Product Details

• Actors: Dennis Jesse
• Directors: Carlisle Floyd, John Keene, Dugg McDonough
• Format: Classical, Closed-captioned, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Newport Classic
• DVD Release Date: May 20, 2008
• Run Time: 135 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0018BDDFO
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #104,395 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Power, passion, and politics collide in Carlisle Floyd's dynamic setting of All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren's classic story of ambition, betrayal, and violent tragedy. In Floyd's immediately engaging and beautifully paced opera, the great demagogue of America's political fiction, Willie Stark, springs to life as an unforgettable stage character. Willie's meteoric and soul-searching rise from grassroots politician to powerful and ruthless state governor is captured in words and music that are rousing, moving, and haunting. With personalities and events that could be ripped from today's headlines, LSU Opera's new Willie Stark brings fresh excitement to a quintessentially American masterpiece.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Article from the Baton Rouge Advocate By MICHAEL FARRAR, May 19, 2008

By	Lawrence J. Kraman "Newport Classic" (Newport, RI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

By MICHAEL FARRAR
Special to 2theadvocate.com
Published: May 15, 2008


"Willie Stark" is an Earth-scorching opera that grabs your ears and eyes as it connects to Huey Long's mysterious and lasting legacy in a high-definition DVD format.

Gov. Long's life was indeed packed with political and personal drama that included battling giant companies in court cases, career-making power grabs, alleged kickbacks, blistering speeches and outright threats of almost anyone who dared to tangle with the Kingfish.

Such a tale of power brokering has obvious operatic themes that also translates to hard-hitting drama as seen on cop shows, said director Larry Kraman, who borrowed some TV production techniques to put the opera on DVD.

"I wanted to bring a little bit of `Law & Order' immediacy and handheld camera work to this piece to make it more interesting for people who watch these things on TV and in the theaters," Kraman said. "It makes you feel like you are in the action."

When LSU Opera first put "Willie Stark" on their schedule, they were only considering making an audio recording for CD.

"Then we had conversations and meetings with Larry Kraman of Newport Classics who urged us to go in the direction of DVD instead of CD," McDonough, artistic director of LSU Opera, explained.

While McDonough worked out the live production (performers, costumes, sets, lighting, etc.), Kraman ran a high definition camera crew for the DVD project.

Kraman was very impressed with the LSU Opera's stage presentation.

"When I went down to LSU and actually started to see the production, I was blown away by the quality of the work, by the expertness of the direction of Dugg McDonough, which was just, I think, extraordinary. He directed it like it was a movie, so filming it became really easy."

However, long before, the LSU Opera mounted "Willie Stark," there were several entertaining tales of Gov. Long, a man who made it big with some questionable methods.

Long's razor-sharp charisma made him a hero to working folks as he attacked political rivals and big business. This fascinating mix inspired former LSU professor Robert Penn Warren to write the fictional book, "All the King's Men," which quickly became a best seller and won the Pulitzer Prize.

Long's spirited legend as interpreted by the book was brought to the movie screens twice. The first film version of the novel won an Academy Award for picture of the year in 1949. Then, in 2006, cameras rolled again as movie stars Sean Penn and Jude Law arrived in Baton Rouge for a second film version of "All the King's Men."

With that said, not every adaptation of the novel was well-received. Composer Carlisle Floyd, ruffled quite a few operatic feathers when "Willie Stark" first opened at the Houston Grand Opera in 1981.

Hal Prince, a Broadway theater legend, was tapped to direct this world premier opera. Hard core opera lovers openly criticized the show's musical and staging elements. which seemed to be borrowed from Broadway.

However, since that 1981 controversy, Broadway and film directors have succeeded in directing operas. This trend includes Julie Taymor, who directed the Metropolitan Opera's "The Magic Flute" and "Grendel" for Los Angeles Opera. Taymor had directed Broadway shows including "The Lion King", as well as directing the films "Frida" and "Across the Universe."

