Product Details

• Actors: Hartmut Schottler, Vesselina Kasarova, Deon van der Walt, Carlos Chausson, Volker Vogel
• Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: June 26, 2001
• Run Time: 124 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005AFSQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,441 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Offenbach - La Belle Helene / Harnoncourt - Complete Opera" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Offenbach's operetta La Belle Hélène, which pokes fun at the Parisian upper class of a century and a half ago through tales of ancient Greece, requires a leap of imagination that this production only partly succeeds in reconciling. On musical grounds we're on sure footing. Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the chorus and orchestra of the Zurich Opera House with his customary flair for precise and taut rhythms and an appreciation of the composer's wit and the good tunes that are a-plenty. His multinational cast headed by Vesselina Kasarova as Helen of Troy and Deon van der Walt as her lover, Paris, are excellent, and among the smaller parts there's a lively and stylish performance from Liliana Nichiteanu as Oreste. The video direction by Hartmut Schroder and the superb sound obtained from the relatively intimate Zurich Opera House, a delightful setting for this operetta, are further assets.

The production, alas, is unenlightening and perpetrates an over-the-top style that seems to be synonymous with Offenbach. The backdrop, a pink concave awning, is hideous. The costumes by designer Jean-Charles de Castelibajac are silly: Paris is dressed in lederhosen and looks like a twerp, the high priest Calchac wears a Ku Klux Klan hat, and Helen at one point looks as though she'll take to rappelling. Kasarova suggests the lure of Helen in her voice, but a beauty she's not. So it's left to Harnoncourt, who joins the company at the curtain call with a twinkle in his eye and a nifty side step, and his superb orchestra to remind us what might have been. --Adrian Edwards

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Production of One of the Gems of Operetta, June 29, 2001

By 

C. T. Hadavas (Beloit, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Offenbach - La Belle Helene / Harnoncourt - Complete Opera (DVD)

Adrian Edwards, the Amazon reviewer from England, is only half-right in his critique of this disc. The production, in fact, is every bit as enticing as the beautiful music-making that Harnoncourt elicits from the orchestra of the Zurich Opera house. In fact, it perfectly complements Offenbach's zany, endlessly melodious score and Meilhac and Halevy's surprisingly sophisticated libretto (which parodies the myths surrounding the origins of the Trojan War as well as the 'changing' morals of the Second Empire's elite). The costumes of the chorus are wonderfully inventive: ancient Greco-Roman togas filtered through a 20th-century post-impressionist artistic prism (Matisse and Picasso are especially invoked). The costumes of the leads are less 'beautiful' but even more pointedly comical/satirical: the two Ajaxes joined by their military uniforms as 'siamese twins'; Achilles' shield emblazoned with a cartoonish chicken (contrast Homer's account in Iliad 18); Paris' lederhosen is a particularly nice local touch (I think that everyone in the Swiss audience would have gotten the obvious allusion that somehow eluded Mr. Edwards).

Concerning some of Edward's really off-target comments: (1) The backdrop is not an 'awning,' but an exact replica (except for the color!) of the interior dome of the Pantheon--the greatest building to survive from ancient Rome. (2) To criticize Kasarova as not possessing the physical beauty of Helen is really inexcusable. In addition to being physically more attractive than 90% of most sopranos, Kasarova is, from a vocal and theatrical perspective, 100% Helen: sultry, alluring, and flirtatious--the perfect coquette. In short, a disc to treasure.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious Work Masterfully Performed, October 27, 2001

By 

I. Martinez-Ybor "Ignacio Martínez-Ybor" (Miami, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Offenbach - La Belle Helene / Harnoncourt - Complete Opera (DVD)

It is so rare to see an Offenbach operetta performed today that, if nothing else, this is worth the price for the sake of curiosity. It happens to be a delightful work (much of it used in Rosenthal's ballet arrangement "Gaité Parisienne"). The text is insouciant and witty, and the music sparkles. The beautiful Zurich Opera cast from strength: Vasselina Kassarova as Hélène is a delight. She also happens to be one of the pre-eminent artists of our time, a mezzo of radiant voice, temperament, splendid technique, with rare coloratura skills. Mr. van der Walt whose name looks Dutch sounds like a French tenor of old, a light but carrying sound, full of color, with heady top notes and truly elegant musical artistry. The supporting cast is all superb, with exact singing and plenty of joie. Nikolaus Harnoncourt, so long associated with Zurich in Monteverdi and Mozart does wonders for Offenbach. It is my understanding that 19th century instruments were used. The clarity, color, inflections he gets from his orchestra are astonishing. His inner drive, rubato, his sheer joy of music making comes through in every bar of the score. It is indeed a pleasure to see this conductor whom I first encountered in ascerbic albeit moving, austere performances of Bach Cantatas and Passions, making such successful excursions into the romantic theatre repertoire. I hope he has more up his sleeve. Get this DVD..... you'll go back to it. By the way, the production is nothing special but the acting is invariably good, with excellent rapport within the ensemble. It looks well directed.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great fun, July 6, 2001

By 

A. Grossman (Florence, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Offenbach - La Belle Helene / Harnoncourt - Complete Opera (DVD)

What a pleasure to see such an enchanting musical. Opera haters could even take a liking to it. It is simply fun to see such a wonderful, happy production. Titles are perfect and do not intrude and the entire cast seems to be having an absolute ball. The Met can continue to do snorers like Tristan but I will take Offenbach over Wagner any day. It has been nearly a half century since the Met has done any Offenbach except for Tales. A shame. In the climate the world is in today we can do much worse than see and hear Offenbach. This Helen is a sure cure for whatever is bothering you.