Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Blu Ray Opera Reviews

I have focussed my reviews on what is available on Bluray and at the moment this is just about all only opera and ballet so I had started the two threads & George has determined this one be a sticky. Thanks Greoge.

There is a huge amount of classical music available in the other formats but IMHO that is probably better left for others on other boards to cover. But I thought Meridian owners would appreciate the BD opera & ballet reviews with many having purchased the new Meridian HD621 which, IMHO, does a superb job on BD sound fed into a Meridian processor.

John

I think Jurowski's Glyndebourne Fledermaus (Opus Arte) is absolutely delightful. Well sung, performed and conducted with decent, traditional staging.

Kal

John, good comments so let's say we are back on track with this specific Bluray Opera topic. What happens otherwise with a separate recommended classic music or whatever topic can be left for others to determine.

I like your following comment:

"But I thought Meridian owners would appreciate the BD opera & ballet reviews with many having purchased the new Meridian HD621 which, IMHO, does a superb job on BD sound fed into a Meridian processor."

To that I would add my agreement to your following comment from your review of MASSENET's opera MANON.

"Now I must confess to a love affair with Anna Netrebco as her beautiful & powerful voice combined with stunning good looks have me completely captivated so be aware of this prejudice. But combine her talents with those of Rolando Villazon with the music of Massenet and you have a winner here. Their singing and acting brought tears to my eyes."

Anna Netrebko has it all as a singer, actor, and with her stunning good looks.

She performed with Rolando Villazon on a Axiom Films (DG soundtrack) label of La Boheme - a recent feature-film version directed by Academy Award nominee Robert Dornhelm that also had a successful showing in cinemas. It was not one that you reviewed John. Therefore you and others might be interested in this Bluray.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/search.php?searchString=netrebko+blu+boheme

Put that all together, great Meridian sound from such wonderful compositions and performers and great Bluray picture and you have wonderful entertainment.

Actually it is the same one as I reviewed but was purchased from the USA (hence the region 1 coding) and curiously, has a different cover to the one shown in your link.

When I posted my review of it up at another forum I was deluged with disagreement so I looked at it again and modified my opinion. But it is still not my favourite Boheme, but that is not to say others will not find it their favourite.

Reactions to a disc can depend a lot on one's mood/state of health etc at the time and are very subjective of course. Just like Kal disagrees with my appraisal of Die Fledermaus.

But that is fine and what we want in this thread - a number of different viewpoints. And it is great we all have different tastes. What a dull world it would be otherwise.

John

COMPOSER: TORROBA, Moreno Disc Title: Luisa Fernanda

Disc catalog: Opus Arte OA BD 7023D Recording Date: 2006 Program Length: 123 mins Teatro Real Madrid live production

Video rating: 5/5 Audio type: PCM 2.0, PCM 5.0 Audio rating: 5/5 Overall rating: 4/5

Summary comment: A light opera formal known as a Zarezuela in Spain, well sung and produced but not to all tastes?

Detailed Comment: I find reviewing this music is difficult as it really is not opera in the usual Italian etc sense so is better termed an operetta. All the music was completely new to me but much of it was very tuneful although seemed to lack passion and drama despite the much praised singing of Domingo backed up by a good cast. The story centered around two suitors for the hand of Luisa with a backdrop of conflict between Monarchists and revolutionaries, something which should have proved more dramatic than I felt. But then are operettas meant to be dramatic?
The staging was sparse with costuming generally white for the ladies and black for the men. Brighter costumes might have improved visual appeal and given a greater Spanish air to the production but that is not a major item.
The video and audio quality was up to the usual Bluray standards and it is very possible this disc would become more enjoyable on repeated viewings as one became more familiar with the music. Apparently the original production had a lot more dialogue but that was thankfully omitted.
So, disregard my personal lack of enthusiasm as it might very well appeal to you as it obviously does to many others.

Ah yes. Everyone's favourite racist supremacist nutter (and musical genius).

I don't think you can view the 19th Century through the filter of 21st Century social mores.

True about the singing but the production and stage direction of this one gets in my way and, imho, in the way of the principals. Too cute. Too calculated. I watched this twice but future playings will be audio only.

Kal

Kal, I've copied this comment and your one about Die Fledermaus back into the first post so readers can see your different opinion. I'll continue to do this with any similar comments from anyone as long as it is manageable.

John

COMPOSER: PUCCINI

Disc Title: Il Trittico actually 3 short operas Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicch

Disc catalog:TDK DVBD-OPTRIT Recording Date: 2007 Program Length: 180 mins Live recording at Teatro Communale di Modern

Video rating: 5/5 Audio type: PCM Stereo, DTS-HD Audio rating: 5/5 Overall rating: 5/5

Summary comment: Great variety of operatic entertainment.

Detailed Comment: Each of these three short operas are different and that adds to the enjoyment of this disc. The first "The Cloak" starts off slowly and sets an atmosphere of boredom which slowly reveals an affair between the young wife of the barge owner and a casual employee. The tension rises to finish with inevitable tragedy. The acting and singing is first class with the lovely Amarilli Nizza particularly impressive. The second opera "Sister Angelica" using music and acting very effectively sets the stultifying atmosphere of the convent but this slowly and effectively changes to one of pathos as the past life of Angela is revealed. Again, the singing and acting are engrossing and a tribute to the artistic genius of Puccini, a man not immune to scandal in his own love life. The third opera "Gianni Schicchi" is also on another BD disc and, on balance, I prefer the Glynedebourne production. But that is not to condemn this production which again highlights the greed and hypocracy of relatives greedy to have a share of the inheritance of their "beloved" Buoso Donati. The roles are deliberately and effectively over acted and accompanied by good singing. However some effort could have been made to have the dead Donati to be as corpulant as the imposter Schicchi for that substitution to have been a little more believable. But that is nit picking.

