Classical Music & Video

Customer Reviews:
The Met was altered to a sty housing two hogs in this horrid Trisolde
This is pretty much a failure. It seems most agree that the staging is awful, along with the acting. But, to my ears, even the sound(meaning performance) is hardly satifactory. Even if the performance was better, the staging is sound bad that it dilutes any chance of this being a success. I mean, this is an opera so the visual is just as important as the aural.

Eaglen and Hepner have the romantic chemistry of George Bush and Sadam Husein. Not at any point did I feel the characters felt for one another. And regarding their size, which is impossible to ignore, actually interferes with their performance(Eaglen especially-she is huge-if not bigger) which makes it difficult for her to grace the stage. In fact, the best moment of this entire performance is the love duet-when both characters are immersed in the background-reducing both characters to mere silhouettes-a brilliant stroke when the characters are about as sensual as lawn mowers.

In terms of performance, Rene Pape is extraordinary-proving once again has the most beautiful voice of any bass in the world. His Mark is unforgettable and could be the greatest on disc. Unfortunately, he is the singular upside. Now that the Barenboim dvd is available-go with that(though it has many quirks as well) but at least it doenst reduce the third act to a hog surrounded by (literally) a toy horse, a toy tower, and toy soldiers(about one foot by one foot in dimension–???–too literal take on minimalism(jk) which is so absurd as to completely distract from the performance while you attempt to figure out how someone could be getting paid for so absurd an idea.

Rene Pape earns two stars. . Levine and the met-orch provide a beautiful backdrop(as always) earning the final star,though they are not enough to stage this sty. Dont waste your time.

GORGEOUS VOICES TRANSCEND LEVINE’S HURRIED, UNINSPIRED CONDUCTING
In my opinion, James Levine has little feeling for Wagner. His bubbly, brisk, bright, ebullient style works better for colorful Italian opera than for the ponderous languor of a Wagner tragedy. This Tristan und Isolde fails to elicit the proper degree of pain and suffering, mostly because Levine breezes right through the score, which ends up sounding not only rushed but a little too pat, as though Levine were merely marking the score in rehearsal rather than settling down for an actual, live performance. Above all, the feeling of urgency and desperation to Tristan and Isolde’s love is missing. The orchestra itself plays impeccably, but again it all sounds a little too “by-the-numbers.”

Having said that, I don’t object to this production as much as I do, say, to Levine’s Das Rheingold, which fell on my ears with a resounding thud. Here, Levine is at his best when expressing the lighter side of love. This music drama is full of both light and darkness. It is the score’s shadow side, the lovers’ death wish, that eludes Levine. Wagner’s sinuous score becomes almost brittle in this conductor’s hands.

The production works mainly because of the singing of the two leads. While I would have liked to have heard a little more turmoil and passion roiling up in Eaglan during the first act, she has a delectable voice with a dulcet top that I could listen to forever. Her liebestod is perfect. Heppner, meanwhile, is a smooth and sweet-toned tenor, with just the right hint of vulnerability in his voice. He’s not an ideal heldentenor, yet he sings the role beautifully. The reviewers who claim that there is no chemistry between Heppner and Eaglan in the title roles are just plain wrong. The chemistry is in their voices, which melt into one another divinely. Their voices were made for each other. To criticize Heppner and Eaglen for their size or because they don’t look the part is unfair.

Rene Pape is a strong-voiced Marke and Katarina Dalayman is a solid Brangane. The rest of the cast is uniformly stalwart.

The lighting, with its subtle and sometimes not so subtle variations both in intensity and color, is superb in evoking moods. I also liked the way the shadows dramatize how the lovers become one in death. Despite the darkness (and the fact that the audience can’t really see her), at one point, if you look carefully, you can faintly make out a beautiful smile on Eaglan’s face as she listens to Heppner sing. The sets are elegant and minimalistic, with a geometric theme (four main, radiating lines form triangles by converging upstage center), though they work least well in Act Three; by then the eye craves a change.

The production looks and sounds great on DVD, although be forewarned: the audience doesn’t stop coughing, sneezing, and clearing its throat even for a second. What a racket!

