Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Fleming, Vargas, Hvorostovsky, Gergiev, Carsen [Metropolitan Opera 2007]

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Anyone making a short list of the all time greatest operas needs to give serious consideration to Eugene Onegin. Not only is this opera filled with beautiful melodies, it also contains a very dramatic story told episodically, almost as a tableaux of grand scenes. The story is unconventional in that the lovers never get together because they are never on the same page romantically, initially he is too mature for her, then, later, ironically, when he finally becomes interested, she is too mature for him. There is death in this opera, but the real tragedy of Eugene Onegin is the title character's self-centered, unfeeling hubris, and finally his regrets. All of this is expressed through music so achingly romantic it washes over the listener like a wave. Anyone who thinks Tchaikovsky was just a composer of pretty ballets has obviously never seen or heard Eugene Onegin.

I saw this production when it was broadcast to a local cineplex earlier this year. I was so enthralled and excited by what I had experienced(I was high on this performance for days!) that I have been anxiously waiting for it to be released on DVD ever since. The production itself isn't perfect, but the performances are(the Met repeats the success of its La Traviata of a few years ago by reuniting the same three leads with the same conductor), and the result is a Eugene Onegin whose like we are unlikely to see again, at least during my lifetime.

The leads could not be more ideally cast. Renee Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky are what is popularly referred as the complete package, a combination of knockout looks, intelligence, charisma, dramatic ability, oh, and did I forget to mention vocal talent? Hvorostovsky broods handsomely, and his icy detachment is chilling, abetted in no small measure by the depth of his baritone voice. His Onegin is easy to fall in love with, but hard to feel much sympathy for, at least until the end, which is how it should be. Fleming is quite a bit older than Tatianna, but is still youthfully lovely, and capable of exploring the young innocent's tormented emotions. Besides, her age and experience make her character's eventual maturation into a regal and sophisticated woman of the world that much more convincing. Fleming's mood-swinging, ultimately giddy Letter Scene brings down the house,(remember, when I saw this it was in a movie theater, watching the performance via satellite, and the result was just as overpowering). Ramon Vargas has the impassioned, jealous tenor thing down pat, he obviously draws on his experience singing Alfredo, and he makes for a fiery Lensky. The mezzo-soprano who sings Olga(I don't recall her name) is attractive and appropriately flirty. Musically, I'd rate this performance as flawless. Conductor Valery Gergiev's deep understanding of this score is obvious, so is his equally deep love for it.

The production is mostly good, but with some problems. For instance, I don't understand why Tatianna's bed is placed in the middle of the outdoors other than to give her an excuse to fling leaves across the stage at the climax of the Letter Scene. Maybe this is supposed to represent how her writing the letter is her liberation from confinement...if so, well, it works better conceptually than visually. And the ballroom scenes are minimalist to the extreme, lacking any grandeur, which attenuates the effectiveness of the staging. Certain operas, such as Traviata and this one, should always be opulent(this director could take a few lessons from Franco Zefferelli), no matter how modernist operas in general become, because the opulence is an important element of the storytelling. Onegin is supposed to be distanced from and bored by the bourgeois spectacle he sees, by the aristocratic circles he finds himself traveling in, and their values, but this is hard to convey when there isn't any bourgeois spectacle to be bored BY. My feeling, this is minimalism without any understanding of the subtexts of the opera, minimalism for its own sake, just to do something different, an attempt to add intimacy to a scene that isn't really supposed to be intimate. On a positive note, the opening scene is superb, as are the scenes where Onegin rebuffs Tatianna's affections and their final intimate drawing room duet. The duel, staged completely in shadows, is rather unsettling. Here the creepy minimalism makes perfect sense, and the result is one of the most effective opera scenes I've seen in recent memory. For the most part the production works, despite being disappointing in places, at the very least it never distracts from the performances, which might sound like a left-handed compliment but is a compliment nonetheless.

One more thing, concerning the price. I was tempted to knock off a star due to the fact that Deutsche Grammophon has chosen to release this as a two disc set even though the opera is only about two-and-a-half hours long and therefore capable of fitting on one. I have the same complaint about the upcoming I Puritani, which I saw when it was broadcast on PBS, also an excellent performance, very much worth owning, but also short enough to fit on a single disc. Obviously I'm planning to suck it up(for Onegin, and perhaps for Puritani as well) and shell out the money because the idea of not owning this is unthinkable, but in the meantime, color me disgruntled. In the end, though, I have decided to rate the performance, not the price, in which case the five stars is well deserved.

