Customer Reviews

Britten - A Midsummer Night's Dream / Haitink, Cotrubas, Davies, Buchan, Glyndebourne Festival Opera [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think Britten handled Shakespeare very well here, and I only wish he had set other Shakespeare plays into opera. The mechanicals were very funny and I thought the lovers quite convincing, though not teenagers. Britten seemed to trust children in his operas as his career went on; here the fairies are all children (except Oberon and Titania) and Puck is especially tricky as a little boy. I thought Cotrubas was a very effective Titania and wished that a recent production of the play I saw (not the opera) had such an imperious fairy queen. I was not crazy about the Oberon, but it was Britten's choice to have a high male voice for the part, for good dramatic reason, to stress his difference from humans; but I found the voice to lack power. Others have said they did not like the woods, but I found them quite magical and for me, they worked very well, giving a rustling magical forest feeling. The mechanicals are funny and their opera within an opera is silly and touching.

I've been waiting for this to arrive on DVD having fallen in love with it on LaserDisk. And it has been worth the wait. Britten is up to the task of turning Shakespeare into opera. He devises a different sound for each of the three forces - the fairies, the mortals and the rustics. The casting is ideal with a young Cotrubas as Titania outstanding. Bernard Haitink keeps everything moving. And Peter Hall gives it a magical production with an eerie forest where the trees seem to have a life of their own. All comes to a head in the Pyramus and Thysbe drama played as a hilarious spoof of bel canto. Let yourself be translated to fairyland.

The London Philharmonic, the truly spectacular boy's voices, and some great opera singing show off the extraordinary brilliance of Britten's composition and make this recording a necessary part of a serious opera collection. But don't expect the same from the production. The sets and costumes leave much to be desired. None of the lovers look convincing, and the "moving branches" that constitute the forest make one think of Macbeth's Birnam Woods a bit too often! A "low budget" production can often work very well for live opera performances, but with zoom lenses on the cameras and a relatively large screen home theater, the flaws distract. I enjoyed some of the scenes more by turning away from the screen and just listening.

This is a fascinating record of the now legendary production of Britten's opera by Peter Hall at Glyndebourne. Staged after his hugely successful production of Cavalli's La Calisto, at the same house, he brought with him one of the brightest of it's young stars, the beautiful Romanian soprano, Ileana Cotrubas.

Here as Tytania, she creates a sexy spitfire of a fairy queen, her plunging cleavage and "punk" coiffure and make up adding to the sense that Oberon and his queen really are from quite another world. Curiously, or perhaps not when one considers her love of England and "her house", Covent Garden, she interprets Britten's music with obvious understanding and characteristic perception and refinement. Of course her thrilling soprano is as rich and lovely as ever. James Bowman is the commanding looking Oberon, standing at least a foot over his queen, but contrastingly his voice is one of a pure toned counter tenor.

All the cast perform with commitment and relish for the music, and Bernard Haitink conducts the London Philharmonic with his customary intelligence. Sir Peter's extraordinary vision and artistic confidence are wonderfully showcased in this magical production, designed by John Bury. Heartily reccomended to any musical or Shakespearean student or lover.

This opera is a slightly shortened version of the Shakespearre play sung in English. It would be much easier to understand if it had subtitles or if you know the original play well. Britten's eery musical effects are super as are those of the staging. Some of the high points revolve around the boys choral singing and the weird effect of the fairy king/queen duos (James Bowman/Ileana Cortrubas). The humans are very good both in the difficult vocal lines and the acting to make them seem plausible. The acting and vocals of the rustics (especially Bottom) are really excellent even in the very difficult ensemble parts. My only reservations are that Britten's music is often difficult for my relatively untrained ear and that the diction and language cause some difficulty in understanding the text. On the other hand, for pure virtuosic singing, this is a wonderful example.

Methinks Shakespeare himself would applaud this remarkably beautiful operatic interpretation of his enchanting play. Let yourself be transported by the marvelous staging, incredibly eerie lighting, and of course Britten's out-of-this-world music -- not to mention all the spectacular transcendental singing! A stunning and riveting performance from the word goeth...

I hate this opera.

Don't get me wrong. This production is a glorious feast for the eyes as the faeries in their exotic costumes dance through an enchanted wood. The magical lighting suffuses each scene so that the moonlight appears mystically misty and the guests watching the "play within the play" are washed in a beery golden light. The singers are fabulous. The part of Oberon was written for countertenor James Bowman and he puts in a performance that is out of this world. Bottom in his donkey's head is so cute and fluffy one totally understands why Tytania just loves him.

This is the 1981 Glyndebourne Festival production, and one has to take it as the standard for all others to follow. I want to emphasize: This is GREAT and deserves FIVE STARS.

But I hate it. The pacing seems really slow, especially since I have to listen to Benjamin Britten's music. I have other stuff by him and I have discovered that I must be allergic to him or something. Listening to his music makes me nauseous. I don't know if it is a harmonic effect or what. For awhile I tried to break myself of this, but repeated exposure to his music (and it does seem all his music does this) just intensified the effect. My gut reaction would be to give this 1 star; my intellect tells me this is a great production and to give it 5 stars. So I averaged my reactions. If Benjamin Britten does not make you sick, enjoy this--but if you have the same reaction, leave me a comment. Misery loves company.