Customer Reviews

Handel: Admeto re di Tessiglia, Opera in three Acts [Blu-ray]

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

 

 

If considering a purchase of this item, you should probably read the reviews of the DVD version. Having read them before I played the blu-ray version, I was surprised at how pleased I was. The production is original and unusual, but I enjoyed it and felt it did not distract from the music.

I liked all the soloists, including counter-tenor Matthias Rexroth in the title role.

The audio and video quality are excellent (I played the DTS-HD soundtrack). I would recommend this to anyone who likes Handel's operas.

You get a first rate musical performance of one of Handel's most tuneful operas. The blu-ray presentation is extremely fine. As noted by the reviewer at blu-ray dot com, the variety of black levels are something you can't get on an ordinary DVD. And then there is the very inventive comic pantomime that the performers engage in along with their singing duties. Two scenes were sensational: There was Trasimede dressing Antigona as the huntress Diana, accompanied by some delicious hunting horn music, in Act I; At the beginning of Act II, Hercules in a side splitting comic book manner takes over the reception room at Hades to rescue Alceste and some other unfortunate souls. Once you get into this fascinating production, you don't mind the updating at all. Handel done straight, with three and a quarter hours of da capo arias, is often a soporific experience.

The booklet accompanying this BD is much better than most and gives a good account of the plot and attempts at explaining the philosophy behind the staging adopted by countertenor/director Axel Kohler. The music is among the best composed by Handel and the artists involved in this product generally handle their roles well although I was less impressed with Melanie Hirsch as her voice was often overshadowed by others.

As with many Baroque operas, the plot is based on ancient myth and is not always easy to follow. So why add in the distractions of inappropriate costumes such as Hercules dressed in a shiny plastic black suit and props like a modern chromed hospital bed, a bright red delivery van and an aluminium suitcase? I can accept some modern settings of operas but it is just so far out at times in Admeto it destroys enjoyment and would seem totally unnecessary.

The cover blub proclaims "Axel Kohler, the internationally renowned countertenor - now also famed for his work as a director - has brought Admeto into the modern era in timeless style by the skilful application of imaginative theatrical digressions. Kohler's production at the Halle Opernhaus revisits a work that encompasses comedy, tragedy and almost grotesqueness, couching it in the convincing metaphor of a modern hospital".

Sorry but my reaction has centred mainly on the grotesque side of what is presented and find the metaphor of the modern hospital utterly unconvincing. Come on, how is resurrection from Hades by mythical characters convincing when the set revolves around a modern hospital bed? The plot is complex enough in Handel operas with women often playing men's parts in mythical stories which are even more unbelievable than most, and they certainly do not increase my enjoyment by "moderisation". Quite the contrary, I find it offputting.

These operas are long and I find need approaching an Act at a time, but I found this presentation particularly hard to enjoy. This is a pity because the artistry and music are very, very good. That music is very appropriately and skilfully handled by the Handel Festival Orchestra on historical instruments, conducted by Howard Arman.

So I differ with Robert in his enthusiasm for this disc and really cannot recommend it.

John