Fidelio - Beethoven [2000]

Customer Reviews:

Fidelio - Levine.......2007-09-05

I managed to enjoy two viewings of this production but by the third sitting I was getting abit fed up. The music is dramatic and pleasing and a good effort is made by Karita Mattila and Rene Pape to act their roles and sing well. However the set and costumes are dour to the point where you don't really want to look at it by the third time through. Of course that is the nature of the subject but the modern austerity might be alleviated by the architecture of the period productions in favour of the audiences pleasure. The modern setting places all the burden of entertainment on the actors and they do quite well. The props department should have supplied guns of metal and wood. I am sure that plastic replica's are in use and these rob the production of authenticity as they appear too light. Lastly the great girth of Ben Heppner as the starved prisoner Florestan is absurd and again robs the production of credibility despite his laudable voice and acting efforts. A casting fault without doubt. You can only laugh and that is not Beethoven's intent. Dare I brave purchasing a period production hopefully with a suitably slender Florestan? Imagine the size of Ben Heppner at the start of his year of encarceration! How can we politely ignore such a preposterous notion?

A Fidelio with guts.......2004-02-15

It is apparent from the ouverture already that this will be a dynamic, challenging, even explosively so, vision of Beethoven. This is normally not a repertoire that I enjoy Levine in, but he meets his Beethoven one on one and never dwells on orchestral beauty for its own sake, just as he goes head first into communication with the resistance that is in the music.
Musically this is an incredibly awarding performance, with Mattila's unaffected, deeply felt and gloriously sung Leonore as its natural centre of gravity. And everyone around her is up to par.
Flimm's direction has guts. This 'Fidelio', with its plot concerning injustice, abuse of power and political , is set in the US of the 20th century, and while it does not claim to openly turn any accusing fingers it does, and very eloquently so, make a case for more involvement from the man on the floor, voters as it were. Rocco is more than willing to do his part of the intended political assassination (What can I do? I'm just doing my duty!), and Jaquino is an equally willing pawn. So, the real tragedy of the opera, when everything is set afire with rejoicing and euphoria at the end, is Marzelline's plight. She literally loses her mind when faced with her future in the hands of father Rocco and prospective husband Jaquino.
Warmly, oh so warmly, recommended.

Grease Rockin' Rydell Edition/Grease 2, We Go Together 2-Pack [1978] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
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Grease Rockin' Rydell Edition/Grease 2, We Go Together 2-Pack [1978] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Starring: Maxwell Caulfield , Michelle Pfeiffer , Lorna Luft , Maureen Teefy , and Alison Price
Director: Patricia Birch , and Randal Kleiser
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Musicals | Classics | Categories | DVD | Video
Classic | Musicals & Stage Performances | Musicals & Classical | Categories | DVD | Video
Film Musicals | Musicals & Stage Performances | Musicals & Classical | Categories | DVD | Video
DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000MGBSFS
Release Date: 2007-04-24
Grease Rockin' Rydell Edition/Grease 2, We Go Together 2-Pack [1978] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

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