All in all, this is a solid, enjoyable Met production. However, on DVD, for all its defects in how it was shot and edited for video, compared to this one I still prefer the 2005 production recorded at the Grand Theatre de Geneve, mainly because of Armin Jordan’s passionate conducting. He just has more empathy for this opera than Levine does.

Very Good Production of a Brilliant Opera
I felt impelled to offer a review after reading so many that were critical of the principals in the cast. In truth, the cast is simply wonderful, and couldn’t be more so. Eaglen, in particular, is a stunning Isolde, granting some of the most luscious vocals to the role I have ever heard. The rest of the cast is equally good, and the orchestra is positively spot on, with Levine as flawless at the helm as ever. Heppner and Eaglen may not look the part of the young lovers envisaged by the story, but given the quality of performances they evoke, it is difficult to ask for more. That said, the production is far from perfect; the set and the staging, in particular, often leave something to be desired, and there is something about this version that keeps it from being as breathtaking as Tristan has the potential to be. The Met’s version of Parsifal, also on DVD, seems much more to do justice to the greatness of Wagner. However, Tristan and Isolde is a diffcult opera, and after having seen a number of version on DVD, I firmly believe that this is the best. If you are looking for a very good production of one of music’s greatest operas, give this one a chance; musically, at least, you cannot do better.

Tracklisting:
1. Strauss: Thus Spake Zarathustra -
2. (Bonus Track) Churchill / Morey: Heigh-Ho! -
3. (Bonus Track) Fucik: Florentine March -
4. (Bonus Track) Morris / Arnie Lortzing Koschat: Waltz Medley - Selections from Valeta; Tulips From Amsterdam; Clog Dance; Snow Waltz -
5. Stolz: Salomé -
6. Khachaturian: Sabre Dance -
7. Mozart: Air of the Magician from Bastien and Bastienne -
8. Mozart / Schikaneder: O Isis and Osiris from The Magic Flute -
9. Gershwin / Gershwin / Heyward: I Got Plenty o Nuttin from Porgy and Bess -
10. Saint-Preux: Concerto pour une voix -
11. Grieg: Solveig s Song from Peer Gynt Suite -
12. (Bonus Track) Lincke: Lasst den Kopf nicht hängen from Frau Luna -
13. Leigh / Darion: The Impossible Dream from Man of La Mancha -
14. Rodgers: Cinderella Waltz from Cinderella -
15. Steiner: Tara s Theme from Gone with the Wind -
16. Shostakovich: Second Waltz -
17. Tchaikovsky: Moderato from Swan Lake -
18. (Bonus Track) Hermans: Carnaval Festival -
19. Humperdinck / Wette: Little Brother Dance With Me from Hansel and Gretel -
20. Humperdinck / Wette: Where Each Child Lays Down His Head from Hansel and Gretel -
21. Churchill / Morey: Some Day My Prince Will Come from Snow White -
22. Tchaikovsky: Fanfare from Swan Lake -
23. Mussorgsky: The Old Castle from Pictures at an Exhibition -
24. (Bonus Track) Lehar / Herzer: The Only Thing I Care About from The Land of Smiles -
25. Arlen / Harburg: Somewhere Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz -
26. Gold / Boone: This Land Is Mine from Exodus -
27. Weiss / Douglas / Thiele: What a Wonderful World -

Customer Reviews:
Get it just for the Pagliacci - you won’t be disappointed!
There are some people who won’t even give Cav a chance (the second opera on the dvd), but I watched it. Now I don’t blame anyone for not watching it. Now I only watch the second part of the dvd with I Pagliacci, because it is PHENOMENAL. I wish the staging would have been a little better (more believable when they are at their camp) but that blanches in comparison to the acting. Domingo is a little past his prime here, but his voice does not suffer. He plays this character with a brutal realism that makes you fear him but pity him at the same time. Of course, the famous aria “Laugh, Clown” is absolutely heart-wrenching and beautifully sung. I found myself just going back to listen/watch the aria for the emotions on Domingo’s face. It’s always nice to find great opera singers also be amazing actors and actresses, and Domingo does not disappoint. Get this for the amazing Pagliacci (it’s not even that long, so thoroughly enjoyable for opera fanatics and those who are just getting into it) and have a dvd that you will enjoy in your library for years and years.

