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Stravinsky - Oedipus Rex [VHS]

Philip Langridge (Actor), Jessye Norman (Actor), Julie Taymor (Director), Rated:
NR
Format: VHS Tape
4.9 out of 5 stars 36 customer reviews
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$21.20 & FREE Shipping on orders over $49. Details Only 1 left in stock. Sold by Steele's Brokering Company and Fulfilled by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.

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Product Details

  • Actors: Philip Langridge, Jessye Norman, Min Tanaka, Bryn Terfel, Harry Peeters
  • Directors: Julie Taymor, Seiji Ozawa
  • Format: Classical, Color, NTSC, Subtitled
  • Language: Japanese, Latin
  • Rated:
    NR
    Not Rated
  • Number of tapes: 1
  • Studio: Polygram Video
  • VHS Release Date: March 15, 1994
  • Run Time: 57 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: 6302993342
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #626,108 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

VHS TAPE

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsOne of the greatest opera productions
By LYNN BECKER on May 28, 2005
Format: DVD
After the Lion King, is there any more famous or lauded director today than Julie Taymor, a status confirmed again by her magical production of Magic Flute for the Met this season? Add in Euripides, Stravinsky, Jessye Norman, Seiji Ozawa and a young(er) Bryn Terfel - if this isn't this an all-star lineup made in heaven, what is?

What a sad commentary on the current state of marketing opera and classical music that it's taken over a decade to bring this incredible production to DVD (up to now it's been available only on VHS)

And incredible this production is. The marriage of Euripides, with his implicit violence depicted only in the voice of the chorus, and the neo-classical Stravinsky - far from the death-dance of Le Sacre - would appear a perfect marriage of dramatic reserve, yet, as I once heard Pierre Boulez say in an open rehearsal (and this is a gross paraphrase - I was so stunned to hear such a thing from another so famous an ascetic that I was momentarily disoriented) "Stravinsky was well known for saying music - his music particularly - is capable only of expressing itself, and not any sort of underlying emotional content. We all know better, of course."

As always, Taymor takes big chances. Oedipus is a man overlayed with symbol, a puppet head his crown and huge puppet hands at his sides, enough to send you into fits of giggles if the drama weren't so focused and riveting.

