Customer Reviews

Mozart: Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail [Blu-ray]

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

 

 

This is a difficult production to review.
First up the positives - Excellent singing and acting, especially Kurt Rydl singing the role of Osmin and a very good looking Mojca Erdmann as Blonde. Great orchestral playing with some very tuneful items - it IS an attractive opera.
BUT this is a compilation of 3 performances and the echo of singing and dialog in parts is puzzling and most distracting often putting the balance between soloists and orchestra completely out of whack. It is almost as if performed to an emty theatre but this is not the case.
And the costuming is weird with Osmin and the chorus in old style Turkish garb yet Bassa has mostly modern rather than turkish harem costuming, Blonde wears a mini skirt and the other Westerners appear in modern dress. More confusion in the sets with an shiny aluminium ladder appearing + a lovely modern leather reclining sofa set!!!
And the staging in the final act has me baffled. The role of the guard in T shirt and jeans is incongruous as is the symbolism of the collapsing scenery, possibly signifying how the Bassa has an 180 turn around in attitude?
An effort has been made to interpret this opera differently as is described in the interesting booklet which comes with the disc. There is discussion about how the affections of Konstanze could be in conflict, this putting a more serious aspect to the opera which in some productions can degenerate into farce.
So I'm really not sure whether or not to recommend this disc as it is such a mixed bag. It has a lot going for it and on the basis of the music is very successful but the staging and costuming + the variable mic capture of some solo singing and dialog can be distracting. No doubt more Blu Ray releases of this popular opera will be forthcoming and it will be interesting to see how they compare.

This is a worthy purchase for any opera fan because of the overall quality of the production: both in the music and the stage direction. It is essential, though, for Mozart fans and, in particular, fans of Abduction because it significantly adds to our cultural understanding of the opera. It is the first production I have seen that doesn't treat Abduction like a farce. The scenery changes dramatically over the course of the opera as we begin to realize that we are not looking at a clash between European and "Turkish" cultures, but an internal struggle between opposing forces in European culture. By the end of the opera, the last of the "Turkish" scenery has toppled over, and we see men and women in modern European clothing on a black stage. It's a very moving production that, to understand fully, requires some knowledge of the reasons Mozart's rescue opera is problematic. In any case, Mojca Erdmann is smoking hot in this production. She alone makes this worth at least renting on Netflix.

.... I prefer the traditional version. Good singing, the performances are good, the acting is just not my style or what I expected. Some might like it though :-)

After finishing my first viewing of this production, I went to the liner notes in the hope of understanding some of the choices in the staging and movement. What I found left me even more perplexed: a criticism of past productions that had played up the comedy over the years. Well, this production is little different in that regard, with the sole exception of Konstanze's visible internal conflict over Bassa vs Belmonte. But that's a minor quibble. The larger disconnect for me was between the singing (generally very satisfying) and essentially everything else. I don't mind modern reinterpretations of opera as long as they work aesthetically and don't get in the way of the plot. But in this case, there were too many instances in which I just felt puzzled: Why does Blonde keep climbing the ladder to tighten the CF light bulbs? Why the juxtaposition of a very modern (and ugly, might I add) white leather couch with so many other objects evocative of the Ottoman Empire (the brass table top, to name one)? And why, oh why, have the slave boy (who more resembled a stage hand who had aimlessly wandered into the production) manipulate Belmonte's and Konstanze's hands, heads, etc. as if they were puppets? It's one thing for staging choices to enhance the plot. But in these and other cases, they rather detracted from the experience, at least for me. They left me sitting thinking "Huh?" instead of making this the magical experience that Mozart's score and some very beautiful singing could have made it.

This is a clever, funny production with very good singers (not great, really) in a contemporary take on a gorgeous Mozart score. Rather than make a stiff traditional version, the producer has crafted a very entertaining and light-hearted show that is thoroughly enjoyable as long as you don't take opera too seriously. Many do, as some of the other reviews attest. It reminds me of a sitcom made for television, with good singers.

It's easy to ask why this or that costume seems out of keeping with the others, but why bother? The costumes are instantly recognizable and utterly appropriate for the characters who wear them, even if they transcend the generations. This is opera buffa, not opera seria, after all. And even serious opera is constantly being tampered with in productions that are meant to fulfill the often wayward notions of some regietheater junkie or other. At least this works and is very entertaining. So what if the Bassa (Pasha) wears a suit sometimes and not others? He is bald and looks lovelorn and disheveled when he falls for Konstanze, and he wears a middle-Eastern cap and suit to look official and threatening when he is sentencing everyone to death. It works. The scenes in the seraglio are likewise pan-generational. It's funny to see a brace of red theater seats, and it's even funnier to see the tacky bone-colored sectional with end-seats that suddenly recline at inopportune times, leaving characters floundering to get out. Yes, sometimes a set falls down and crashes to the stage. This signals that a big change is happening. That works too. I laughed and enjoyed this production. Sure, it's not Zeffirelli or Peter Sellars. Or Nicholas Lehnhof, thank goodness. It's a lot easier to enjoy, and consequently much more fun than that.