Leoncavallo - I Pagliacci / Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana / Domingo, Stratas, Pons, Bruson, Obraztsova, Pretre
If you have never seen or heard an opera before and you love a love triangle and tragedy then this is the perfect opera for you. It is absolutely, positively my favorite one of all time. Every time I hear and see this opera (dvd) I’m moved to tears. You will not be disappointed.

Pagliacci is phenomenal!
I have to admit I still haven’t watched Cav, but it doesn’t matter because Pagliacci alone sells this dvd!In fact, I’d buy it just to hear and see Placido Domingo’s powerful Vesti la Giubba! He truly shows us here that he’s not only a great singer but a great actor as well. You feel such pity for him during the aforementioned scene-and he takes you flawlessly to Canio’s madness in the final heart-pounding act! Juan Pons is also fantastic as Tonio-especially in the prologue. Teresa Stratas is a wonderful, sympathetic Nedda and Franco Zeffirelli’s direction is flawless - love his use of shadow and light in this production. It’s difficult to believe this was filmed in less than two days! Fantastic, wonderful!AAA+++

Tracklisting:
1. Overture -
2. Comedy Tonight -
3. Love, I Hear -
4. Free -
5. Lovely -
6. Pretty Little Picture -
7. Everybody Ought To Have A Maid -
8. I’m Calm -
9. Impossible -
10. Bring Me My Bride -
11. That Dirty Old Man -
12. That’ll Show Him -
13. Lovely (Reprise) -
14. Funeral Sequence -
15. Finale -

Customer Reviews:
fine show tunes from a classic Stephen Sondheim comedy
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum was Stephen Sondheim’s first project for which he wrote both words and music–and it was a tremendous success. The tracks on this CD give us the musical numbers from the stage play performed by the original Broadway cast. Some numbers will amuse you more than others because you may not know the context in which they were performed; but many of these fine songs will entertain you anyway.

The track set begins with the “Overture.” The arrangement makes great use of the horns, percussion and strings to create just the right atmosphere for the beginning of the play. Of course, the overture also ties together the themes from the major musical numbers from the play. Excellent! “Comedy Tonight,” sung mostly by starring actor Zero Mostel who plays a slave scheming to earn his freedom, gains its humorous qualities in part because Zero Mostel just couldn’t sing. Zero as the slave Pseudolus weaves his magic by performing the lyrics at a rapid tempo enhanced by the great arrangement. “Comedy Tonight” sports a great intro by the brass; and the backup chorus bolsters Zero’s performance, too.

“Love, I Hear,” performed by Brian Davies as Hero, lets Hero sing of how much he wants to find his one true love. Brian delivers “Love, I Hear” with great sensitivity. The strings and horns bolster the beauty of “Love, I Hear,” too. “Free” is performed by Pseudolus and Hero as Hero promises Pseudolus his freedom from slavery if he can get Hero the young woman he loves, Philia.

“Everybody Ought To Have A Maid” truly does sport that vaudeville flavor as David Burns, Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford and John Carradine deliver this without missing a beat! The men sing of how they want to have a “maid” who would secretly be their lover. “Everybody Ought To Have A Maid” will make you laugh even if you know nothing about the plot–great! Listen for some great percussion, strings and flute on “Everybody Ought To Have A Maid.” “I’m Calm” does indeed capture the panic attacks of Hysterium who is played by Jack Gilford. Jack’s performance, which is not exactly the way Sinatra would croon it, becomes all the funnier because Jack can’t sing, either!

“That’ll Show Him” gives us another good number delivered by Preshy Marker as the beautiful but not too bright blonde Philia, loved by Hero but wanted by the remarkably brutal, macho warrior Miles Gloriosus (Ronald Holgate). “That’ll Show Him” uses the percussion and drums very well. “The Funeral Sequence,” although a great number, would be funnier still if you knew that this was a fake death of Philia so that she could be free from Miles Gloriosus and marry Hero.

The “Finale” sports another relentlessly upbeat melody as everything actually works out for the best; and the musical arrangement makes good use of the strings and brass. Great!

The liner notes offer great black and white photos from the actual stage play and Mark Kirkeby writes an extensive essay that really helps people understand the stage play so they can enjoy this CD even more! The artwork impresses me.

Overall, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum was an excellent stage play and these show tunes amply prove it. I highly recommend this CD for fans of Stephen Sondheim; and people who like show tunes will cherish this one for years to come.