My wife and I watched this performance from the Grand Tier. At the time, we agreed that the staging and performance were superb, and the cameras were unobtrusive, but thought that some of the performances, notably that of Dmitri Hvorostovsky, were a tad 'wooden'.

A few months later, we saw the broadcast performance, and were very pleasantly surprised. Hvorostovsky's performance was far from wooden: with the benefits of the TV camera, we could see every subtle nuance, every expression, every gesture. His was a performance of the highest standard. Bravo!

And here we find one of the differences between televised and live performances - the camera can pick up subtleties which just aren't visible from the back of the theatre (and exaggerate 'operatic acting'as it happens). True, watching a live performance has other advantages - the ambience, the freedom to choose what you want to look at, people-watching, the champagne during the intervals....

In the past, there have been other differences - poor direction, inadequate sound, extraneous noise, but this is no longer an issue. This Brian Large production is basically superb! Picture quality is excellent, reflecting the clever lighting effects on stage. Sound is crystal clear, with enough resolution to distinguish individual applause (ours must have been in there somewhere, I suppose). This recording, in many respects, is even better than the 'real thing'.

Putting technicalities to one side, the production itself was of the highest calibre. All the singers, without exception, were at the top of their form. Aria after aria ended in thunderous applause. Gergiev was amazing, extracting every ounce of emotion from Tchaikowsky's music.

The minimalist sets were, I thought, very clever. I particularly liked the first ballroom scene, where the dancers were crowded together in a slightly too small dance floor flanked by mis-matched chairs. The effect was of an impromptu ball run by a family who were comfortably off, but a little down-at-heel. The leaves, as a symbol of time passing, were very effective, particularly during the overture.

And now, I think, enough time has passed.

This is a superb recording in every way; one to be treasured.

Having seen this production at the MET and HD transmission to the movies, this DVD is outstanding in every way and highly recommended as a worthy addition to your collection. For those who have seen the production at the MET, it will enhance your enjoyment of the individual performances with close-ups of facial expressions of singers and other interesting nuances and other little amusing things you might have missed if you were seated far from the stage. This DVD is specially beneficial to those seeing this opera for the first time because of the elimination of extraneous and distracting things, which allows you to focus on the dramatic and musical inputs of the protagonists more clearly.

Having seen conventional, lavish productions of this opera in major houses, I had some apprehensions at first about how Act 3 would turn out stripped of the customary depiction of the opulence and splendor of St. Petersburg in Pushkin's time. With bare walls and just a few nice chairs around, the fantastic lighting effects and elegant coustumes made a big difference and saved this production from getting too "eurotrashy".

For me, the most important achievement of this production is the righting of the unfair characterization by critics, past and present, of the role of the poet Lenski as the "weakest link" among the principals. From the very first time I saw this opera, I have always felt that Lenski's music was the most beautiful in the opera and that Tchaikovsky identified more with Lenski's creative nature. So, why the "weakest link" tag ? This production provided the answer! That's why this minimalist ONEGIN is particularly helpful to first timers to the opera. By combining Acts 2 & 3 and eliminating the long intermission between the Acts & scenes as well as toning down the distracting, unnecessary elements extraneous to the story, this production allows the audience to focus not only on individual performances but the totality of their artistic contributions as well. In full lavish productions, Lenski dies at the end of Act 2. He is given a courtesy solo bow, and his night is done. After a 20-minute intermission or longer, a shot of vodka, champagne or margarita, the audience is ushered back to their seats for the beginning of Act 3.When the curtain opens, the audience is greeted by the majestic polonaise with elegantly dressed and bejewelled ladies of St. Petersburg's upper crust society, dancers and entertainers at Prince Gremin's palatial digs. The audience then gets to hear his beautiful aria and Onegin's two-minute arioso. Another time break for scene change, and then the final scene with Tatiana and Onegin culminating with the histrionics of their dysfunctional love relationship. End of opera - about one and a half hours after Lenski' death. Poor Lenski is a forgotten man by then. But not in this production! Here, after his death, he goes back to his dressing room, have coffee or something stronger (Bjoerling used to do it,why not), and half an hour later, he goes out on stage to receive the audience's feedback with the rest of the cast. That's
the way it should be, and the composer would have loved it.