The cast is very good. Mojca Erdmann is young and pretty. She looks sexy and pert in her high boots, tight skirt, red jacket and white blouse (later, a black sweater). She plays the role with bemusement and sings prettily. Ms. Erdmann is still reaching her prime as a soprano but she does a nice job and is delightful to listen to as Blonde (a genuine blonde!), Konstanze's maid. Mostly, she acts and delivers her lines deadpan, which adds to the humor. Osmin (Kurt Rydl), the "authentically" costumed guard and flunky of the Bassa, has a solid bass voice and large, hairy torso, which he is always showing off, to demonstrate how very tough and manly he is. He has the hots for Blonde but lives in a 2-dimensional world of lust and violence. His performance is very funny and completely credible. It's hilarious when he is all bathrobed up, scooching along the sectional on all fours with his large fanny in the air, and Blonde takes off her belt and delivers several very unconvincing whacks to his backside, apparently just to cheer him up a little while showing her half-hearted contempt for him.

Laura Akins delivers the goods as Konstanze. She looks a little hard in the face and would not be out of place singing "Stand By Your Man," but she is also voluptuous and vulnerable, with great hair, so we can see why the Bassa falls for her. She manages the coloratura passages artfully and her instrument is sizable enough for Mozart. Edgaras Montvidas is a nice choice for Belmonte, who comes to rescue Konstanze. There is charm in his performance, though admittedly he is no Juan Diego Florez. Somewhat more appealing is Michael Smallwood as Pedrillo, the architect, who Blonde's boyfriend.

The religious component of the story is not conspicuous; it is simply there. After all, this is the 21st century. That means, however, that the mention of a Turk who is an apostate but who is a true Turk in that he will cut someone's head off, is a little uncomfortable to hear.

This is not the best sound I have ever heard but it is quite decent and certainly the music sounds good. The orchestra, while almost always fine, delivers some high-pitched whistles in an ultra-Mozartean vein that add to the surprising comedy which informs this production. I liked this performance. If you demand much more gravitas from opera, well, you know where to look for that.

Soon, we'll be watching all of our operas in high definition. Hold off on purchasing the DVD of this performance. Wait until you have a Bluray player, and then buy the Bluray edition, which is cheaper and of much higher video/audio quality. As for the performance itself, you can read my review on the Bluray version's page.

One of the two things that is going for this production is that it is available in blu ray which I bought.

The other is the notes in the inlay pamphlet provided by them that contains a very beautiful essay about the work and how it should be understood and performed. The writer, Klaus Bertisch goes to great lengths to explain how this Opera is wrongly understood, and been degraded over decades to almost a Vlaudville production bordering on Operetta.
This production however, has taken pains to see to it that it has become exactly what Bertisch fears and even more. It boils down to a second rate raunchy Operetta production of Offenbach that could be better than this.

Singing is very good but not in the category of 'Great' by any standards. The orchestral part sounds very harsh in parts and the balance is not too great, and seems to be equalized more in the treble register. Of the singers, Kurt Rydl stands out. Blondie is beautiful and sings divinely. Pedrillo is one of the best and Selim looks lost most of the time. Konstanze strains a bit, but OK.

Lets face it. Had this been a normal DVD, I do not think it would have fetched more than 2 stars at the most. Not because of the singing and acting, but because of the staging. The sets are tacky but I don't blame them, as this is not the Met or ROH and money could be a factor. But that does not explain many other shortcomings in the staging.

The Stage Director Johann Simons seems to have a schizophrenic approach to this production. Exactly what time frame is he working with? If he wanted to bring out a point that the Opera is 'timeless' and the philosophy transcends all eras of human understanding a millennium earlier and a millennium henceforth, he could have done so without running riot.

Just consider this... Konstanze makes her appearance in a Harem costume. Bassa Selim chooses to change into slacks and shoes bought off the shelf from Marks and Spencer's. Blondie dresses like a BA Stewardess on call. She fiddles around with tacky garish exposed CFL bulbs (!) Osmin is portrayed as a guy who enjoys BDSM and treated to the same by Blondie with a belt. The chorus too, appears in costumes that are mostly 21st century. The slave appears in Jeans and T-Shirt. Is this supposed to have happened or happening in modern Turkey or in some remote part of Somalia? Be modern, but for heavens sake, be rational too... Even the traditional Eurotrash is more mature.

Worse, they have made Selim into a groveling needly loser who literally crawls on his fours and clings on to Konstanze's feet whilst being allowed to grope, sniff and paw her all the time. May be this is inherently the double or triple meaning that Mozart in his brain may have envisaged. But, in reality, NO Pasha or for that matter no full blooded Arab or European or Japanese or any Male of some claim to an honourable position can invite any respect or honour from any female of the human race by doing so, as per the interpretation given in either notes in the inlay or in the interviews by the stage director. Ask ANY woman, and she will attest to this. And according to the notes and interpretation, Konstanze has fallen hopelessly in love with Selim. Sick. Hell, I am not a prude.

All whatever this interpretation is supposed to be is brought out with beautiful subtlety in many other productions of this work over the last few decades. I had to put on the Gruberova/Araiza version with Bohm conducting just to Cleanse my mind off this one. They do all this, without being crass or bumptious.

I would request the buying public to wait for more productions of this to buy. Meanwhile, I am retaining this to demonstrate as to how Mozart should NOT be produced.

Two stars for the singers and their dedication and obedience to whatever the presumptuous directors ordered them to do. I think Rydl held his ground. LOL

Mozart: Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail [Blu-ray]I do not recommend this product. It is a very poor artistic production. The escenography, the artistic direction, the actoral performance of the singers and the vocal quality of them are not of the minimun quality that could be acceptable. I thought I was assisting to a highschool performance.