Customer Reviews

Prokofiev - The Love for Three Oranges / Nagano, Opera National de Lyon

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

 

 

Everything about this video is just wonderful! It is humorous & delightful, the acting is great, the choreography is wonderful, the singing and orchestra is great, the tempo is brisk, the sound mixing is good, the sets are fabulous (they are a bit avant garde, but it works ok here.) This is the 3RD time I've watched this video (1st time on DVD.)

I upgraded from the laser disk version, and it was a good thing too. The laser disk had problems with the sound mixing which was fixed on the DVD version.

There are no extras, just the performance and a chapter menu. The menu does not even break up the contents between Act I & Act II, so it is very rudimentary. That's the only downside to this otherwise great DVD!

This Opera National de Lyon production is simply delightful. The singing is excellent and the audio quality of the DVD is as good. The video is of an equal quality.

The staging is unusual but comes off brilliantly. The use of the minimalist sets works very well and I wouldn't have expected it to do so. It is slightly surreal but this is a slightly (?) surreal opera. The sets work with the opera and never detract from the opera or become intrusive.

The singers seem to be enjoying themselves and inviting you to enjoy it with them. In fact, joy might be a good one-word description of the entire opera.

There is some slapstick in it but never at the cost of the opera. Instead, it seems to enhance it. The scene with the cook and her "deadly" ladle is delightful but only slightly better than the other scenes.

This is my first experience with an Opera National de Lyon production and I throughly enjoyed it. I got the opera several months ago and find I watch it about once a month.

If the Marx Brothers were to write an opera it might come out like this one. Prokofiev's wacky, quirky Love of Three Oranges is a strange trip into something between a fairy tale, satire and farce. The L'Opera de Lyon's production gives this tale of the hypochodriac Prince and his triple-citrus curse a sort of "twenties chic" look. Despite its silliness there is at least one truly chilling moment when Fata Morgana, the witch fresh from Hell, gives the Prince the curse of the three oranges. Biting, acid music, a bizzare story and the most slapstick you've ever seen in an opera make this a totally unique and entertaining experience.

After I bought "Des Contes d'Hoffman" (DVD, 1993, Dir. Pierre Cavassilas), I was so disappointed and reluctant to buy any unorthodox opera staging. However, I am happy to have this copy. The audio and visual effects are very good. The stagings are un-traditional yet logical and powerful. Even my 8 year-old watched the most part of it with me.

This staging of "LfTO" is spare and modernistic, with minimal (but often inventive) sets and costumes, but the singing is first-rate and Nagano's conducting makes for an excellent handling of the music. The cast is young and vibrant (and even a bit sexy!) and the camera work helps keep you involved. A must if you are a Prokofiev fan; but it might be an eye-roller for someone looking for more traditional opera.

There is no way to turn the subtitles on and I have bought 2 DVDs at this point and neither of them have working subtitles. Outside of that is a suberb performance. No company is better than Opera Lyon's at this type of production.