Customer Reviews

Mozart - Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) [HD DVD]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Let nothing I say here imply that this is less than a first-class production of Zauberflöte, and it's not a bad way to start one's collection of operas on Blu-ray. The singers are all at least good, if not uniformly great. The following singers are excellent: Simon Keenlyside (Papageno) with a voice that is expressive, well-managed, and handsome in every way, not to mention that his acting is a thorough delight; Diana Damrau (Queen of the Night), manic and technically and dramatically brilliant; and Dorothea Röschmann (Pamina) with creamy tone and perfect technique. This is not a girlish princess, which is to say that the role is often sung with a lighter voice; but I cannot complain about a voice as luxuriant as this. Sometimes Tamino and Pamina are presented as characters just barely out of their teens, which can suit the freshness and innocence implied by their roles; however, this thirtyish-looking couple works fine, too, especially as it allows us to experience fuller voices. Röschmann probably looks rather young from seats in the theater, but the Blu-ray close-ups aren't very flattering. The Three Ladies are also among the most excellent singers in this performance. Choral work is very good, as would be expected in Britain.

This performance falls short of the best in several respects. The first weakness I observed was during the overture, which failed to build much excitement or sense of anticipation for this evening of magic & music. I have never wholly understood why Colin Davis is held in such high regard as a Mozart & Haydn conductor (his reputation as a Berlioz interpreter is better deserved in my opinion). "Fortune favors the bold" is a line in the libretto, which should have been heeded by Davis, who fails to ask much of the orchestra and doesn't get any more than asks for. Everything is elegant, safe, and in its place; and only rarely do things sound stodgy; but there is neither fire nor anything else particularly revelatory or affecting.

The sets and costumes are just OK; they do not detract (as in the stark & cartoonish Met production premiered in 2006); but they don't add much either, except for those worn by the Queen of the Night and Sarastro.

Will Hartmann is not especially well cast as Tamino--it would be nice if he looked more youthful; however, in the world of operatic tenors, one could do a lot worse; and I am being especially picky here, but I must say that his intonation falls a touch short of the ideal in that it is not 100% secure, and he often lands a bit sharp on upward leaps.

Franz-Josef Selig is convincing as Sarastro and has a voice that is rich throughout its range but especially impressive in the lower registers. At the risk of undermining my own credibility, I have to admit that I do not like the work of operatic basses very much; their bellowing is often wobbly & pitch-inaccurate. Once in a great while one runs across a bass who is fully in command of his instrument, but this is not one of those times. So that I don't malign all of bassdom, I'll mention that John Relyea and Bryn Terfel are excellent positive examples; unfortunately, both are bass-baritones rather than bassi profundi; and I have to admit that Selig's heft on the low notes is perfect for Sarastro.

Adrian Thompson is suitably snarly & nasty as Monostatos. I have heard the role sung much more pleasantly by others, more for its musical beauty than dramatic character; here, however, Thompson trades prettiness for loathsomeness. Of course by that reasoning, a Papageno should have been chosen with more vulnerability in his voice, rather than the strength we get from Keenlyside. All things considered, if I had to be absolutely consistent, I'd say go with Keenlyside's musicality rather than Thompson's theatricality; but I am not upset to have both approaches in the same opera. The inconsistency in casting philosophy may, however, help to account for the lack of a sense of unity in this performance; there is little chemistry among the cast.

Even though the Popageno-Papagena romance is nominally a side show next to the serious subject of "rescuing" Pamina, the former is the emotional center of the opera for me. The duet that starts off silly with the repetition of Popageno's and Papagena's names but then makes a turn into one of the most rapturous climaxes in all music. Productions can make a big deal of it or not and be dramatically true; but a great opportunity is lost if it is not played to the hilt, which, to change metaphors, means that the music has to be milked for all its considerable worth. It has to be allowed to breathe and reach its climax at full force with no rushing or glibness. This performance doesn't reach the height of the very best; but neither does it trivialize, even though the scene is played mostly for its comic value; and Keenlyside's & Ailish Tynan's rich voices provide an abundance of beauty and substance.

To sum up, this is an expert performance, with many fine moments, that runs just a bit too much like clockwork. One of the reviews of the standard DVD version of this production gets it right: "Flute, yes. Magic, no." Also among the reviews of the standard DVD, there is as of this writing a very accurate assessment of this production, which gives it two stars and is titled "Disappointing," Although I rate the disc a little more highly, I find myself almost completely in agreement with the detailed assessment there, one exception being that, as noted above, I thought the chorus was rather good. When looking at reviews of a Blu-ray disc, for which there is only a small sample of opinion, it behooves one to look at the more plentiful reviews available for the standard-DVD issue.

Finally, speaking of Blu-ray, this disc is technically fine, in 5.1 PCM audio, which is to say no matrixing or compression--each channel has at least the full quality of a CD. That is not to say that the miking and dynamic range are perfect, but they are quite good. With a large-screen monitor the sharp HD image puts one right onstage.