The male chorus is like a tribe of mudmen, attired in the rags of starvation, caked in the dust of drought.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starssimply superb!
By LuelCanyon on December 23, 2006
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
Gifted director/designer Julie Taymor apparently secures one amazing success after another, and this arresting production is surely one of her supreme creations! Adapting the conventions of the seventeenth-century opera-oratorio, Stravinsky's 1927 score marks the beginning of his neoclassical period, with absolute command of both orchestral writing and dramatic intensity. It's interesting that Stravinsky's stated reason for choosing Latin for the score's libretto - '(it) had the great advantage of giving me a medium not dead but turned to stone, and so monumentalised as to have become immune from any risk of vulgarisation' - is precisely that offered by the Roman Church as the reason for her codification of Latin as its liturgical language (before the desacralisation of the Roman liturgy by neo-modernist barbarians). In fact, Cocteau's libretto was translated from French to Latin by the Jesuit (later Cardinal) Jean Danielou. The impersonality of the text/poem itself has the adroit effect of freezing dramatic consequence to the point of white heat, intuitively heightening the entire drama, something Stravinsky no doubt foresaw and is, interestingly, the key facet out of which Taymor vividly draws unerring pathos. The design of this production is like nothing else! That being said, the singing is magnificent - Jessye Norman, Philip Landridge and Bryn Terfel all in rare and perfect form, Norman especially, with her leonine face and voice delivers a riveting Jocasta in the performance of a career, something all the more shocking given the princely Impersonal so deliberately embedded by Stravinsky in the score itself.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsPowerful interpretation of a classic
By Mary Williams on January 20, 2000
Format: VHS Tape
If this is the Oedipus Rex conducted by Ozawa, starring Jessye Norman, other opera greats and the most impressive chorus I have ever heard, then you MUST see and hear this production! It's musically powerful, visually stunning and acted with incredible dignity and life. I have never been so impressed with a video production of any opera... and I've seen and enjoyed many. This is a must have for any opera lover.
- To, Amazon.com, please get this back in stock!
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5.0 out of 5 starsstunning performance!
By Isnogud-der-Grosswesir on October 12, 1999
Format: VHS Tape
If this is the live recording from the Japanese Saito Kinen festival 1993, it is the most stunning performance of Oedipus Rex that I know! Norman's stately Jocaste, along with the enourmously powerful Japanese speaker (Kayoko Shiraishi's monologues in Japanese lends much more patos than the original French), as well as the amazing staging production turns this into an amazingly impressive performance!
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5.0 out of 5 starsA fascinating retelling of greek drama
By A Customer on September 14, 1999
Format: VHS Tape
This is an amazing interpretation of Oedipus Rex. Between Igor Stravinski's powerful use of music and voice and Julie Taymor's infamously amazing use of set and recreation of available space, this video goes far beyond amazing. The symbolism in music and spectacle add to the modern trials of an ancient figure. That..and its a whole lot of fun to watch!
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5.0 out of 5 starsAbsolutely brilliant.
By SG on October 30, 2005
Format: DVD
Oedipus Rex is probably my favorite of Stravinsky's works (which is obviously saying a lot), and Julie Taymor's production enriches the opera in every conceivable way. On one hand, it may not be totally true to the distance and austerity Stravinsky originally had in mind, but Taymor strikes a perfect balance with her reserved yet extremely artistic staging. She draws emotion from the work that is obviously present, no matter what Stravinsky may have maintained!

The cast is great, Ozawa and the musicians interpret the music well...I could go on and on. Thank goodness they finally released this on DVD...I'm replacing my bootleg VHS version!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsOedipus Rex -- Stravinsky

This is a dreat short opera -- well written, well acted.

Published 4 months ago by R. Larson
5.0 out of 5 starsRather you like Stravinsky or not

Rather you like Stravinsky or not, the stupendously ingenious staging of this oratorio/opera production is mind boggling. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Ronald D. Foster
5.0 out of 5 starsSuperlative, creative performance of a classic myth

Beautiful Jessye Norman's performance is superlative, as usual. Julie Taymor's uniquely creative vision and direction are inspired by her deep knowledge of anthropology, history... Read more

Published 14 months ago by McDuff
5.0 out of 5 starsABSOLUTE PERFECTION!

Wow. From 1 to 5 this is a 10! And with good reason: when you have the very best in performers, director, conductor and stage designing, this is what you get. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Alfredo R. Villanueva
5.0 out of 5 starsStravinsky Masterpiece

With the glorious voices of Jessie Norman and Bryn Terfel, conducting by Seiji Ozawa, this production deserves the designation of Masterpiece. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Mildred E. Kaye
5.0 out of 5 starsGood price too

Saw it years ago on pbs wanted copy for myself. Good price too.

Published 18 months ago by Marlene Silvia
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

I love classical music

Published 21 months ago by Manok Kim
5.0 out of 5 starsThis breathtaking production breathes life into a score that truly ...

This breathtaking production breathes life into a score that truly needs it. Jesse Norman is utterly superb as Jokasta, though Ms. Taymore's vision and execution carry the day. Read more

Published on July 3, 2014 by Wayne S Turney
5.0 out of 5 starsOK.......

Have seen this only once before so bought it and watched several more times. A strange story to say the least. The production is quite different. Read more

Published on May 17, 2014 by Barbara Chisler
4.0 out of 5 starsBeautiful

The production was directed my Julie Taymor- the reason I selected it. She is amazing and the opera is stunningly theatrical. Definately worth a look!

Published on May 2, 2013 by Kindle Customer

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