Customer Reviews

Wagner - Lohengrin / Abbado, Domingo, Lloyd, Studer, Vienna State Opera

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!!

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.

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.

This is a live performance recorded in Vienna. It is nothing short of a special event, as musically many of the singers are at high level.

But first, a minor caveat. This DVD does not feature subtitles, so you'll need to get your hands on a libretto to follow along (something rather easy for Wagner opera lovers).

Now back to the review. I thoroughly enjoyed Placido Domingo as Lohengrin: His voice is superb, and as another reviewer noted, he can also act. Cheryl Studer is a fine Elsa, and sings with great warmth. Hartmut Welker is a surprising Frederick: He sings with power and a sense of nobility. Of all the characters, the weakest singing is provided by Robert Lloyd as the king. Nonetheless, for a live performance, this is actually an appealing DVD.

The Vienna State Opera does a fine job. However, I am not necessarily an avid admirer of Claudio Abbado's conducting. Still, the music is so beautiful and the performance so captivating that this DVD deserves the highest rating.

Absolutely superb is the simplest manner that I can judge this performance on DVD of Lohengrin. I cannot even begin to understand what the reviewer means when he chastises Domingo as Lohengrin for I found his performance as usual right up to snuff and even exceeding that. Then again, I do not speak nor understand the German language and I might imagine that if one was too critical of that point it could be disturbing. I have been listening to a different CD recording of Lohengrin with Domingo and have grown over the years to dearly love the opera without really knowing the exact emotion that is being sung at any particular moment. Now with this Vienna State Opera rendition and subtitles I have been able to join all the dots and what an amazing amount of difference that makes in the enjoyment and understanding of the opera.
I have not been so totally engrossed in watching an opera since the Met put on Turandot about ten years ago on television. Everyone turned in an outstanding performance and the close up aspect of the camera and the fact that I control the volume, makes me wonder why anyone would go to a live performance. My one and only negative criticism would be the short seconds of the people in the first row when the orchestra was on camera. But I suppose it is impossible to record a live performance without something unwanted seeping in.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I thoroughly enjoyed this performance. Abbado was wonderful in his conducting. The cast was solid and the singing quite good, even Placido Domingo who is not one of my favoite tenors. Judging from the applause at this live performance, the audience loved what they saw. Given the reasonable price, I wouldn't hesitate to add this to an opera collection.

Never mind Placido Domingo and Cheryl Studer (who are both wonderful)listen to DUNJA VEJZOVIC. The main character in this opera (in my view) is Ortrud and Ms. Vejzovic is more than perfect; she is Ortrud. I saw Eva Marton (who is my favourite soprano) in the same role in Budapest last week but Ms. Vejzovic is second to none. Buy this DVD now and watch it over and over again as I do.

It is difficult to be a hero in Wagner's operas, to both sound and look the part. Domingo does that. It seesms to me his distinctly non-German voice sets him apart from the rest of the cast and adds to the White Knight ness of his character. Welker is a first rate "bad guy"; he seems to have a soul, and be much more than the usual two dimentional characters you encounter in this type of role. The sets are odinary and depressing. Thank God for the singers!

This was the first Wagner opera I ever saw on video, and it bowled me over. I thought it was great, simply great, and I've watched it again many times since then. I've seen most other Lohengrin productions also available on DVD, but this remains my clear favorite.

The sets are perhaps a bit sparse, but otherwise this is a traditional production, something that is otherwise very hard to come by these days. You can certainly hear that Domingo isn't a native German speaker, but I can't say it really bothered me. And I think he both sings and acts wonderfully. That goes for Cheryl Studer too, my all-time favorite Wagner soprano (yes, I realize that is probably a rather idiosyncratic judgment, but I really adore her lyricism). It is rare to see an opera singer act with such passion, virtually becoming one with the role.

As I write this, I suddenly realize that I don't even know who directed this production. And that, in my humble opinion, is in fact as it should be. This is *Wagner's* Lohengrin -- not the Lohengrin of some Eurotrash director with a grotesquely inflated ego, who feels compelled to distort the work so that it reflects his 'interpretation' of it.

Plácido Domingo is the protagonist. The star of the opera world has no voice to take on this role, his vocals are tolerable, but the compensation is the usual one. He is a great artist, lends majesty, poise and class to the knight Lohengrin. The production of the Vienna Opera House also has good cast, orchestra and direction. The governing Abbado is safe, but nothing memorable, do not expect any final version of this work getting this video.

Plácido Domingo é o protagonista. A estrela da ópera mundial não tem voz para encarar esse papel, seus agudos são sofríveis, mas a compensação é a de sempre. Ele é um grande artista, empresta majestade, porte e classe ao cavaleiro Lohengrin. A produção da Viena Opera House conta ainda com bom elenco , orquestra e direção. A regência de Abbado é segura, mas nada inesquecível, não espere nenhuma versão definitiva dessa obra adquirindo esse vídeo