Most Helpful Customer Reviews
61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Abbado and Domingo Main Attractions In Vienna LOHENGRIN, May 7, 2001
This review is from: Wagner - Lohengrin / Abbado, Domingo, Lloyd, Studer, Vienna State Opera (DVD)
This DVD of Lohengrin from Vienna in 1990 gives us a fine rendition of the opera, highlighted by several outstanding performances -- mainly that of the conductor and the tenor. Abbado's Vienna State Opera orchestra plays beautifully for him, showing off the string and brass sound that Solti's Ring made famous so many years ago. The tradition is still going strong. Though Abbado does not summon the seamless, silky sound of the Berlin Philharmonic under Von Karajan in his EMI recording, and occasionally a chorus voice sticks out, what you are hearing is a live performance and such flaws and lack of balance are to be expected. Mr. Domingo, on the other hand, gives a fully committed and vocally sumptuous performance in a role we are not used to hearing him sing. What a treat to hear almost no vocal strain, and no "Bayreuth Bark" -- a common pitfall, especially as the opera approaches the end of the evening. Cheryl Studer sings musically, if rather cooly -- which results in the beautiful ending of her duet with Vejzovic (as Ortrud) going for practically nothing. Emotionally the two women don't seem to "go for broke" as Marton and Rysanek would do. Vejzovic's best moments are at the end of the opera during her final ravings where many and Ortrud has come to grief. She is interesting to watch and her eyes in particular are riveting. Robert Lloyd is authoritative if somewhat woolly as King Henry. However, Hartmut Welker sings rather than snarls Telramund, earning him one of the largest ovations of the night. The sets by Rudolph and Reinhard Heinrich are traditional (for that we should be thankful) but not atmospheric or magical. The procession to the cathedral in Act II moves in stops and starts and Ortrud's interruption comes almost expectedly and not as a great suprise. Still, I highly recommend this video for your DVD collection. The MET LOHENGRIN, due for release within the next few months, has more to recommend it with regards to it's female leads: the previously mentioned Marton and Rysanek. However, Domingo is far superior to Peter Hofmann and his performance is a musthave for the great beauty of singing he brings to this role. The opera is spread over two discs: Acts I and II on the first and Act III on the third. Sound and video quality are superb, with 5.1 Surround or 2-channel stereo as your audio options. Thank you, Image Entertainment; keep releases like this coming!!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Domingo sings Wagner, May 25, 2000
I believe Domingo's Lohengrin is a complete interpretation only on video. Even people who had issues with his Decca recording would be hard pressed to point out a more impressive Lohengrin as a stage presence. Domingo is a youthful, virile, handsome Lohengrin, and his latin colors add a specific passionate-dignified flavor to the role. This is dramatically appropriate considering Lohengrin's background. I am not at all a blind fan of Domingo, but repeat viewing of this production, which I first purchased over a year ago, fills me with nothing less than awe for what he accomplished here. It seems he had more time for rehearsals than on some productions, as every movement of his and every gesture is dramatically well calculated. He is actually convincing as the quintessential white night in shining armor who commutes on a white swan to save wronged maidens, the very embodiment of Christian virtue. Struder is an enigma to me. It seems there is a split between her conception of roles in the Italian repertoire, which I find characterless, and what she does in the German repertoire, which is very impressive. I would like to surmise that being a highly disciplined artist, she tries to emulate the Italian ideal of a soprano in her Italian roles (mainly Verdi). Some people feel the Italians like their sopranos a little bland. Here she gives a glorious interpretation of Elsa, vulnerable and sweet voiced, the pinnacle of victimized feminine innocence, but (unlike De Los Angeles for example) very powerful in a Wagnerian way. The rest of the cast is star studded and the singers not only stand up to their reputation, but are also very satisfying in an almost physical way, right down to the smaller roles. As usual from the Vienna State Opera, this is a traditional production in the best sense of the word. It brings out the embryonic Parsifal in Lohengrin, In the sense that Parsifal is a religious stage ceremony. There is no Vienna State Opera production on DVD yet, and this should be a good candidate to be the first. Another Lohengrin that should be made commercially available is the recent co-production of Gran Teatre del Liceu/Hamburgische Staatsoper directed by Peter Konwitschny.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Domingo is Lohengrin, November 27, 2002
This review is from: Wagner - Lohengrin / Abbado, Domingo, Lloyd, Studer, Vienna State Opera (DVD)
There are many strong points to this performance of Lohengrin which was beautifully performed by the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and brilliantly conducted by Claudio Abbado. I was previously unfamiliar with Hartmut Welker who was vocally and dramatically outstanding as Telramund. I will seek out his recordings in the future. Cheryl Studer was in fine voice as Elsa and proved herself as a more than capable Wagnerian lyric soprano. Dunja Vejzovic (a favorite of Karajan) was impressively sinister as Ortrud, but her singing, to my ears, was not on par with her acting. Staging was stark and relatively sparse. It was not very exciting visually. Then there is Placido Domingo. Although Domingo is not considered by many to be a Heldentenor, he sang Wagner's most Italiante role breathtakingly beautifully. His performance leads me to suspect that the standard categorization of opera singers into narrow boxes of suitable roles is artificial nonsense. Or perhaps it is simply that Domingo can sing any role with unsurpassed elegance. The title role is seldom the highlight of performances of Lohengrin. Domingo's performance is a most noteworthy exception. Although the totality of the performance is certainly less than ideal, this DVD is highly recommended to admirers of Lohengrin, and especially to admirers of Placido Domingo. Another reviewer wrote that subtitles are not available options on this DVD. That is not true, but I can understand why that reviewer could not access them. The subtitles cannot be accessed through the main menu. It is necessary to press the "subtitles","titles" or "captions" button on the remote control to cue up the subtitles. Visual and sound quality are excellent.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
