation is stylish and well proportioned, though a bit straightforward and lacking the extra lyricism and warmth that a Bruno Walter or Karl Böhm would have brought to it. In short, it is a good performance but not a great one.

The Tchaikovsky Fourth is another matter. In a previous review in 34:4 of a DVD featuring Kurt Sanderling, I complained of both the paucity and quality of available Tchaikovsky Fourths in the DVD medium. This performance corrects the problem in spades. Solti was a superb Tchaikovsky interpreter, one who brought a great tensile strength to the composer’s scores that minimized their structural lacunae and did not overindulge their heart-on-sleeve emotionalism. Here the first movement, with its “Sword of Damocles” motif of Fate, which in lesser hands can seem overly prolix or mawkish, is channeled with a propulsive fury that at the same time does not slight the contrasting interludes of almost balletic grace, the latter being rendered with a delicacy that belies critics who accuse Solti of insensitively running roughshod over every score. Even more surprisingly, the succeeding Andantino is taken at a quite leisurely tempo, with noticeably more rubato and ritards than Solti was wont to employ. The Scherzo likewise is taken at a pace a bit slower than I would have expected, with just a touch of rhythmic stiffness that is my only and minor criticism of this performance. The Allegro con fuoco Finale is indeed fiery, if not taken at quite the hell-for-leather pace of Yevgeny Svetlanov, my benchmark for this work, and the main section dovetails nicely into the coda with the return of the “Damocles” motif. The audience quite properly goes wild immediately after the closing chord, vociferously yelling its approval over tumultuous applause.

“Brilliant” and “sizzling” are not normally the first adjectives that come to mind for performances of Debussy’s music, but they certainly apply to this encore performance of “Fêtes” from the Trois Nocturnes. I for one would never have pegged Solti as a Debussy conductor of the first rank, but he is absolutely terrific here. This rendition positively crackles with drive and bounce; every note, every instrumental part is detailed with stunning clarity and gleaming color, with an unexpectedly witty close to boot. Once again, the audience roars its approval. What a shame not to have the complete Trois Nocturnes from Solti here!

The DVD opens with a three-minute spiel from ICA Classics touting its series of releases from British archives and the Boston Symphony archives. The camerawork is sensible, and the visual resolution is fine; the one drawback is that the recorded sound is very dry, which robs the Tchaikovsky Fourth in particular of some desirable tonal luster. Highly recommended, then, for the Tchaikovsky and Debussy items.

FANFARE: James A. Altena