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Gluck - Orphée et Eurydice / Robert Wilson · John Eliot Gardiner - Kozená · Bender · Petibon - Théâtre du Chatelet

Magdalena Kozená (Actor), Madeline Bender (Actor), Brian Large (Director) Rated:
NR
Format: DVD
3.1 out of 5 stars 13 customer reviews
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(May 22, 2001)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

THE GREEK LEGEND OF ORPHEUS HA CAPTURED THE IMAGINATIONS OF MANY CREATIVE ARTISTS OVER THE CENTURIES. IN THIS RECORDING, THE ORIGINAL ITALIAN OPERA IS TRANSFORMED INTO A REFINED FRENCH VERSION.

Amazon.com

Gluck's 1762 opera Orphée et Eurydice was groundbreaking in its day and, as this 1999 performance from the Théâtre Musical de Paris shows, it still lends itself to radical treatment. The composer's rejection of traditional, flamboyant, operatic bells and whistles led to a fresh form in which the lyrics hold court. The music provides the setting and emotional color in a way that is almost physical in its intensity. Gluck's readiness to incorporate the influences of other art forms--poetry, ballet, and drama--has always made this story of love rescued from the jaws of tragedy universally appealing.

This production, directed by Robert Wilson and conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, is mesmerizing. The all but ill-fated couple (Magdalena Kozena and Madeline Bender) move as if in a trance, their actions suggesting marionettes controlled by greater forces. Their faces are largely expressionless, leaving their voices to explore the force of the huge range of human emotions they must cover during the opera's 100 minutes. Only Cupid runs free. The performances are beautifully sung in French, Kozena bringing immense dignity to Orphée's lament, "J'ai perdu mon Eurydice." A powerful interpretation of an important work, fit for the 21st century. --Piers Ford, Amazon.co.uk

Special Features

None.

Product Details

  • Actors: Magdalena Kozená, Madeline Bender, Patricia Petibon, Monteverdi Choir, John Eliot Gardiner
  • Directors: Brian Large
  • Writers: Pierre-Louis Moline, Raniero de Calzabigi
  • Producers: Colin Wilson, Jane Seymour
  • Format: Anamorphic, Classical, Color, Dolby, NTSC
  • Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated:
    NR
    Not Rated
  • Studio: Image Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: May 22, 2001
  • Run Time: 99 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005B34Y
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,315 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

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  • Learn more about "Gluck - Orphée et Eurydice / Robert Wilson · John Eliot Gardiner - Kozená · Bender · Petibon - Théâtre du Chatelet" on IMDb

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsBlue Orfeo
By Noam Eitan on August 7, 2001
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
Gluck wrote an Italian version of "Orfeo" in 1762 for Vienna. In 1774 he re-wrote a French version for Paris, with ballets and an extended role for Orphée. Gardiner chose a French version Berlioz wrote in 1859 for the great mezzo Pauline Viardot. This "Orphée et Eurydice" opened in the renovated Châtelet together with "Alceste", also availavable on DVD. Both were recorded in October 1999 and share similar aesthetics.
"Alceste" too has an early Italian and a later Berlioz version. For "Alceste" Gardiner constructed a French hybrid that incorporates elements of the two. For example, the famous aria "divinités du Styx" has a French translation of the Italian version: "ombres, larves." Why? Ask Gardiner. He also transposed the "Alceste" score downward. On both DVD's, his approach is fresh, idiomatic and unforced. His fast tempi balance the dreamy pace of action on the stage. He loves sprightly rhythms and now and then an abrupt chord.
The still very young Czech mezzo Magdalena Kožená (Orphée) has a pleasant voice of exceptional sheen and beauty, a good command of the coloratura with delicious lightness, agility and clear diction. However, she lacks the necessary depth. The demands of the role surpass her experience, evidenced by a deficiency in the lower registers that sometimes breaks her musical line. These problems in the passaggio are particularly evident in the challenging "Amour vient rendre à mon âme" with its tessitura spread over three registers (27:00, in the trills), added by Berlioz especially for Viardot. American soprano, Madeline Bender (Eurydice), dressed in a virginal white gown, has a smooth, crystal tone. French soprano, Patricia Petibon is a delightful Amour. All three are quite ravishing.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsROBERT WILSON'S "ORPHEUS..."
By MOVIE MAVEN on September 14, 2002
Format: DVD
Gluck's ORPHEUS & EURIDICE is one of my favorite operas. Strangely enough I have seen several different productions. I say, "strangely" since it is rarely produced in New York, but I have seen it in a gorgeous, traditional production at the Metropolitan Opera House starring the incomparable Marilyn Horne and in a concert version at Tanglewood with the same star. I have also seen a post-modern production at the New York City Opera which made little sense to me and in two interesting productions outside of New York City.
Robert Wilson is a director I admire greatly and this production is gorgeous: the costumes, the choreography, the stark settings and especially the lighting are all of a piece as if done by one person. The formal structure of the opera is stressed with Wilson's use of simple, symbolic gestures, mask-like make-up, few props and a bold use of color. The story is the mythic one of Orpheus who, in mourning for his wife, Euridice, decides to venture to Hades in order to return her to Earth. After various struggles, he does so with the great aid of the goddess, Amore.
There are only three principal roles in the opera, all sung by women and this cast is very good, if not up to the likes of Horne or in another fine recording, Anne Sofie von Otter, or in yet a third, Rise Stevens. In fact, there are times, especially in Act 1, when the mezzo, Magdalena Kozena, as 'Orpheus' frequently sings off pitch. Patricia Petibon does better as the goddess and Madeline Bender is fine as 'Euridice.'
Sir John Eliot Gardiner, his orchestra the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, and the Monteverdi Choir are all superb.
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3.0 out of 5 starsToo much of a blue thing....
By Armida on January 9, 2009
Format: DVD
This production is what you get when a stage director plagiarises his own ideas. What worked beautifully and made dramatic sense in Alceste is a pitiful failure in Orphee. In Alceste, the protagonists are caught up in a divine scheme that was not of their making; Orphee, on the other hand, does not blindly accept irrational fate, but goes out to change it. The allure of Orpheus has always been that he used his voice to charm the gods. So, in my mind, entirely different dramatic situations. But this Orphee is far from charming... scary is more like it...