I have NOT seen the HD version of this production of The Magic Flute. But I've seen HD movies and heard HD sound. As soon as I saw that this particular production was on HD-DVD...my mouth started salivating like Homer after seeing a doughnut. This beast is worth buying if only to see Damrau perform the Queen of the Night aria in HD-sound and HD-video because, as you may or may not know, she is not only one of the best singers in the world, but one of the best actors as well. Because of this, no coloratura soprano, except perhaps Serra, comes close to matching Damrau in on-stage presence. Watching her perform is a life-transforming experience - and that is just from watching her in a tiny Youtube window. The thought of watching her on a large screen in HD with HD audio...mmmmm...Damrau in HD...ahhhhh. BUY THIS! You won't be able to stop watching or putting it on for guests!

This rendition of the opera is delightfull. The video is excellent and the sound is amazing. The performance in general is a masterpiece, the Queen of the night performance is a tour de force. Papagino is delightful, funny without being overdone and with great vocal presence. This is truly a remarkable piece both the video and the performing perspectives. Can't wait for more!

I have seen many versions of Mozart's Die Zauberflote in the last 40 years and this particular production is the best yet! Papageno, The Queen of The Night, Tamino and Tamina were wonderful. The stage and musical directors followed in detail the libretto. The performance lasts over 2 hours and 40 minutes of perfectly written areas and recitatives. This is a treasure for Opera lovers and Mozart's fans. The HD and the DTS 5.1 are pefect for this performance.

Note: when setting up the sound, make sure you click on the second choice to get the full range of sound. If you click on the top choice (decompressed True HD sound), you lose db's and the sound is muffled).

This is a must for my repertoire!!

This is a really good performance of the opera. It's sung in German and done "modern style" and is still very enjoyable. I found Will Hartmann to be a little elderly for the part of Tamino, who needs the inexperience of youth to really fill the role, but his voice is gorgeous. The Queen of the Night hits that top F with no problem at all and sings the arias with plenty of drama and clarity particularly in the coloratura, and although the three boy's voices are a little dry they're still excellent singers. Monostatos is particularly good in this performance - it's a part which is often less well sung than some of the other roles, but here he's top notch.

The Papageno is also excellent and compares well with the Bergman film from Drottningholm in the 1970s and also with Benjamin Luxon's version of the character in the late 70s/early 80s. I loved the puppet bird that he had to catch during his first aria (when he does the belly flop at the end and slides across the stage), and the masks of the animals when Tamino charms them in the woods are superb. The only thing that spoiled the performance for me was that the make-up and hairstyles for the Three Ladies and Queen of the Night is very unflattering and in close up filming doesn't work that well.

All in all this is most enjoyable and well deserving of five stars.

This performance is exceptionnal ; Papageno, Sarastro and the queen of the night performs superbly ; especially the queen of the night : in her most well-known aria, she manages litterally to radiate hate, and she's served by a perfectly mastered voice. I have 7 different versions of "Zauberflöte" ; this one is THE one. Plus, of course, the benefits of HD, biut even without HD it would have been outstanding.

For people who hates opera, or simply if it is your 1st time as an opera lover, try this one. Really.

I am surprised no one has still review this yet. This is the first classical HD DVD disc available in True HD. The first one being Swan Lake and available only in DTS. All I can say is that the performance is awesome! I have watched it over and over again like 20 times. I hope a professional review will appear soon. Highly Recommended!

I have owned the DVD of this wonderful performance of "Die Zauberflöte" and so hesitated before upgrading to Blu-Ray, thinking that there wouldn't be much to be gained. However, for those with large TV screens (ours is 55"), the difference is remarkable and I am very glad I upgraded. So clear and crisp is the image that fine details in costumes, props, and makeup (not all of which is seamlessly executed, alas) jump off the screen. As for the performance itself, it's certainly one of the best of this work I've seen. My only concern, though not enough to deduct a star for, is that that some scenes have too tight a focus such that actors not directly on the center of the stage are out of focus, notably in the first few scenes. But the overall beauty of this realization offsets this. Heartily recommended, including for people who may already own the DVD copy.

This I would say is the best version of "The Magic Flute" available on Blu-ray. Sound and video quality are excellent considering this event wasn't recorded on HD. Artistically speaking the performance is amazing, flawless. Diana Damrau is the best Queen of the Night ever, she delivers a powerful in your face performance, no wonder she's the cover of this blu-ray. She sings a perfect F6, like I never heard before. The disc comes with some extras but don't get too excited, they just consist in a short behind the scenes clip and a short interview with conductor Colin Davis. Also you'll find an illustrated synopsis of this beautiful opera. I got my copy a few days ago and I'm totally hooked. If you love "The Magic Flute" the way I do... this is a big MUST HAVE!!!

This is certainly worth having. Diana Damrau's Queen of the Night is the most magnificent, vocally and dramatically that I have seen. The blu-ray picture and sound are exquisite. Will Hartmann as Tamino and Dorothea Roschmann as Pamina are youthful, vibrant, have lovely voices and great chemistry together. Simon Keenlyside, however, is one of the weakest Papagenos I've seen. The role of Papageno, although a secondary lead, is the more important role in terms of sustaining interest throughout the opera, particularly in the second act. His is the comic, everyman role, and as such it requires superb timing and virtuousity to pull it off. He just doesn't have it and the opera suffers because of it. Ailish Tynan as Papagena misses on all fronts. She is supposed to be presented, initially, as an old hag. In this version she is presented from the beginning as a sleazy tart, so there is no point to Papageno's eventual discovery and delight. In summary, much to enjoy, worth having, but ultimately, a disappointment.