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Janacek: Jenufa -- Glyndebourne [1989] [DVD]
 
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Janacek: Jenufa -- Glyndebourne [1989] [DVD]

DVD ~ Glyndebourne Chorus
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £24.99
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Customers buy this item with Zdenek Benaclova - Smetana - Bartered Bride [2006] [DVD] DVD ~ Benackova

Janacek: Jenufa -- Glyndebourne [1989] [DVD] + Zdenek Benaclova - Smetana - Bartered Bride [2006] [DVD]
Price For Both: £42.08

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Product details

  • Actors: Glyndebourne Chorus, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Roberta Alexander, Anja Silja, Philip Langridge
  • Format: Classical, PAL
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish
  • Region: All Regions
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: Exempt
  • Studio: ARTHAUS
  • DVD Release Date: 22 Jun 2001
  • Run Time: 118 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005N8E3
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 37,067 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Janacek's masterpiece Jenufa, captured in this 1989 Glyndebourne Festival Opera production, is among the most revived modernist works. Compared with much grand opera, the story of one woman's struggle to rise free from social constraints at a terrible cost is remarkably poignant, credible and accessible. Scenes are short and intense. The music shimmers with Janacek's characteristic blend of sweetness and sharp dissonance. His men are damaged and angry; his women kick against the expectations of convention. Tragedy is inevitable, but here, unusually, hope triumphs. In the title role, Roberta Alexander is utterly convincing as the stepdaughter of the Kostelnicka Buryja, placing her love and trust in the wrong man with dire consequences. As the Kostelnicka, Anja Silja turns in an equally towering performance, unravelling with the awful consequences of her pragmatism. Alexander's fluid soprano reveals the extraordinary beauty of some of Janacek's finest arias: the moment when she becomes supernaturally aware of her baby's fate--it's "as if death was peering into the house!"--and is actually singing prayers for its soul is quite overwhelming. This Jenufa is sung splendidly; a revelation of the essential humanity which lurks at the heart of the greatest operas.

On the DVD: This production was filmed for Channel 4 and has all the hallmarks of a 1980s television broadcast: standard 4:3 picture format which limits the impact of Tobias Hoheisel's magnificent expressionistic set; PCM stereo which somewhat dulls Andrew Davis' sterling, powerful work at the helm of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (although the principal singers shine through); poor subtitles; and static freeze-frame links between scenes. As a record of an important production, though, it suffices. --Piers Ford

Special Features
4:3
Region 0
PCM Stereo
English\French\German\Spanish


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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE AND RIGHT, 15 Nov 2003
By DAVID BRYSON (Glossop Derbyshire England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
If you have never been to Glyndebourne but would like to get the feel of the place from a recorded performance, I promise that you will get none of it from this one. It is very good indeed but it might be from anywhere. Apart from Strauss and Puccini, there is probably no serious 20th-century opera that is easier to come to terms with than Jenufa. The story is harrowing, but all in a very operatic way as that term might be applied to Verdi. The narrative line is simple and direct and does not strain our credulity, at least not by operatic standards, the characters are few and strongly identifiable, and the pace of the action is very well calculated. Clarity has obviously been a major objective in this production, and the simplicity of the sets seems designed to focus attention on the action and the music. The musical style is highly rational in the best sense – free from hyperbole, the vocal parts reasonably pitched, lyrical up to a point and not afraid of word-repetition but avoiding formal arias and ‘numbers’ except for the choruses towards the end and even cleverly steering clear of cadences in the interests of continuity, the orchestral parts interesting in their own right but always subordinate to the voices.

There is everything to be said for DVD as the medium for bringing opera into the home. In sound alone the very greatest performances inevitably lose something – they were simply not written just to be heard. That said, this is not just ordinary drama, but music-drama, and within reason I for one am quite happy to suspend disbelief up to a point if the music is well enough done. For me Roberta Alexander as Jenufa does not look the part in the least, and I do not care in the least given her fine acting and superlative singing. She shares the spotlight with the Kostelnicka and in this role the tall and imposing Anja Silja is totally convincing in every respect – stagy in the right way at her first entrance, casting the shadow of doubt and misgiving everywhere about her, thrilling when left alone with her inward torment, and dominating the scene in her final confession. The male roles – the thoughtless Steva and the confused Laca – are admirably sung, acted and directed, and there is nothing that I feel like trying to criticise when the whole concept of the work is as well realised as it is here. Congratulations to Glyndebourne, but 5 minutes into the production I had forgotten all about them, which is as it should be.

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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Glyndebourne Classsic, 21 Sep 2001
By A Customer
Just before the Glyndebourne Opera House was re-built, the television rights for a couple of years, were owned by the old ITV franchise-holder TVS. This version of Jenufa comes from the end of that era after thier production teams had come to know the old opera house well. The sound is beautifully mixed and digitally recorded, and this transfer lovingly recaptures this famous love story in the realistic if rather dry acoustic. The noisy picture quality shows it's age in places but the performances are sensational, though the set very stylised. A must for Jenufa fans everywhere.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Intensely moving, incredible performances of a wonderful opera, 8 Feb 2007
By 221b (Kent, UK) - See all my reviews
The intimacy of the old Glyndebourne stage works perfectly for this production by Lenhoff, bringing a chamber-like intensity to this powerful drama. Initial concerns about Roberta Alexander's suitability for the title role soon melt away as you get caught up in her heart-rending performance; she brings a reality to the role which is often overlooked in performance - this is a real woman with desires and hopes, not some operatic 'grande dame'. All the more devastating is her Act II portrayal at the loss of her baby son - and yet her forgiveness and love make you cry again at the end of Act III, with some of Janacek's most burnished orchestration; how can an opera as dark and as tragic as this have such a hopeful and uplifting ending? Most of the cast are excellent in their roles, particularly Anja Silja who creates great humanity and warmth in a role that is often overdone as an operatic harridan. The burden of her guilt and conscience truly weighs heavy on her shoulders as the opera progresses. The LPO offer stirring support whipped along at a cracking pace by Andrew Davis, and although the recording isn't as crystal clear as one may like (it was recorded for TV in the late 1980's) it is a wonderful document which has fortunately been preserved for those who were not lucky enough to see the performances live.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Jenufa: a great work superbly realised
Jenufa is a great work combining the lyrism of Puccini and the realism of 20th century opera. The ending of forgiveness is immmensly moving. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dr. J. Bestley

5.0 out of 5 stars Glyndebourne Jenufa
Absolutely enthralling production - brilliant singing and staging which could hardly be bettered.
Published on 15 Feb 2006

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