Enjoy!

Superb production of Sondheim masterpiece
A really excellent production, perhaps not as good as the National Theatre production with Desmond Barritt. What a pity that neither of these are available as DVDs. All we enthusiasts have (or don’t have) is the dreadful film which was a travesty.

At least this CD gives the chance to enjoy again the wit and craft of Sondheim at his best.

still hilarious
After providing the libretto for the musicals “West Side Story” and “Gypsy”, Stephen Sondheim decided to write both music and lyrics for his next project, which turned out to be A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, a raucous, musical comedy (with the emphasis on comedy) set in Ancient Rome, and featuring a book by Larry Gelbart and Burt Shevelove.

The original production opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on May 8, 1962, and went on to run for 964 performances. The lead role of Pseudolus was originally earmarked for Milton Berle and Phil Silvers - for various reasons both were unavailable - and the part wound up going to Zero Mostel, who created one of his most well-remembered roles.

Brian Davies (fresh from playing Rolf in Broadway’s “The Sound of Music”) is a very well-sung Hero, nicely-partnered by Preshy Marker in the role of Philia. Their duet “Lovely” is adorable, and Marker’s 11 o’clocker “That’ll Show Him” is good value.

The colourful supporting cast included some big names on the Broadway musical comedy scene (Ruth Kobart, David Burns, Jack Gilford). John Carradine and Ronald Holgate (as the preening he-man Miles Gloriosus) add some fun to the numbers, too. Songs like “Comedy Tonight!”, “Dirty Old Man”, and “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid”, are the kind of fall-down funny numbers that one seldom hears in musicals these days.

While …FORUM established Stephen Sondheim as Broadway’s “golden boy of the moment”, his next big show, “Anyone Can Whistle”, folded after only nine performances. In 1965, he decided to go back to doing the libretto for Richard Rodgers’ “Do I Hear a Waltz?”, only for it to be another middling failure. Success would come in the 1970s and 80s with a series of highly-stylised works (beginning with “Company”).

Here in …FORUM, you can hear Sondheim in full musical comedy mode, with a score that fairly bubbles with merriment and mirth.

[Angel Broadway/EMI 0777 7 64770 2 2]

Customer Reviews:
More sublime harmonies from Stile Antico
Their first cd - Music for Compline - introduced a young Renaissance ensemble capable of creating vocal harmonies of pristine beauty while relishing the musical perfection they created with joy bordering on ecstasy: perfect for deeply religious music. Their apparent ability to effortlessly convey the ecstatic religious vision is what made that initial release so memorable. Their second release is a deeper, more personal exploration of a fascinating leitmotif that distinguished the Music for Compline. The Elizabethan era was marked by religious turmoil that roiled the realm: the Catholicism of the late Queen Mary, now officially suppressed under Elizabeth, was still selectively tolerated, producing profound social tensions that were reflected in the lives and music of two of England’s finest composers, William Byrd and Thomas Tallis. Byrd’s Catholicism is powerfully evident in his Motets, which were written for recusant Catholics, now often celebrating in secret, forced to furtively steal into hidden rooms where priests lived concealed, often for years. Byrd’s masterful setting of the Latin texts usually contained subversive political overtones, messages not lost on those risking all by still embracing an outlawed faith. The Motets brilliantly explore the expressive capabilities of choral polyphony with a response to the emotional qualities of the text that is deeply sensuous: featuring satiny vocal textures and lush harmonies of aching beauty that hint at the loss of paradise and a mingling of sorrow and hope.

Tallis wrote his psalm tunes in 1567, a paradigm of the Protestant musical aesthetic, with their vocal austerity in which the clarity of the biblical words is essential. There is no need for concealment here, everything is illuminated. Stile Antico have once again released a concert in which the strife of two clashing religious cultures is reflected in the music, creating a splendid musical tension. And as an almost subliminal subtext, this tension produces a sonic narrative that adds weight to the purely musical elements. Paradoxically, the relative lightness of the vocal textures combines with the added depth of (background) meaning and with the profundity of the biblical text to produce a rare musical sublimity. Stile Antico create a sonorous portrait of a powerful religious faith: compelled to worship, even under circumstances most dire, in music of such unearthly beauty that it seems to suspend time. There is a relationship between faith and beauty, and here, stripped of all superfluities, that relationship is explored with matchless grace and skill. Heavenly Harmonies is an appropriate name for a concert lasting nearly 80 minutes, but which seems to pass in an instant. The Hybrid SACD sound is crystalline with proper church reverberation lending added heft to the vocal textures. This CD offers a timeless heavenly vision as glimpsed by two of the finest of Renaissance composers. Mere praise may not do it justice. Listen for yourself and discover what beauty once graced the world. Most strongly recommended.

