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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Production Will Likely Never Be Bettered, 14 Sep 2005
This 1975 production from Glyndebourne is one of the most celebrated opera productions of the past thirty years. Primarily this is because of the absolutely fabulous design by David Hockney who took the engravings of Hogarth's series 'The Rake's Progress,' which had inspired the opera in the first place, and turned them into some of the cleverest sets and costumes ever seen. The designs mimic the hatchmarks seen in etchings and are conveyed in only a few basic colors - black, blue, red, green - and appear not only in the backgrounds but also in the materials of the costumes themselves. Some of Hockney's 'Rake' designs can be found on the Internet, if one looks, and can give one an idea of how striking they are.All that, of course, would be for naught if it weren't for the graceful stage direction by John Cox and the stunning musical direction by Bernard Haitink, leading the London Philharmonic Orchestra. As for the cast, they are well-nigh perfect. Leo Goeke, a tenor of whom I am not generally fond, is perfect both in looks and sound for the rake of the title, Tom Rakewell. He limns the downward spiral of the young man with simplicity and without a bit of sentimentality. The then-young Felicity Lott, at the beginning of her career, is a simply stunning Anne Trulove. She sings with lyric beauty and her acting, in a fairly one-dimensional part, is believable and touching. Her 'Gently, little boat' brings tears to one's eyes. Samuel Ramey, also at the beginning of his career, is splendid as the efficiently evil Nick Shadow, with enough charm to make the character believable. The card-playing scene in the graveyard between Tom and Nick is paced, sung and acted so credidbly that one holds one's breath. Nick's disappearance into the coffin after he loses to Tom is a coup de théâtre of the best sort. Rosalind Elias chews the scenery as Baba the Turk, the bearded lady. She brings down the house in the continuation of her aria in Act III, and she sings gorgeously. Richard van Allen, as Trulove, is appropriately stern and then forgiving, and his black bass is used in service of the character. Minor characters - Sellem, Mother Goose, the keeper of the madhouse - are all done wonderfully. The Glyndebourne Chorus, who have an extremely important part to play, are superb. In the madhouse scene one realizes they would be stunning in, say, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms. This production had previously been available on VHS but I never saw it. This DVD has wonderful sight and sound. I doubt I shall ever need to own another version of this wonderful Mozartean opera by Stravinsky. An unabashedly enthusiastic recommendation. TT=146 mins; PCM stereo; Subtitles in English, German, French, Spanish. Scott Morrison
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