Regia:
Attori: Harry Kupfer, Daniel Barenboim, John Tomlinson, Kurt Schreibmayer, Matthias Holle
Genere: Musicale
Mia valutazione: 0
Rilascio teatrale: 1991 Classif.: NR
Durata: 154
Riassunto: Any new Ring Cycle attracts attention much like the proverbial elephant in the room. In this recently released Das Rheingold the elephant is not the music, which is presented with matchless professionalism by Daniel Barenboim and the legendary Bayreuth Opera. For me, at least, it is the production that is the pachyderm wandering throughout the house, occasionally smashing the good porcelain. After viewing this DVD a few times and trying to keep an open mind, Harry Kupfer's staging of the opening opera of Wagner's 4-part Ring cycle still hasn't grown on me. In fact, his staging strikes me as the weakest part of this production, filmed in June & July 1991. His ideas are not bad, per se. They're just a little banal; and in a couple of instances, his ideas are even misguided. The opera begins with a 3 minute prequel: a big smoking crater surrounded by figures who finally just wander off in silence. This is meant to suggest an historic calamity of global dimensions. These silent figures are "the survivors, about to set out anew on the journey along the road of history". A single laser beam, symbolising the Rhine, moves into the picture, constantly fanning out over an ever wider area. Then, the familiar E flat Major chord begins to unfurl 136 bars of leisurely arpeggios as the Rhine (and time) become Wagner's "cradle song of the world". The problem with this approach: such a prequel is not an artistically licensed interpretation of Wagner's score. It is an interpolation INTO Wagner's score. It changes Wagner's intent, creating a hybrid opera with an entirely different meaning. Here, humans and their history appear to predate the Gods and their involvement in the world. This is certainly not what Wagner intended.
And when we first see the Gods they are fashionably festooned by laurel garlands, floppy bardolino hats and trendy clothing made of either leather or shiny linoleum: they look less like Gods and more like Uncle Bob and Aunt Flossie on their way to a disco reunion in Boca Raton. They carry large, transparent plastic suitcases that are empty. Thor carries a clear plastic hammer. Wotan carries a gigantic Xacto knife as a spear. It all seems slightly pointless, even silly. Incidentally, the laser at the opening shines on for some 25 minutes, causing some disturbing visible distortions (during those few minutes) in the video cameras filming the opera. Anyone who's worked with video cameras knows how easily they are disrupted by E-M radiation. If you've ever placed an unshielded speaker next to your TV and seen the result (violent distortion of the picture), you know what I mean. This production error, by seasoned professionals, truly seems incomprehensible to me. Although Kupfer's staging occasionally strikes me as shallow and listless, and the transient production flaws a minor nuisance, this DVD is still excellent overall and remains strongly recommended. And that is certainly attributable to the greatness of Wagner's score, to Barenboim's emerging brilliance as a conductor in the early 1990's and to the sui generis nature of the splendid Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele playing in it's unique opera house in Bayreuth which usually makes Wagner's music sound spectacular.
The cast is very good, especially John Tomlinson as Wotan. My favorite character in Das Rheingold, reminding me of Rutger Hauer in Bladerunner, is the superb Graham Clark as the white haired punkish trickster, Loge. The rest of the large cast is also quite good. Gunter von Kannen as Alberich and Eva Johansson as Freia spring to mind for special mention. This is a fine Das Rheingold, despite the occasional mildly annoying production weaknesses that, thankfully, are never fatal.
The region code of this DVD is NTSC 1. The film is shot in color in 16:9 widescreen and looks good without distortions or artifacts other than the laser problem already discussed. The disc format is DVD-9. Sound is available in LPCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and DTS Digital Surround Sound. All three sound spectacular: the two true surround sounds providing ambiance to the rear speakers and clarity to the total soundfield. The voices are crystal clear, the instruments also. Both are airy and well localized, surrounded by a nice sense of space. You feel like you're there. Menus are in English. Subtitles are likewise in English as well as French, German, Spanish and Italian. Running time is 154 minutes. There are no extras.
Strongly recommended for excellent singing, superb orchestral playing and fine conducting. The production and staging weaknesses are not severe enough to overshadow these other artistic elements and should not deter anyone from experiencing this excellent DVD. It looks and sounds splendid.
Mike Birman
Attori: Harry Kupfer, Daniel Barenboim, John Tomlinson, Kurt Schreibmayer, Matthias Holle
Genere: Musicale
Mia valutazione: 0
Rilascio teatrale: 1991 Classif.: NR
Durata: 154
Riassunto: Any new Ring Cycle attracts attention much like the proverbial elephant in the room. In this recently released Das Rheingold the elephant is not the music, which is presented with matchless professionalism by Daniel Barenboim and the legendary Bayreuth Opera. For me, at least, it is the production that is the pachyderm wandering throughout the house, occasionally smashing the good porcelain. After viewing this DVD a few times and trying to keep an open mind, Harry Kupfer's staging of the opening opera of Wagner's 4-part Ring cycle still hasn't grown on me. In fact, his staging strikes me as the weakest part of this production, filmed in June & July 1991. His ideas are not bad, per se. They're just a little banal; and in a couple of instances, his ideas are even misguided. The opera begins with a 3 minute prequel: a big smoking crater surrounded by figures who finally just wander off in silence. This is meant to suggest an historic calamity of global dimensions. These silent figures are "the survivors, about to set out anew on the journey along the road of history". A single laser beam, symbolising the Rhine, moves into the picture, constantly fanning out over an ever wider area. Then, the familiar E flat Major chord begins to unfurl 136 bars of leisurely arpeggios as the Rhine (and time) become Wagner's "cradle song of the world". The problem with this approach: such a prequel is not an artistically licensed interpretation of Wagner's score. It is an interpolation INTO Wagner's score. It changes Wagner's intent, creating a hybrid opera with an entirely different meaning. Here, humans and their history appear to predate the Gods and their involvement in the world. This is certainly not what Wagner intended.