Mike Birman

Tracklisting:
1. Deborah’s Theme (from "Once Upon A Time In America") -
2. Italia featuring ANDREA BOCELLI -
3. Venice -
4. The Very Thought Of You featuring PAULA COLE -
5. Gabriel s Oboe (from The Mission ) -
6. I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face featuring DEAN MARTIN -
7. Caruso -
8. The Way You Look Tonight -
9. It Never Entered My Mind -
10. Ave Maria -
11. Estaté -
12. Nessun Dorma -

Customer Reviews:
What is Sony going to do about the missing audio tracks?
First of all, this CD is really wonderful, and that is an understatement. Chris’ music sents shivers down your spine. I’m not going to repeat all the superlatives mentioned by the other reviewers. But in my humble opinion this music has nothing to do with (smooth) jazz at all. This music surpasses any category.But.. I have one serious complaint. My DVD has no bonus tracks either. And because it is impossible to contact SonyBMG and Colombia Records through their websites, I take this opportunity to ask Sony what they are going to do about these "misprints".

Outrageous!
I love this CD more than I can say. It is set to wake me up in the morning and always lets me rise in a calm and mellow mood, reacy to face the day with serenity. Miles has met his (posthumous) match.

My DVD is Missing the bonus tracks
Excellent, but my copy of the DVD has NO bonus tracks anywhere, just the film

Customer Reviews:
Minimalist Production Helped Elevate “Weakest Link” to Equal Star Status
Having seen this production at the MET and HD transmission to the movies, this DVD is outstanding in every way and highly recommended as a worthy addition to your collection. For those who have seen the production at the MET, it will enhance your enjoyment of the individual performances with close-ups of facial expressions of singers and other interesting nuances and other little amusing things you might have missed if you were seated far from the stage. This DVD is specially beneficial to those seeing this opera for the first time because of the elimination of extraneous and distracting things, which allows you to focus on the dramatic and musical inputs of the protagonists more clearly.

Having seen conventional, lavish productions of this opera in major houses, I had some apprehensions at first about how Act 3 would turn out stripped of the customary depiction of the opulence and splendor of St. Petersburg in Pushkin’s time. With bare walls and just a few nice chairs around, the fantastic lighting effects and elegant coustumes made a big difference and saved this production from getting too “eurotrashy”.

For me, the most important achievement of this production is the righting of the unfair characterization by critics, past and present, of the role of the poet Lenski as the “weakest link” among the principals. From the very first time I saw this opera, I have always felt that Lenski’s music was the most beautiful in the opera and that Tchaikovsky identified more with Lenski’s creative nature. So, why the “weakest link” tag ? This production provided the answer! That’s why this minimalist ONEGIN is particularly helpful to first timers to the opera. By combining Acts 2 & 3 and eliminating the long intermission between the Acts & scenes as well as toning down the distracting, unnecessary elements extraneous to the story, this production allows the audience to focus not only on individual performances but the totality of their artistic contributions as well. In full lavish productions, Lenski dies at the end of Act 2. He is given a courtesy solo bow, and his night is done. After a 20-minute intermission or longer, a shot of vodka, champagne or margarita, the audience is ushered back to their seats for the beginning of Act 3.When the curtain opens, the audience is greeted by the majestic polonaise with elegantly dressed and bejewelled ladies of St. Petersburg’s upper crust society, dancers and entertainers at Prince Gremin’s palatial digs. The audience then gets to hear his beautiful aria and Onegin’s two-minute arioso. Another time break for scene change, and then the final scene with Tatiana and Onegin culminating with the histrionics of their dysfunctional love relationship. End of opera - about one and a half hours after Lenski’ death. Poor Lenski is a forgotten man by then. But not in this production! Here, after his death, he goes back to his dressing room, have coffee or something stronger (Bjoerling used to do it,why not), and half an hour later, he goes out on stage to receive the audience’s feedback with the rest of the cast. That’s

the way it should be, and the composer would have loved it.

