Product Details

• Format: AC-3, Classical, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (DTS-HD 5.1), Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: Chinese, English, French, German, Spanish
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
• DVD Release Date: November 18, 2008
• Run Time: 177 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001CZVVUU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,032 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

MASSENET:MANON - Blu-Ray Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Blu-Ray debut for DG, November 20, 2008

By 

SingingFriar (the OC, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Manon [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

What a difference blu-ray makes! If there was ever a production of an opera to want in stunning high defintion, it may be this one, and DG does not disappoint. The colors leap off the screen and the beautiful cast, costumes and scenery are just a feast to behold. The DTS-HD track is very good for the most part, occasionally the singers feel too close and there are occasional balance issues, but it is excellent for the most part.

There has been a lot written about this production. I saw it in LA a few years ago and was blown away then. I'm very grateful to see it here on BD/DVD, but I feel there's something missing. As amazing as Netrebko and Villazon are, there is something missing from their relationship here in this production. I feel like the McVicar production (also with Rolando) with Dessay shows much more tenderness and intense subtlety in the first sparks of romance when Manon and Des Grieux first meet. I'm not discounting the validity of the awkward teenager to passionate affair vision in the Patterson production here, but I think for me the McVicar approach is preferable and ends up being a bit more touching in the ending demise. Of course, with Patterson's vision of Manon's life as a movie starlet, a touch more superficiality may be what he wanted!

In any case, this BD of this opera is a feast for the eyes and ears. If you know Netrebko's singing, you know that the lightness and fluidity of tone required by Manon are not her strong suit. If that is not an issue for you, then have no reservations and enjoy!

Jules Massenet - Manon / Dessay, Villazon, Ramey, Lanza, Henry, Perez, McVicar (Gran Teatre del Liceu 2007)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Visual Feast, Audio Letdown, November 15, 2009

By 

Ian Marksbury (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Manon [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

While this is a wonderful production visually, the recording was simply terrible. It sounds as though you are sitting in the rear of the theater. If you can get past that, the singing is nice . . . but it is tough to get past the recording quality.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Visually stunning but emotionally inert Manon, September 22, 2010

By 

Ivy Lin (NY NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Manon [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

If an opera review was based purely on visuals, no doubt this dvd of Manon would get 5 stars. The production by Vincent Paterson is updated to the 1950s. Manon is now an ambitious Hollywood starlet and the production evokes the glamor of a Hollywood Golden Age extravaganza. The many costumes for Manon are alternately stylish, sexy, provocative, and aesthetically pleasing. The sets are handsome and highlight the story well. And at its center are Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon, who at the time this production was filmed (2007) were *the* Glamor Couple of the opera world.

The brief but intense Netrebko/Villazon phenomenon really started with some sensational performances of La Traviata in Salzburg in 2005. Pretty soon Netrebko and Villazon were singing together constanttly both in operas and concerts. When asked, they made coy non-denials about whether they were romantically involved. (The fact that Villazon was a married father of two was conveninently forgotten.) Then, just as soon as it began, it all ended. Netrebko had a baby with the Uruguayan baritone Erwin Schott, and Villazon suffered a vocal crisis. The two of them sang together for two performance in a Met production of Lucia di Lammermoor in 2009, but Villazon had vocal problems throughout the two performances and cancelled the rest of the run. Since then, his operatic career has stalled. Netrebko, however, remains in high demand in opera houses around the world.

The appeal of Netrebko is immediately apparent in this Manon video. For one, she's gorgeous. She has about six costume changes in this production and looks gorgeous in all of them. In one scene, she channels Marilyn Monroe in a gold-colored dress and blond wig. But more importantly, Netrebko has a voice that is unusually large, round, and luscious. I've heard it referred to as "dark chocolate." Her soprano also has a large range, and her high notes aren't shrill, but beautiful and bell-like. So I am going to sound very churlish complaining about her, but nevertheless I'll say that there's a certain inertness about Netrebko's style of singing that makes her Manon emotionally shallow. Part of this is Netrebko's way of singing -- in order to achieve the big, round, luscious sound, she often drops consonants and dipthongs her vowels, so that what she's singing often sounds like a wordless vocalise. For a comparison, listen to the way Beverly Sills or Victoria de los Angeles sang this role. For instance, they were able to make the Gavotte not just a dazzling aria but a reflection on Manon's fickle personality. Netrebko has all the notes, but she makes the Gavotte again sound like a wordless vocalise. Netrebko follows all the stage directions well, but something's just missing emotionally from her performance. I'm sure others will disagree.

On the other end of the spectrum is Rolando Villazon. He's a singer of almost frightening intensity. The blu-ray DVD accentuates this -- he is often bug-eyed and dripping beads of sweat. His des Grieux is an intense, reckless romantic and it's a compelling portrayal. Unfortunately, his singing is often raw and hoarse, as if he were on the very end of his vocal tether. When he doesn't force his voice, as in "En fermantt les yeux," his voice is a lovely lyric tenor. But hearing him push his voice to such an extreme in "Ah! fuyez, douce image" is painful.

So is this DVD worth getting? Yes, it is. Netrebko is no doubt a major-league voice, and Manon is one of her most popular portrayals. But at the same time, this dvd also shows Netrebko's and Villazon's limitations.