And when we first see the Gods they are fashionably festooned by laurel garlands, floppy bardolino hats and trendy clothing made of either leather or shiny linoleum: they look less like Gods and more like Uncle Bob and Aunt Flossie on their way to a disco reunion in Boca Raton. They carry large, transparent plastic suitcases that are empty. Thor carries a clear plastic hammer. Wotan carries a gigantic Xacto knife as a spear. It all seems slightly pointless, even silly. Incidentally, the laser at the opening shines on for some 25 minutes, causing some disturbing visible distortions (during those few minutes) in the video cameras filming the opera. Anyone who's worked with video cameras knows how easily they are disrupted by E-M radiation. If you've ever placed an unshielded speaker next to your TV and seen the result (violent distortion of the picture), you know what I mean. This production error, by seasoned professionals, truly seems incomprehensible to me. Although Kupfer's staging occasionally strikes me as shallow and listless, and the transient production flaws a minor nuisance, this DVD is still excellent overall and remains strongly recommended. And that is certainly attributable to the greatness of Wagner's score, to Barenboim's emerging brilliance as a conductor in the early 1990's and to the sui generis nature of the splendid Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele playing in it's unique opera house in Bayreuth which usually makes Wagner's music sound spectacular.
The cast is very good, especially John Tomlinson as Wotan. My favorite character in Das Rheingold, reminding me of Rutger Hauer in Bladerunner, is the superb Graham Clark as the white haired punkish trickster, Loge. The rest of the large cast is also quite good. Gunter von Kannen as Alberich and Eva Johansson as Freia spring to mind for special mention. This is a fine Das Rheingold, despite the occasional mildly annoying production weaknesses that, thankfully, are never fatal.
The region code of this DVD is NTSC 1. The film is shot in color in 16:9 widescreen and looks good without distortions or artifacts other than the laser problem already discussed. The disc format is DVD-9. Sound is available in LPCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and DTS Digital Surround Sound. All three sound spectacular: the two true surround sounds providing ambiance to the rear speakers and clarity to the total soundfield. The voices are crystal clear, the instruments also. Both are airy and well localized, surrounded by a nice sense of space. You feel like you're there. Menus are in English. Subtitles are likewise in English as well as French, German, Spanish and Italian. Running time is 154 minutes. There are no extras.
Strongly recommended for excellent singing, superb orchestral playing and fine conducting. The production and staging weaknesses are not severe enough to overshadow these other artistic elements and should not deter anyone from experiencing this excellent DVD. It looks and sounds splendid.
Mike Birman
Regia: David Mallet
Attori: Elaine Paige, Sir John Mills
Genere: Musicale
Mia valutazione: 0
Rilascio teatrale: 1981 Classif.:
Durata: 120
Riassunto: E' ora disponibile in questa versione speciale in dvd - sottotitolato in italiano - il musical che nella storia detiene il record di permanenza consecutiva nei teatri west end e broadway. per la prima volta uno spettacolo di andrew lloyd webber È stato appositamente filmato in 18 giorni per la speciale realizzazione in dvd. con gli stessi interpreti eccezionali della prima registrazione, come elaine paige e sir john mills, e la straordinaria produzione, cats È destinato a dare l'avvio ad un nuovo modo di ripresa per tutti i futuri musical.
Attori: Elaine Paige, Sir John Mills
Genere: Musicale
Mia valutazione: 0
Rilascio teatrale: 1981 Classif.:
Durata: 120
Riassunto: E' ora disponibile in questa versione speciale in dvd - sottotitolato in italiano - il musical che nella storia detiene il record di permanenza consecutiva nei teatri west end e broadway. per la prima volta uno spettacolo di andrew lloyd webber È stato appositamente filmato in 18 giorni per la speciale realizzazione in dvd. con gli stessi interpreti eccezionali della prima registrazione, come elaine paige e sir john mills, e la straordinaria produzione, cats È destinato a dare l'avvio ad un nuovo modo di ripresa per tutti i futuri musical.
Regia:
Attori: Kathleen Battle, Blake Neely, Declan Lowney
Genere: Musicale
Mia valutazione: 5
Rilascio teatrale: 2001 Classif.: NR
Durata: 76
Riassunto: The only and one annoying point on it is that I missed the original presentation in Athens,Greece!
IT IS A MUST HAVE DVD
Beautiful
Attori: Kathleen Battle, Blake Neely, Declan Lowney
Genere: Musicale
Mia valutazione: 5
Rilascio teatrale: 2001 Classif.: NR
Durata: 76
Riassunto: The only and one annoying point on it is that I missed the original presentation in Athens,Greece!
IT IS A MUST HAVE DVD
Beautiful