Customer Reviews

Janacek - Jenufa / Davis, Alexander, Silja, Glyndebourne Opera

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

 

 

If you have never been to Glyndebourne but would like to get the feel of the place from a recorded performance, I promise you that you will get none of it from this one. It is very good indeed but it might be from anywhere. Apart from Strauss and Puccini, there is probably no serious 20th-century opera that is easier to come to terms with than Jenufa. The story is harrowing, but all in a very operatic way as that term might be applied to Verdi. The narrative line is simple and direct and does not strain our credulity, at least not by operatic standards, the characters are few and strongly identifiable, and the pace of the action is very well calculated. Clarity has obviously been a major objective in this production, and the simplicity of the sets seems designed to focus attention on the action and the music. The musical style is highly rational in the best sense - free from hyperbole, the vocal parts reasonably pitched, lyrical up to a point and not afraid of word-repetition but avoiding formal arias and 'numbers' except for the choruses towards the end and even cleverly steering clear of cadences in the interests of continuity, the orchestral parts interesting in their own right but always subordinate to the voices.

There is everything to be said for DVD as the medium for bringing opera into the home. In sound alone the very greatest performances inevitably lose something - they were simply not written just to be heard. That said, this is not just ordinary drama, but music-drama, and within reason I for one am quite happy to suspend disbelief up to a point if the music is well enough done. For me Roberta Alexander as Jenufa does not look the part in the least, and I do not care in the least given her fine acting and superlative singing. She shares the spotlight with the Kostelnicka and in this role the tall and imposing Anja Silja is totally convincing in every respect - stagy in the right way at her first entrance, casting the shadow of doubt and misgiving everywhere about her, thrilling when left alone with her inward torment, and dominating the scene in her final confession. The male roles - the thoughtless Steva and the confused Laca - are admirably sung, acted and directed, and there is nothing that I feel like trying to criticise when the whole concept of the work is as well realised as it is here. Congratulations to Glyndebourne, but 5 minutes into the production I had forgotten all about them, which is as it should be.

The influences of veristic opera abound in Janacek's powerful music drama. Roberta Alexander's performance in the title role is riveting. The other singer/actors are just as compelling. Abundant melodies, rich harmonies, and masterful orchestration make for an experience which will hold you spellbound from it's beginning to it's tragic end.

There are two DVDs available of Jenufa, and this is slightly the better choice for musical reason. Neither production satisfies my conception of this great and moving opera. Both are somewhat dramatically turgid. The flaws of this production are chiefly visual and acoustical, as pointed out by other reviewers. It really is a problem, on a DVD movie scale, that Roberta Alexander simply doesn't "look the part" though she acts with conviction; in an opera house, the same production would be sublime.
Janacek is a composer who integrates the voices and the orchestra with great success; that ensemble effect is not captured well on either DVD production (and I confess that it's often not achieved in live performances either). The sound on this DVD is distant played at lower volume, tinny played at higher.
Five stars for the opera itself, three for the realization.

The sets are sharp, spare and effective, costumes traditional. The singers are all committed and as good as one could get. The over-all effect is tear-jerking. A must-have for any Janacek fan and a perfect introduction to his amazing operas. It helps to have the booklet from Mackerras CD recording with its very thorough notes.

I bought this DVD at the recommendation of an opera-loving friend. I knew nothing about it, so I found a plot synopsis on the web (there are no notes at all, just a list of sections). Well, wow. This is a powerful work...the music reminds me of Wagner, except a human Wagner, with real people and emotions, instead of gods. In fact, and this will enrage Wagnerians I suppose, I think there is more honest emotion in Act II of this opera than in the entire ring cycle. The acting is believable and the singing is fine. Anja Silja as the mother is riveting. The only reason I don't give it five stars is that I think the sound recording is a bit tinny, and it's not a live performance. At the end I wish there'd been an audience cheering, because I wanted to cheer too.

Jenufa -- Leos Janacek's "breakout" composition -- had a long and in some ways turgid performance history. The present recording, using the "original" score (before major revisions by the composer in the 1920s) is welcome if only for the ability to compare Janacek's original intention with his later reflections and alterations. Having said that, the audio quality lacks immediacy and presence and the otherwise excellent production values are ultimately hindered by the lackluster sound. Indeed, after viewing this DVD I immediately took out the MacKerras Jenufa recording (Elizabeth Soderstrum) to remind me just exactly how this magnificent opera is supposed to "sound." It's a pity that there is not another DVD available; this opera deserves the widest possible audience.

Opinions on the sound will be very polarized, so I want to get to the reason why first. My first impression listening on excellent (AKG k240 Studio) headphones was one of bad sound. As the opera progressed I was impressed with how clearly I was hearing Janacek's complex harmonies. Turning the treble way down and the bass way up, improved the sound greatly, leading me to suspect that there was a major equalization error in the recording set up. If you do not have at least two tone controls (bass and treble) this disk will sound pretty bad. If you have an octave equalizer, so much the better. I suspect that very few microphones were used at a distance, as there was no need to suppress audience noise. That gives a perspective that is not common anymore, because of the need in live recordings to close mic.

Many live opera DVD use hairline microphones on the singers and many microphones in the pit. With all these separate microphones the skill of the Tonmeister (balance engineer) is crucial to getting something that resembles a normal mix. Generally this complex mix is a bit close sounding. Hairline microphones in my opinion are great for solos, but as more and more hairline microphones are activated for ensembles, the more "electronic" sounding the mix gets.

Here we have an empty opera house hence the reverberation is longer than it would be with an audience. If you like this reverb, fine. If you expect close up sound you will not like this very "live" acoustic. If the microphones had been just a little closer, the sound would have been more normal.

The Jenufa (Alexander) struck me as being a bit old (but not overweight) for the part. On the other hand, her singing and acting is exceptional. I know of no other singer who could do better combining the extreme emotional and musical demands as accurately, without holding back. Silja goes off pitch on occasion, but who else could display so much drama as well? The men are excellent too. Davis conducts with great energy adding plenty of gas to the fire on stage.

Finally there is the excellent staging, which is free of regietheater additions where none are needed.

Following the successful concert performances in London and fully staged in Glyndebourne, this empty-theatre recording captures the riveting drama of Janacek's most acclaimed opera. I must admit that being mostly into Italian opera I struggled with his music that I initially found crude and unsubtle, especially in the first act. I heard little connection between the emotional state of the characters and the music written for them. By the second act, the fascinating story got me involved and I felt more comfortable with the music.

Both Alexander and Silja are excellent in their roles. Alexander's Jenufa is very convincing as the daughter manipulated by her mother but at the same time believable in her madness when she finds out about her child. Silja's Kochelnicka reminds me of Olivia in `flowers in the attic'. Scary in a nutty way and you never know what she's going to do next which is Silja's acting style anyway. Baker and Langridge sing well, though I expected Steva to upset me more than Baker did. Minor roles are in some cases interestingly cast, the chorus is committed but not always accurately cooperating with Davis who brings enough energy to excite the viewer.

This is an opera that needs both visual and textual presentation to appreciate it and the dvd format is the best alternative to a live performance. Most Jenufa recordings offer something to admire but in dvd format, this is probably the best way to discover the opera.