This DVD may not be surpassed for a long time. The cast is just outstanding, from the three principals who are all at their best, down the line to Lenski's second at the duel scene. Renee Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky will be very hard to top as Tatiana and Onegin because, not only do they possess beautiful voices and fine acting abilities, they also must have spent a lot of time studying and rehearsing together. It shows in their chemistry. Ramon Vargas gave the most vivid portrayal of the poet's persona that I have ever witnessed, and his subtle, well controlled and very effective acting covered a wide gamut of emotions from the lyrical Act 1 through varying degrees of distrust, jealousy and anger, and the heartbreaking resignation in Act 2. He even introduced a little humor in the middle of his ardent declaration of chaste love to the seated Olga by gently pushing the tray of goodies away from her to get her full attention. I missed that one in the theater, and I'm thankful for the DVD. His voice was absolutely gorgeous, and his singing superb throughout. His arioso in Act1 is just as beautiful as Onegin's aria at the end of the act. For some strange reason, Hvorostovsky received only a polite audience response with no bravos. I thought he gave a flawless and terrific rendition of the aria. In Act 2 Scene 1, Vargas dominated the singing in his reprimand of Olga for her flirting with Onegin, his private confrontation with Onegin and the escalation ending in throat grabbing before the guests. He opened the big quintet with chorus with a tender and touching recollection of the happiness he found at the Larin's home as an adolescent and ended the ensemble with a powerful, pained farewell to his beloved Olga. Lenski's aria Act2 Scene2, as sublimely sung by Vargas and lovingly accompanied by the great Met Orchestra under the super conductor of choice, Valery Gergiev, is one for the ages. Vargas just simply dominated all of Act 2. Renee Fleming dominated Act 1 with her wonderful, well nuanced Letter Scene which was warmly received by the audience.

So, is the "weakest link" going to steal the show from the Star? After Act3 Scene1, Lenski was still ahead in my tally. DH was in his best voice, and that's a lot. He must deliver the best performance of his life to catch the poet. Fleming could pass him too if he didn't. Fueled by Fleming's incredible acting and singing, which I have never seen from her before, he caught fire in the last six minutes, and the rest is history. He nailed that last note like Rigoletto's anguished maledezione with all the power and pathos he could muster. My verdict: it's a 3-way tie ! When Vargas came out for curtain calls , the audience did not forget the pleasures he had given them and gave him back a tremendous ovation with confetti as they did the other two stars. Aren't we blessed to have three stars of this caliber with an excellent group of supporting singers, the best opera orchestra in the world under the direction of the genius from St. Petersburg? Get this DVD fast, you will not be sorry.

I am a big fan of Eugene Onegin and watched this opera several times at various opera houses, including once at Bolshoi (the "old" Bolshoi of 1980s). Therefore, I have had quite high expectations after seeing parts of this performance on TV a few months ago. Yesterday, after the DVD arrived in the mail, I could barely wait to get home to watch it. Honestly, I was disappointed. Please do not get me wrong. This production is still very good, just it is not the ultimate Eugene Onegin I hoped it would be. Hvorostovsky is outstanding, he is definitely the best Onegin I ever heard. At the same time, Fleming as Tatiana is not as good as I expected. After watching this DVD, I listened for a while to my old CD set with Galina Vishnevskaya as Tatiana (Bolshoi, recorded in 1950s), and in my opinion Vishnevskaya's singing is highly superior to that of Fleming. Also, maybe a factor was the awful quality of the English translation, which totally emasculates the rich Pushkin poetry. Sometimes I had the feeling Fleming had no idea what was the real meaning of the words she was singing, and it really spoiled the impression of her acting (wrong gestures, wrong expressions). At times, like in the middle of the first act (Onegin and Tatiana returning from their walk), she seemed not to know what to do and, rather than acting, was looking intently at Hvorostovsky for clues. This was disappointing. Overall, this is a good performance, and Hvorostovski is absolutely brilliant. However, it is not "the" ultimate Eugene Onegin I hoped it would be.

I saw the moviecast of this production. For those who don't know, the moviecast was a live performance of a matinee at the Met in New York shown in movie theatres across the country; it had almost all the excitement of being in the Met itself for this unforgettable performance. I just wish I too had a program to tear up and rain confetti down on the singers as the audience at the Met did. Yes, it was that great a performance.

This is a lushly romantic opera about unrequited love and deserves to be far better known than it is.

As for the performance, it's one for the ages and I count myself lucky to have seen the moviecast. I agree with the previous reviewer about the spare sets not always doing justice to the intent of the opera, but the performances are so stellar, it really doesn't matter.