This DVD may not be surpassed for a long time. The cast is just outstanding, from the three principals who are all at their best, down the line to Lenski’s second at the duel scene. Renee Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky will be very hard to top as Tatiana and Onegin because, not only do they possess beautiful voices and fine acting abilities, they also must have spent a lot of time studying and rehearsing together. It shows in their chemistry. Ramon Vargas gave the most vivid portrayal of the poet’s persona that I have ever witnessed, and his subtle, well controlled and very effective acting covered a wide gamut of emotions from the lyrical Act 1 through varying degrees of distrust, jealousy and anger, and the heartbreaking resignation in Act 2. He even introduced a little humor in the middle of his ardent declaration of chaste love to the seated Olga by gently pushing the tray of goodies away from her to get her full attention. I missed that one in the theater, and I’m thankful for the DVD. His voice was absolutely gorgeous, and his singing superb throughout. His arioso in Act1 is just as beautiful as Onegin’s aria at the end of the act. For some strange reason, Hvorostovsky received only a polite audience response with no bravos. I thought he gave a flawless and terrific rendition of the aria. In Act 2 Scene 1, Vargas dominated the singing in his reprimand of Olga for her flirting with Onegin, his private confrontation with Onegin and the escalation ending in throat grabbing before the guests. He opened the big quintet with chorus with a tender and touching recollection of the happiness he found at the Larin’s home as an adolescent and ended the ensemble with a powerful, pained farewell to his beloved Olga. Lenski’s aria Act2 Scene2, as sublimely sung by Vargas and lovingly accompanied by the great Met Orchestra under the super conductor of choice, Valery Gergiev, is one for the ages. Vargas just simply dominated all of Act 2. Renee Fleming dominated Act 1 with her wonderful, well nuanced Letter Scene which was warmly received by the audience.

So, is the “weakest link” going to steal the show from the Star? After Act3 Scene1, Lenski was still ahead in my tally. DH was in his best voice, and that’s a lot. He must deliver the best performance of his life to catch the poet. Fleming could pass him too if he didn’t. Fueled by Fleming’s incredible acting and singing, which I have never seen from her before, he caught fire in the last six minutes, and the rest is history. He nailed that last note like Rigoletto’s anguished maledezione with all the power and pathos he could muster. My verdict: it’s a 3-way tie ! When Vargas came out for curtain calls , the audience did not forget the pleasures he had given them and gave him back a tremendous ovation with confetti as they did the other two stars. Aren’t we blessed to have three stars of this caliber with an excellent group of supporting singers, the best opera orchestra in the world under the direction of the genius from St. Petersburg? Get this DVD fast, you will not be sorry.

Nearly the best ever
Gergiev gives us an outstanding music, with love and anguish in amazing form.

Fleming is in wonderful form, perhaps overacting sometimes but giving a marvelous innocent girl.

Hvorostovsky is in his role… no doubt is his best. Without problems of appearence and diction can’t think someone better… if is possible.

And Vargas… awesome. No matter his latin presence… his singing was perfectly. After the “Kuda, kuda, kuda vi udalilis…” is sad and a pity that Lensky is going to die and with him this liric sound and nearly perfect technique.

For the traditional performance lovers the production was the only doubt… the empty walls were the thing that make this performance not the best ever.

Stunning, amazing performace!
This performance of Eugene Onegin is absolutely the definitive one.

Ms. Fleming is simply the best Tatiana ever - her singing is so full of emotion, heart break and perfect phrasing! What the sheer beauty of the sound of her voice, both in the top register and in the lower part of the voice - is stunning.

Equally mind-blowing is Mr. Hvorostovsky’s Onegin. They are a perfect pair together - their chemistry is so real and palpable that one never doubts the sincerity emotions of the singers.

Orchestra sounds amazing, too, (as usual)

Set is very beautiful - but it work because of the grandeur and passion of the leading singers - with somebody else is might have been strange and rather bland.

All music lovers should watch this and be dazzled!