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34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating, September 11, 2003
This review is from: Puccini - Turandot / Gergiev, Schnaut, Tear, Vienna State Opera (DVD)
This DVD brings us a very important development in the life of the opera Turandot: the Berio ending. A couple of years ago the contemporary Italian composer Luciano Berio composed an alternative ending to the opera, to replace that supplied by Franco Alfano. (Puccini died before he could complete the last act of Turandot -- what he would have done had he lived a couple of more years is one of history's great tantalizing mysteries.) If for nothing more, this DVD is of great interest to Puccini and Turandot fans for that ending. And it is a very interesting ending. Where Alfano is simplistic and loud, Berio is subtle and varied. The new ending is vastly more interesting than that of Alfano -- it actually addresses, in some satisfactory manner, the great problem of how Turandot can transform from ice princess to human being in a mere fifteen minutes of singing. Some viewers will not like the staging, which casts everyone in a phantasmagoric Peking of half-human, half-machine beings. This is a matter of taste. There can be no "realistic" staging of Turandot -- to paraphrase Dorothy Parker, there is simply no "real" there. Turandot is a fantasy, pure and simple, and how one visualizes the fantasy is subjective in all cases. I found David Pountny's approach to be as good as any I have seen. The casting features mature, accomplished singers in all the roles. One cannot fault the singing in any major way. The staging does call for them to be rather static in their acting, but this is not their fault. Unfortunately, there are a few occasions in the recording in which the singers are overwhelmed by the orchestra -- probably an issue of microphone placement or mixing. This may not be the ideal first Turandot for someone not already familiar with the opera, but, fortunately, there are other choices. DVDs of productions from the Met and San Francisco are both available, and both are more traditional. But for a Turandot aficionado, this DVD is an absolute must-have.
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24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Be warned: ghastly, August 29, 2003
This review is from: Puccini - Turandot / Gergiev, Schnaut, Tear, Vienna State Opera (DVD)
I have first to admit that my opinion might not be that of every one; but let me put the facts before you and judge for yourself before throwing away the price of this disc. This is one of these Eurotrash "concept" operas in which the populace of Peking are parts of a large machine that consciously echo Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" from the silent era and possibly Woody Allen's "Sleepers" of a more recent time. With a very large chorus all made up to look like robots and machine parts, we have Ping, Pang and Pong, one with a saw for a hand, one with a wrench, and one looking like Peter Lorre in "Mad Love." I am on tender ground here, but the Liu is most unattractive I have seen in any sympathetic role while the tenor makes Pavarotti at his widest look thin. Through most of Act I, the director has him seated, even when demanding "Let me pass." I braved Act I and tried to watch Act II, but one singer in the opening trio was in a spot where the mike did not pick up his voice and what we had was a duet. It was at the point, I gave up. Now there might be some of you out there who like this sort of thing. But to me, opera is about PEOPLE--yes, even "Cunning Little Vixen" where the animals are thinly disguised human types. Dehumanizing the people of Peking makes their fear of Turadot's retribution utter nonsense, as it does their pity for the Prince of Persia and for Liu. Machine parts do not particularly care about things like that. Given all this, there is no point in discussing the muscial aspects at all. So let the buyer beware. You are warned.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable performance with a new ending, September 8, 2003
This review is from: Puccini - Turandot / Gergiev, Schnaut, Tear, Vienna State Opera (DVD)
This release has lots to recommend it. The sets and costumes go for that retro-future look found in movies like "Metropolis", "Brazil", or "City of Lost Children". The inhabitants of these worlds share one more thing in common: they live under despotic rule. Their condition both physical and political, just like the character of Turandot, undergoes a radical change during the course of the opera. Act I looks the most like Jules Verne's vision of the future, a stunning act II boasts simply spectacular sets, while the last act is more subdued, more human. Whatever you think of the concept there can be no arguing the fact that everything looks like no expense was spared - too often radical productions of standard repertory look so cheap. Of great significance is that this is the first Turandot released that has Luciano Berio's completion of the work Puccini left unfinished. I had to watch it a couple of times to get used to it. As Gabriele Schnaut states in an interview that is part of the DVD extras, this new finale is unabashedly Berio's, not pseudo-Puccini, and it works. With Alfano's ending there can be no doubt that you've just heard a fairy tale. Berio brings this fantasy world closer to our own, and rather than the "happily ever after" we get that uneasy, exciting sensation brought about by hope, love being its instigator. I'm not saying it's better or worse than Alfano's - it's there and now audiences have a choice. I enjoyed the direction, in particular the movements by and around Turandot. The Turandot-Liu exchange I found the most revealing, with a nice touch added at the point Liu commits suicide (if that's what you call what happens here), when Turandot literally becomes Liu through the removal of her regal coat. The action around Liu's body (which remains on stage until almost the very end of the opera) might be the only aspect of the production that could be accused of being eurotrashy. Schnaut is the best in the acting department, with vivid and expressive facial expressions. Hers is a large, dependable voice, not perfect, not beautiful. Have we ever had an ideal Turandot? I found her no less convincing vocally or physically than the other most tolerable choice on video, Eva Marton. Botha's good acting moments seem to happen by accident, though he's competent enough and sings very well, occasionally overpowered by the orchestra. For those who care about these things: he does sing the optional high C towards the end of Act II, and it's good one. I was very sad with Cristina Gallardo-Domas' performance. She seems not to have shed Lius from other productions with stereotypical Victor Book of Opera "I'm Chinese" poses when in this whole affair no one is pretending to have any close affinity to the Far East other than what the text "inconveniently" makes them say. So maybe this is the director's fault, not so her singing: wobbly, unsteady and thin, no hint of that sweetness and beauty you could hear just a few years ago. I really hope she was just having a bad night. Paata Burchuladze, looking considerably slimmer than last time I saw him, does a great job with his small role. The three masks, wearing complicated costumes, are also more than adequate. This is not an opera where the conducting is going to unveil some deeply insightful revelations: it's a big show, and Gergiev conducts expertly with full, even, lush sounds from his orchestra, no controversial tempos or outbursts. Every now and then there are moments when you wish you had a wider angle of vision because you know things are happening on stage you cannot see. Other than that the video direction is generally good, not the usual Brian Large smell-the-sweat, see-the-nose-hairs close-ups of most of his Met videos. The sound is excellent. Both the Italian and Spanish subtitles are screwed up and anything with an accent mark comes out as a different symbol. Nothing wrong with liking the Zeffirelli circus from the Met (I do), Mehta's Beijing extravaganza, or San Francisco's airplane ladder (the other DVD choices). But if you want something a bit less traditional yet thoughtful and professionally executed, you will enjoy this performance. There's also the added bonus of a valiant modern attempt to complete what Puccini left unfinished.
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