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79 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fearful Symmetry; or, Be Careful What You Wish For, February 19, 2004
This review is from: Dvorak - Rusalka / Robert Carsen, James Conlon - Fleming, Urbanova, Diadkova, Larin, Opéra de Paris (DVD)
Dvorák's 'Rusalka' is by far his most effective opera and the only one that has made its way in the non-Slavic world. Based on de la Motte Fouqué's fairytale, 'Ondine,' but with additions from Hans Christian Andersen and the Czech ballads of K. J. Erben, and with a symbolist libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil, Dvorák's music captures the story's ecstasy and anguish perfectly. Briefly, it is the story of a water nymph who falls in love with a Prince who visits the lake where she, her three sisters and her father, the Water Spirit, live. She wishes to become mortal so she can be with him and implores the witch, Jezibaba, to grant her that wish. Jezibaba does so but with two provisos: she will become human but lose the power of speech, and if her lover rejects her she will be forever cursed. Well, the Prince initially loves her but, dismayed by her muteness, is soon won over by the blandishments of the evil Foreign Princess, so Rusalka, with her father's help, flees back to the water world. Jezibaba tells her that her only way of extracting revenge is to kill human males by kissing them and when the Prince, who has seen the error of his ways, comes to reclaim her, she warns him (having gotten back her voice) that she cannot come with him because her kiss would be fatal. He says that to 'die upon a kiss' would be the only way he could ever attain peace. They sing a rapturous duet, she kisses him and he dies. Curtain. Rusalka is a signature role for Renée Fleming; her audio recording of the opera six years ago was a huge hit. This production, from the Paris Opéra, conducted by James Conlon, followed in 2002. The direction of Robert Carsen and set and costume design by Michael Levine emphasize the duality and symmetry of the mortal and fairy worlds. In Act I, which takes place at the bottom of the enchanted lake, the stage set is designed with a vertical symmetry, rather like the reflections seen at the water's surface when one is submerged. In Act II, which occurs in a stylized palace, there is left-right symmetry with the singers on the left side and mute actors mirroring them on the right side. Quite effective, if sometimes unintentionally reminiscent of the famous mirror act done by Groucho and Harpo Marx. Still, it conveys visually the mirroring of the real and fairytale worlds whose inability to merge leads to the final tragedy. The musical presentation is spectacularly good. Fleming, of course, is superb. Her two main arias, the famous 'Hymn to the Moon' and the Act III 'Vyrvana zivotu" ("I am torn from life") are stunningly beautiful. Her ecstatic final duet with the Prince, sung by Sergei Larin, is equally marvelous. Larin is in very good voice and has the requisite heft to manage the almost Wagnerian tenor role as the Prince. There is not a single weak member of the rest of the cast. Huge-voiced basso Franz Hawlata is touching as Rusalka's father, the Water Spirit. Larissa Diadkova is properly impish as the comic witch, Jezibaba. Eva Urbanova, strangely the only Czech in the cast of this quintessential Czech opera, is scary as the evil Foreign Princess. The three Wood Nymphs, as Wagnerian a trio as one can find outside the 'Ring,' are well done by Michelle Canniccioni, Svetlana Lifar and Nona Javakhidze. The Kitchen Boy, a pants role, is well-done by Karine DeHayes. It is particularly gratifying to see and hear the venerable French tenor, Michel Sénéchal, as the Gamekeeper. The Act II ballet, neatly carrying forward the mirror-image theme of the production, was crisply choreographed by Philippe Giraudeau and danced by the corps of the Opéra Ballet. The video direction was by François Roussillon; it is unobtrusive and natural. I was both charmed and intrigued by this production. 'Rusalka' is slowly becoming better known throughout the world and I suspect this DVD of the Paris production will help further its spread. Recommended. Scott Morrison
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great performance; weird conceptualist production, May 25, 2004
This review is from: Dvorak - Rusalka / Robert Carsen, James Conlon - Fleming, Urbanova, Diadkova, Larin, Opéra de Paris (DVD)
I believe the singing and musical performance in this production are wonderful, a pleasure from start to finish. Fleming, Hawlata (as the water goblin) and the wood nymphs are particularly beautiful. I hadn't realized how good Fleming is until seeing this performance. Don't hesitate to buy this recording. On the other hand... This is a matter of taste I realize, but I really prefer traditional, realistic staging for a work like this. The production is interesting. It seems to be making a point about the surface between the water and earthly worlds. The sets are full of mirrors, reflections, even doppelgangers. They're physically beautiful, and the production is less ridiculous than many conceptualist distortions of 19th-century operas, but still, I would have preferred a traditional design. This is irritating to me, but I can "tune it out" and enjoy the music thoroughly. It does appear to me that, as tastes develop, we are seeing fewer of these essentially egocentric production designs. The cult of the conductor is also in decline I hope. Levine replaces Karajan.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Rusalka DVD to have, March 8, 2004
This review is from: Dvorak - Rusalka / Robert Carsen, James Conlon - Fleming, Urbanova, Diadkova, Larin, Opéra de Paris (DVD)
The is the only Rusalka DVD available in original Czech. And it boasts Renee Fleming in the title role. As usual, she is magnificent. And it is great to see her in addition to hearing her. In general, I find her singing more dramatic and less silkily beautiful than in her celebrated recording under Mackerras(Decca). This is probably what one would expect from a live performance. The other singers are all great, with Sergei Larin as the prince, Franz Hawlata as the watersprite, Larissa Diadkova as Jezibaba and Eva Urbanova as the foreign princess. The orchestra under James Conlon performs ably. The set and direction are very modern and to these eyes somewhat controversial. But they are interesting, effective and totally valid. The audience is very well behaved(or some applauses are edited out?), bursting into applause, justifiably, after the famous first act "Mesicku ..." aria, but before the agitated orchestral lead-out, which I felt disrupts the flow slightly. The film direction is well done in the most part. The camera occasionally lets you see how a scene change is done, which leaves you wondering what the audience in Bastille was actually seeing at other scene changes where the camera "naturally" cuts from one scene to another. There are very minor cuts to the score. The one I noticed were the solos by the 3 wood nymphs before their trio in the third act. I don't have a 5.1 system yet, so I cannot comment on the surround sound, but at least the stereo sound is very good. All in all, the DVD is well worth having. Technical detail: 2 DVDs(1 DVD9 + 1 DVD5, I thought one DVD9 should have been able to hold 155 mins of video + trailers.) NTSC, Region 0. Subtitles in English, French, Itatian, Spanish. Soundtracks in Czech, Linear Stereo + AC3 Dolby Digital + DTS. Booklet contains track listings and a synopsis. Trailers include plugs for other TDK opera DVDs
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