Product Details

• Actors: Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Anna Netrebko, Bo Skovhus, Dorothea Röschmann, Christine Schäfer
• Directors: Brian Large
• Format: Classical, Color, DTS Surround Sound, Subtitled
• Language: Italian (DTS-HD 5.1), Italian (PCM Stereo), Italian (Unknown)
• Subtitles: German, English, French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
• DVD Release Date: November 18, 2008
• Run Time: 197 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001CZVVVY
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,451 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #5 in	Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Classical > By Composer > Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
  #6 in	Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Musicals & Performing Arts - Classical - Opera > By Performer > Netrebko, Anna
  #10 in	Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Classical > By Historical Period > Classical (c.1770-1830)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
With an image up to six times sharper than conventional DVD and superior high-definition sound, Blu-Ray lets you watch opera and ballet performances from the front row of the theater. Experience every detail, no matter how small, in the highest quality possible. With five times the memory of standard DVDs, Blu-Ray is a completely new way to experience the theater at home.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Better listened to then watched!, January 1, 2009

By	Thomas E. Ascher (Bellingham, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a missed opportunity! Great performers, great orchestra, in a perverse, misguided direction! An extra character has been introduced who goes around grimacing, juggling, tossing oranges and apples around the set during the action, or caressing or making teasing actions at the characters distracting from the action. And talk about sparse; Susanna sings her opening aria about her hat without wearing or holding one! Most of action takes place on a bare set with no furniture. This is a travesty and a disappointment. I was so hoping for a new production with wide screen, superb sound and top performers but this is not it.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Performance great; Staging poor, January 11, 2009

By	J. T. Spry - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Harnoncourt and this cast are wonderfully magnificent. But the staging is better described as anti-staging. A wonderful surprise, to me, was the stunningly clear DTS-HD sound on the blu-ray disc. Well worth the price even with the visual left out!

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An artistic disaster, March 20, 2009

By	Brian Wrangham (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had great hopes when I bought this disc but they were soon dispelled when I started to watch. I already have several DVD versions of this masterpiece in my collection - for me the best one by far was directed by Jean Pierre Ponnelle in a film studio, back in early 1980s. This blue-ray production borders on being an artistic travesty. It is so bad that I have given it only a one-star rating, the lowest I have ever given an opera on either DVD or Blue-ray. This disc's only redeeming quality is that it is technically excellent - the video direction is exemplary and the DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack outstanding.
Unfortunately, the stage direction and overall presentation are among the worst I have ever seen. It is puzzling that a conductor with the experience and knowledge of Nikolaus Harnoncourt would ever agree to be associated with it. The staging is an unmitigated disaster as are the custumes. The addition of a cherub is both distracting and ridiculous - the stage director (Claus Guth) would have been very wise to present the work the way Mozart wrote it. If this is the best Mr. Guth can do then I think he ought to seriously consider an early retirement and not inflict his bizarre intrepretation of great operas on an unsuspecting public. Quite honestly, the custumes were far too austere and bordered on the absurb. The less written about the monochromatic sets and complete absence of elegant furniture the better.