Audio and video are up to the usual high BD standards and I came away very impressed with the talents of Amarilla Nizza in three completely different and challenging roles and also impressed with the three different styles of composition by Puccini. Recommended.

Looks like the first post is at maximum allowable size and can no longer be edited by me. So here, FYI, are the 3 missing reviews from the first posting. Looks like all subsequent reviews will be single listings only after all!!


COMPOSER: Verdi Disc Title: Rigoletto

Disc catalog: ARTHAUS 101 286 Recording Date: 2006 Program Length: 128 mins A live Zurich Opera house Production

Video rating: 5/5 Audio type: DTS HD 5.1, PCM Stereo No mention of bitrates Audio rating: 5/5

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Summary comment: A very very good production without being superb.

Detailed Comment: The artists here are new to me - Elena Musuc as Gilda has a powerful voice but although the quality of singing and acting by Leo Nucci was first rate I thought he was a bit overwhelmed by the volume of the other singers. The orchestral playing is well balanced to the vocals and no negatives are possible with the recording quality. Similarly the sets & costumes are traditional and appropriate so it is hard to nit pick the production. But that said I have seen better, in particular the Covent Garden one with Paolo Gavanelli as Rigoletto and Christine Schafer as Gilda. But this is over 10 years old and certainly does not have the lush audio and first class video of this Bluray production.



COMPOSER: Wagner Disc Title: Das Rheingold

Disc catalog: UNITEL CLASSICS 700604 Recording Date: 2007 Program Length: 167 + 27 mins extras mins A live Valenmciana Opera house Production

Video rating: 5/5 Audio type: DTS HD MA 7.1, PCM Stereo No mention of bitrates Audio rating: 5/5

Overall rating: 5/5

Summary comment: A superb production.

Detailed Comment: This is a highly imaginative production of which Wagner would be proud. It uses technology in this fantasy in a highly effective way to emphasise the otherwise surreal plot in a spellbinding manner. The opening scene with the Rhinemaidens actually frolicking in water on stage inbetween their glorious singing sets the scene for this brilliant production. It would be easy to denigrate the props used if they were not so effective.

Five of us sat down to this opera last night and we were all transfixed. Even my wife, who is generally unmoved by opera and avoids it if possible, found herself immersed in this 2007 Valencia performance. The only minor negative expressed by one was that the oft changing projected background was a little overdone at times. But the symbolism of the gold, the transformer type locomotion of the giants and the effects generally were excellent. Kapellmann`s projection of Alberich was not one of a creature to be despised but rather of someone who was deprived of everything - love, power, wealth, so one actually felt sorry for him!!

Combine the superb singing from a very strong cast with the excellent orchestral playing conducted by Zubin Mehta and you have a performance of Das Rheingold which it would be hard to surpass. Audio & video are similarly technically top notch. A MUST for the library of every Wagner lover. And yes, I have the other 3 Ring operas in this series and we will all be looking at them in the coming months.



COMPOSER: Wagner Disc Title: Die Walkure

Disc catalog: UNITEL CLASSICS 700804 Recording Date: 2007 Program Length: 245 + 27 mins extras mins A live Valenciana Opera house Production

Video rating: 5/5 Audio type: DTS HD MA 7.1, PCM Stereo No mention of bitrates Audio rating: 5/5

Overall rating: 5/5

Summary comment: A brilliant production - even better than Rheingold

Detailed Comment: Wow, what an evening of home entertainment!! Friends came over and being very tired, I was not really looking forward to a 4 hour Wagner opera. But that rapidly changed as we became immersed in this fabulous production. And yes, it is fabulous from all points of view, even better than Rheingold. The staging and special effects were mind boggling, the music itself sublime, the singing and acting sensational, the orchestra brilliant, all combining to keep us riveted to our seats. It was a cold night and I was so engrossed in the opera the fire went out!!!

Special mention needs to be made of the acting and singing of Juha Uusitalo in the role of Wotan. Few male singers move me but his performance was heart wrenching both in the scene where he was forced to decide to have his son Siegmund and daughter Sieglinde murdered and in the final scene with his other daughter Brunnhilde. The rest of the cast was not far behind as all sang and acted their roles passionately and convincingly. And that takes some doing in a storyline involving murder, incest, deception and adultery but fortunately set to glorious music which they all sang beautifully.

Unfortunately (for me) my wife dislikes traditional operas like Traviata, Aidia, La Boheme but she reveled in this Wagner production and loved every minute of it. This was after a bit of moaning at the start about having to sit through a 4 hour opera - she really was not looking forward to it. What better recommendation could a production get?

Yes there were a few odd moments where the symbolism of the scenery escaped us but overall it is one of the most memorable opera videos we have ever experienced. The video quality via Bluray was excellent and the audio of demonstration standards with solid deep bass, great dynamic range and first class clarity overall.

This disc should be in every opera lovers collection and might even convert a few others, like my wife, who are generally negative about the genre. If you do not have it yet, place an order NOW!!!

It's not the size of the post; posts are only editable by the author for a limited amount of time, a handfull of day at most.

Regards,
Carl