McDonough knew the direct link "Willie Stark" has to Huey Long's legend would make it a hot ticket that would reach a new audience.

"I personally think it's a terrific opera for people to see who are not regular opera-goers, because it has such a strong dramatic story," McDonough said.

The 2008 DVD of "Willie Stark" was produced in high definition video so the visual resolution and sound quality is in the higher 21st century digital realm. The DVD will be released on May 20, however, Louisiana Public Television is scheduled to broadcast it on June 4 at 8 p.m.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great American Opera Returns to Life, July 31, 2008

By	G P Padillo "paolo" (Portland, ME United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I just finished watching this rather remarkable DVD and while everything isn't quite perfect (what is?), it definitely is one of those performances where one can say the total adds up to far more than the sum of its parts. Let's get the negatives out of the way. The HD picture is sometimes overly bright, washing out some facial features, though in close ups the lighting tends to be softer. (I wouldn't mention this but it detracted - at least for a while, from my enjoyment).

Much praise goes to the LSU Opera Orchestra, and indeed, they can produce some wonderful effects with this remarkable score. But there are moments they sound at sea, and with a sour sound that can mar some moments, these usually seem to occur in the louder moments. It IS a student orchestra and a talented one, but I can't gloss over a few of the sour sounds which ocassionally come from the pit. Still, this doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment. They are, in fact, to be commended - this score sounds, at times, as difficult as Wozzeck.

Another problem is that some of the roles are for voices one would expect to have more maturity, roles that, in fact, cry out for that maturity and experience - but overall once I settled in I felt even these performances to be heartfelt and performed with great emotion and they worked.

Now for the good parts, starting with the best.

First and foremost is the performance of Dennis Jesse in the title role. This is an amazing performance, one to cherish. Jesse captures perfectly the difficult duplicity of Willie - your at once repelled, yet charmed by him. I found myself loving this character, every side of him from the corrupt egotist to the common man of the people, inspiring hope in the hopeless and downtrodden. The possessor of a voice of truly great beauty,diction is never sacrificed in his delivery - every syllable clear and passionately uttered. It is a remarkable - tour de force performance.

His greatest moment in an evening filled with them is his visit to his home town and the first time we hear that marvelous "Come back, Willie" theme that will appear several more times, most incredibly when the chorus picks up the theme at the opera's end. I had tears in my eyes at the beauty of tone, the impassioned and introspective manner in which he made this come alive. This is a performance that absolutely crackles with life and electricity. Amazing.

The second standout performance comes from young tenor, Adam Holcomb, as
Willie's aide and rival in love, Jack Burden. Burden shows a huge amount of promise and terrific top notes. He captures nearly perfectly all of Jack's passion and heartbreak. His final scene with his father Judge Burden, is almost painful to watch. Also up to the challenge as his father, the Judge is Noel Bouley - outstanding and his final scene is gripping operatic theatre at its finest.

As Anne, Katheryn Drake displays a lovely soprano with gleaming high notes, but at times the role threatens to get away from her. I can only imagine that she will grow into this - and more mainstream roles with ease.

The chorus work here is at that same level as Jesse's performance. It is a beautiful sound they produce and their youthful faces capture all of the emotion of Willie's friends and constituents.

The production makes effective use of a unit set - a set of distressed stone steps arranged in a semicircle at the rear of the stage - evoking the steps of an ancient Greek ampitheatre. They are split unevenly with large gaps between. Three square stone-like arches are arranged on these steps, adding to the ancient feel, but each with a modern wooden door. This creates a rather intimate playing area where most of the opera is played out, with various props and set dressings (e.g., desks and chairs, picket fence, old fashioned radio console, etc.) to suggest the location of each scene. Dugg McDonough's direction is about as good as one could want here, and his cast responds beautifully.

So, while I had some reservations, they were easily overcome by the overall performance which is just wonderful. Truly wonderful.

My hat goes off to all involved in this project - and a hearty congratulations as well as gratitude, for bringing this wonderful American opera back to the public.