In this production, Robert Wilson seems to be channeling Edward D. Wood jr. Orpheus looks like Frankenstein's bride; all characters move with the grace of Vampira. Only Patricia Petibon is her usual quirky and brilliant self as Amour.

Kozena sings well, although I preferred Vesselina Kasarova. On the other hand, Petibon is the far better Amour. Bender makes for a pretty Eurydice, despite the jerky movements and a vacant stare. John Eliot Gardiner is familiar enough with Orfeo/Orphee; he coaxes orchestral colours out of his ensemble, that I have not heard previously. That should have merited 5 stars; but then he cut the ballets that conclude the opera.

So, 2 stars for the unimaginative production, 3 stars for Gardiner and 5 stars for Patricia Petibon.

Perhaps it was a mistake to watch Orphee immediately after Alceste; it brings out the inferiority of this staging.
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4.0 out of 5 starsLess is more
By John Gray Hunter Jr. on November 13, 2003
Format: DVD Verified Purchase
This minimal version of Gluck's opera is not bad....not bad at all. [Gluck himself was trying to strip down the complexities of the usual opera affair in his own time so Wilson has some authority here]
The music is beautiful to my ears but I am no musician. Fortunately opera isn't just music. it's theatre. I come from the design side of theatre and so I shall comment on the look of this production.
Wilson is very clever with his "less is more" approach. As a friend of mine noted, this stripped down production makes you listen to the music. Yet there is great beauty in Wilson's stage picture. And one of the best stage devices I've ever seen.
Throughout the work's 1st act there is this shape, 1st seen as a rock upon which Orpheus stands in a pose of outstretched arms as he mourns the loss of his beloved. This image is repeated and often shown in silhouette with strong backlighting. When Orpheus descends into Hades he takes his familiar position on the rock, backlit. He and the distinctive shape of the rock are a positive black image on the white scrim. Then a black drop comes down with the rock shape in reverse cut out of it. Orpheus moves into this now negative white shape on black, now the entrance to Hades, and strikes his familiar pose. WOW! It is so simple and so effective you must see it!
Also the shocking flying in of a perspective Baroque set with 18th century [well, almost] costumed singers for the final chorus....and that cryptic floating cube Wilson likes so much....is a wonderful device.
If only Orpheus had some masculine features on his costume, it being in this instance a pants role. Just making it knee length would have worked. And the Elysian Fields were lit as cold and blue as the rest of Hades. Could we have some golden light at least?
Still, an interesting production that mostly works and is worthwhile.
Wilson's "Alceste" is in the same vein but even more refined and perfected.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 starsWaste of Good Music

What a waste of beautiful music by Gluck. What's all that stilted and hand gestures all about? If I wanted to see a Chinese Peking Opera, I would have gone to one. Read more

Published on April 22, 2008 by G. Lim
3.0 out of 5 starsKeep looking

It loses 1 star simply because there are no notes enclosed or extra inverviews with the conductor and cast on the disk that might explain why they did what they did. Read more

Published on March 26, 2006 by c
4.0 out of 5 starsYou'll be stunned or you'll hate it, no middle terms

This production of Gluck's Paris version of this milestone in the genre's history (1774, but in Berlioz's edition of almost a century later), taped live at the Chatelet Theatre in... Read more

Published on January 9, 2005 by Marcelino Plaza
2.0 out of 5 starsMusically fine, but disappointing visually

Allegedly directed for television, this production is disappointing because of its terrible lighting and production values. Read more

Published on March 31, 2004 by T. Ferry
3.0 out of 5 stars5 estrellas a la música, 1 estrella a la escena.

Nos encontramos ante una gran version musicalmente hablando de la ópera de Gluck. SIR JONH ELIOT GARDINER conoce a la perfeccion este repertorio y es difícil que... Read more

Published on September 7, 2003 by Annio
2.0 out of 5 starsNosferatu

I mostly agree with the other reviewers. I'm not as well grounded as some in opera, or Gluck in particular (I've never seen any production of this), but I do have a few... Read more

Published on October 9, 2001
5.0 out of 5 starsBRILLIANT, BOLD AND BRAVE! [also Bravo!]

My Fellow Americans! Get over it folks! Thank God for Artists like Robert Wilson, providing this special production of Gluck's rarely seen work, and this work deserves to be seen... Read more

Published on September 10, 2001
1.0 out of 5 starsWho was Gluck?

Christoph Willibald Gluck apparently wanted to simplify operatic music so that the florid lines of a Handel or other Italian Opera composers were rejected in favor of simple vocal... Read more

Published on August 20, 2001
3.0 out of 5 starsToo, Too French

Will you agree that playing Orpheus with a woman is pretty daring? Now imagine the hero as not simply female, but defiantly feminine. Read more

Published on August 3, 2001 by David Dunlap

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