I've been anxiously awaiting the DVD and am very relieved that it's one of only two releases from last season's Met moviecasts.

I was thrilled seeing this at the movie theater knowing the considerable talent of the three principals and couldn't wait until it came out on DVD. I've purchased a few for Christmas presents to the friends who were with me on that day and, yes, we opera "buffs" have been discussing it ever since. The first reviewer is spot on in the details of the review. The only detraction was (as most usual) the production, however, those made no difference in the wonderful pleasure derived from the artistry of the singers. Dmitri owns the role, period. Renee was at her very, very best and the chemistry between the two jumped off the screen. This is a must purchase for anyone who loves the art of pure singing and acting singers. Performances of perfection!! I was in attendance at the Met for my favorite performance of all time, that of Domingo and Fleming in "Otello", also available on DVD. This is just about as good as it gets in the world of great opera singing. I've seen all three in person many times and the DVD is a must for memories of these extraordinary artists in a beautiful opera. Russian is a language that sings beautifully as well. Don't leave this one in Amazon's inventory. Buy it!

The productions of Robert Carsen, though usually informed by an individual style, tend to be predictable only for their being polarizing. When his approach jells (when he has not decided that, say, IL TROVATORE should be a searing indictment of the petrochemical industry), one sees a kind of minimalism that (pace the editorial review above) is quite the opposite of "stark." Carsen has the talent and the insight to do well what some of his lesser contemporaries do badly. He knows that the bare minimum of props and subtle shifts in lighting and color in place of traditional stagecraft can lend a production mechanical ease and fluidity while in no way precluding lyric beauty or kinetic energy. A poignant tone is set for this ONEGIN by the literally autumnal look of its first half: during the prelude, the bereft Onegin is showered in brown and orange leaves that remain on the stage for the next several scenes. When the peasants pay tribute to Larina with a joyous rustic dance, it is not a meticulously choreographed display of grace and athleticism (as later dances, in more formal and sophisticated settings, will be) -- it looks chaotic, spontaneous, even amateurish, just as such a demonstration would be if one were in the village observing it. The early-morning duel between Onegin and Lensky is masterfully staged. The two men sing their respective interior monologues in preparation for the deadly showdown neither wants, and each reaches his hand out in the direction of the other, from a distance that is slight yet unbridgeable. The staging makes clear that this is a representational and not a literal gesture, and the moment is heartbreaking. The subsequent silhouetted portrayal of Lensky's shooting, followed by the bright sun rising on Onegin, his soul irreparably stained, is both arresting and haunting.

But Carsen's greatest triumph is his demonstration of what usually is an asset even in his unsuccessful productions: an eye for subtext, and an ability to tease it out without assaulting his audience with it. This ONEGIN is not, as ONEGIN often is made to be, simply a tale of two people who would be a good match but have unfortunately misaligned timing; nor is it about a contemptible snob who gets his comeuppance in the end. Carsen astutely takes his cue from the first conversation we hear in the opera, that between Mother Larina and the nanny Filippyevna, both of whom loved and were loved passionately in youth but were led by pragmatism, duty, or necessity down a different path. "Heaven sends us habit instead of happiness," observes Larina, and in the next two and a half hours we will see our heroine, Tatyana, assume her place among these women. Along with habit, heaven can send us heartbreak.

In the principal roles, Renée Fleming, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Ramón Vargas are in sovereign voice, and the soprano in particular is a revelation. I will confess that while her work in the past has hardly been thoughtless, I did not believe she had a performance of such behavioral specificity and dramatic perception in her (accompanying mini-doc footage suggests a fruitful partnership between her, Hvorostovsky, and Peter McClintock, director of this 2007 revival of Carsen's production). From the opera's opening through the birthday party, Fleming precisely evokes an ingenuous and romantic young person on the precipice of womanhood: a gesture or expression of distinctly girlish excitement or impulsivity may be followed in short order by one that is more wistful or circumspect, suggesting the woman she will become. Her work has a marvelous reactive spontaneity. When Tatyana reappears in the opera's final two scenes as a society woman of refinement and reserve, we are right there with Onegin in admiring the transformation, but we (like Fleming, Carsen, and McClintock) know that while something precious has been gained, something equally precious has been extinguished, or at least will never burn so brightly again: zest, eagerness, trust, innocence. Heaven has brought something, and heaven has taken something in payment.

