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150 of 153 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AT LAST -- A MUST BUY, July 15, 2007
"Tristan Und Isolde" is doubtless one of the greatest operas ever written. Unfortunately it has been very badly served by the currently available productions on DVD.
The Nilsson/Vickers from Orange is ruined (as usual from Kultur) by a very poor technical production and design.
The Heppner/Eaglen from the Met has two principals who cannot act convincingly; although Heppner can really sing the part. Eaglen's voice leaves a great deal to be desired and her physical limitations prevent her from much in the way of physical action. Neither of them look even remotely the way I am sure most of us have pictured Tristan and Isolde to have looked.
The West/Meier from Munich is a travesty. The setting is just plain stupid, given what the text calls for; and West not only fails to sing convincingly, but he cannot act and looks even less like Tristan than Heppner. What is so frustrating is the waste of Waltraud Meier who has the acting and singing ability and the looks; and the waste of Kurt Moll who is a superb King Marke.
The Treleaven/Polaski from Barcelona is also spoiled by a silly production and less than stellar singing from the principals. They are the same cast as was used in the Barcelona Kupfer II "Ring", and I truly hated Treleaven and Struckmann there, as well as here.
I am writing this review now, despite not having seen this production for almost a year (since I found out that it would be rereleased as a DVD), because I want to share my great enthusiasm for it. It is based on my recollection of my much cherished Video. I have waited a long time for this rerelease as a DVD, and I am sure that DGG, unlike Kultur, have done their usual great technical transfer. It is a Bayreuth production from the early 1980's.
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle has designed a simple, but effective non-gimmicky set. The first act takes place on the deck of a stylised sailing ship, the second in the woods under a huge full canopied tree, and the third under a dead, split, blasted tree. The direction is tight and, with one notable exception at the end, is true to the text. I will not give it away other than to remark that up to then it was such a straight interpretation that Ponnelle probably could not resist putting at least some personal twist to it. Mind you, considering what was going on with Mathilda Wesendonck at the time, perhaps this is what Wagner might have subconsciously intended.
Under the conducting of Daniel Barenboim, the music is splendidly interpreted. It is clear, layered, and exciting. This certainly came across on my video, and I am sure that in surround sound it will be even better.
And the acting and singing and appearance of all the characters is an unalloyed joy. René Kollo as Tristan, Matti Salminen as King Marke, Hermann Becht as Kurwenal and Hanna Schwartz as Brangane.
However, this is a tour de force by Johanna Meier. She embodies all that I had pictured Isolde to be. She is beautiful, she sings -- my God, she sings -- and she expressively acts with the grace of a dancer. So far as I know, this is the only recording of her. What a loss.
For fear of getting even more carried away, I had better stop here; other than to state that I wish I could give it more than five stars.
But if you want a "Tristan Und Isolde" that is the gesamptkunstwerk I am sure Wagner had in mind (and possibly even with this ending) this is it!!
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66 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A TRISTAN UND ISOLDE FOR AGES, August 15, 2007
It is so transformative to experience Tristan und Isolde done by a director who understands the mythic dimensions of this piece and who obviously loves the volcanic force this music. There are no directorial banalities here to undermine the music. It is powerful theatre and powerful music.
Johanna Meier is glorious as Isolde. She has power, lyricism, vulnerability, looks, musicality. It is too bad that this great artist's career was undervalued and underappreciated.
Rene Kollo is wonderful and has great chemistry with Meier. The way he listens to King Marke's monologue in Act II is heart breaking. Matti Salminen's Marke is an emotional tour de force and a psychological revelation.
Like the other reviewers here, I endorse this DVD enthusiastically. There is no other version of this opera on DVD that compares to this. AND THAT IS THE TRUTH.
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best, October 3, 2007
FINALLY, I'm getting a chance to review this DVD. Having preordered the item before its official release date, which was two months ago, I just received my Tristan und Isolde yesterday. However, I'm not going to shortchange the production itself on account of Amazon's colossal blunder, because this DVD is definitely worth the wait!
Several other reviewers have already made all the important comments regarding this production, so I just want to add my voice to theirs. I own three DVDs of this opera, and this is the best Tristan und Isolde I have seen, based on the understated, lush compatibility, as well as the dreamlike beauty of the production, and on the consistency of the performances. This one comes closest to what I believe were Wagner's intentions(well, except for the ending) and is definitely worth owning. Probably the highest compliment I can pay it is this: I am eagerly looking forward to watching it again, and how many four hour DVDs can you say that about?
Rene Kollo in his prime was probably the Tristan of choice at that time, and watching and listening to this it's easy to see why. His voice has all the qualities one expects from a Tristan, beautiful, lyrical, also stentorian, plus he is physically convincing as a young warrior and lover. His expressive face captures all the right moods, from passion to guilt to madness and finally peace. Johanna Meier's Isolde is captivating from her very first note onward, she has a beautiful voice, singing Wagner instead of screaming it. I must say, however, that her rendition of the liebestod is probably the subtlest, most softspoken(softsung?) I have ever heard. Not that it isn't beautiful...I still had goosebumps...but she is so ethereal she is occasionally overpowered by the orchestra. It's a fine reading, and a lovely alternative, just not your typical liebestod in the forceful, passionate manner of Flagstad or Nilsson, or for that matter Eaglen or Polaski, who sing the role of Isolde on the other DVDs of this opera which I own. People familiar with my reviews know that I am an avid champion of Matti Salminen, and nothing about his performance here alters that opinon. He makes King Marke even more of a sympathetic character than usual, with his wounded, soulful voice and countenance. Daniel Barenboim's conducting is somewhat schizophrenic, very slow at times, then, seemingly at the drop of a hat, revved up to the extreme. I enjoyed the juxtapositions very much. And by the way, the orchestra sounds great, despite the tendency to occasionally drown out the singers. With orchestration this powerful, it's probably difficult to resist that urge for a full four hours. After all, the singers are allowed their time in the sun, why shouldn't the orchestra?
I'd like to conclude with some comments on Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's staging, which is lovely and eerie and dreamlike. Certain effects stand out. For instance, in act two, when Tristan and Isolde act out their long, stirring love duet under a large glimmering tree, the head of the tree is filled with lights that resemble eyes and even faces. I'm not sure if this was intentional, but I personally appreciated the effect, giving the impression that the lovers, even during their moment of supreme bliss, are under constant surveillance. Someone else mentioned how effective it is actually seeing the shepherd as he plays his wounded lament at the opening of act three, and I'd like to second that. Finally, regarding the ending, I found it very effective, at least as a one-time thing. If I were unfamiliar with the opera before watching this, though, I might have assumed Ponnelle's conceit jibes with Wagner's intentions, which it doesn't. I don't want to give too much away, because actually seeing this ending is a breathtaking surprise, I just want to caution first time viewers that this is not concordant with the composer's libretto. It is, however, a lush, fanciful, sad, ultimately beautiful touch, cinematic in fact, even if it does take away from some of the growth we have witnessed in a couple of the key characters, particularly King Marke.
I didn't intend to go on this long since the other reviewers did such a good job of talking this DVD up; like Wagner, I can't help getting carried away sometimes. Elvis had an album called A Thousand Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong, or something like that. Well, a thousand Tristan und Isolde fans can't be wrong, either. To exercise the very non-Wagnerian practice of being succinct: go for it.
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