Hvorostovsky, who has performed the title role with distinction for many years, recently has indicated a readiness to set it aside -- in that event, we are fortunate now to have deluxe documentation of his late thoughts on the character to supplement his earlier ones (on the Bychkov/Philips audio recording). It would be difficult to imagine a more ideal match of singer with character than Hvorostovsky with this vain, preeningly handsome, emotionally careless (but never uncaring) protagonist. Another of Carsen's shrewd touches, deftly enacted by Hvorostovsky, is to have Onegin barely pay attention to Lensky's initial round of charges at the birthday party. At a point when Onegin still has a window in which to defuse tension and avert tragedy, he does not even look at his angry friend; he remains seated, smirking and downing food and drink as if he is Giovanni patronizing a desperate Elvira. As has been noted elsewhere, Vargas's build, clothing, coif, and spectacles give this Lensky a striking (and apt, if intended) physical resemblance to another fragile, doomed poet/artist, Franz Schubert. Vargas is not the actor that his co-stars are, and is less comfortable with the Russian language than is any other featured singer on the stage, but when such gratifying lyric singing as his represents the weakest link, we obviously are dealing with a roster of unusual depth. Elena Zaremba (Olga) and especially Sergei Aleksashkin (a Gremin who quite looks the part) maintain the high musical standard; in smaller roles, Svetlana Volkova (Larina) and Larisa Shevchenko (Filippyevna) make their crucial points with warmth and appeal.

Celebrity maestros often are fascinating to watch at work for their varying methods: Karajan's eyes-closed shamanistic sculpting; Bernstein's emotional and occasionally overwrought balletic demonstrations; Muti's solemn-faced aristocratic precision; Abbado's genial coaxing and nudging; Carlos Kleiber's exuberant elasticity; Richard Strauss's minimalist economy of means. And then, on some quite different list, there is Valery Gergiev, one of the least fetching conductors in terms of gesture and expression I have ever seen. The best description I can offer of his batonless technique to someone who has never seen it: imagine the imitation of a flamboyantly effeminate sorcerer by someone who despises that sorcerer. But however he chooses to communicate, he is no impediment to the Met Orchestra's predictably sumptuous reading of Tchaikovsky's score. The conductor's only truly questionable judgments are the taffy-pulling of Triquet's number (the tenor singing Triquet is obliged to serenade Tatyana at the slowest tempo I have ever heard in the piece, and then, as if to make up for lost time, the chorus's admiring responses are rushed -- it is rather like the release of a slingshot), and a too-hectic tempo for the dance music in the penultimate scene. On the whole, this ONEGIN deserves placement alongside the Scotto/Domingo MANON LESCAUT, the Troyanos TROYENS, and select others among the finest Met performances yet preserved for home viewing.

Aren't we lucky to live in the Age of DVDs? Unlike some other reviewers, the sets contributed mightily to my mesmeration: minimalist, pristine and incredibly beautiful. They artfully enable one to focus on the performances and drama without extraneous distraction. A thrilling experience and a must-have. Plus, DH=hubba hubba!

This production was on the web for months by now, and every opera lover is dying to own it in a neat and snug DVD set (also for gifts during Christmas).
Dmitri Hvorostovsky previously sung a CD version in the late 1990's with Nuccia Focile as Tatyanna. I would say with 100% certainty that this MET production's Onegin and Tatyanna topped the previous version. Baritones are like wine; in the case of Hvorostovsky, exceedingly good wine. I remember well the last parting scene of the two protagonists in this production - devastating is the only description I could think of.
Fleming and DH were like being engaged in a vocal dual, each singing and acting their hearts out. Their proficiency simply unblievable. I strongly recommend this recording to students undertaking operatic training.
Ramon Vargas delivered an aria ("Kuda, Kuda") that earned him an applause for well-nigh 2 minutes. He is in his absolute prime in this performance.
Gergiev - yes, he's the person chiefly responsible for bringing out the best in his cast. Rene Fleming's so-called 'mannerisms' were no where discernible in this performance.
Miss this one, and die.

I have loved this opera for years!
I have four productions of it on DVD and nine on CD and LP (including one in English with Thomas Hampson and Kiri Te Kanawa) and I can say that the final act of this production is by far the most thrilling of them all,these two singers do not need any stage props to make it work, their superb voices, acting abilities and stage presence do it all!
BRAVO, BRAVA, BRAVISSIMI!!!