Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Tristan on DVD, 31 Jan 2009
Wagner's operas are well represented on DVD. There are three excellent Rings, several superb Meistersingers, Parsifals in all flavours, Lohengrins by the ton, and a couple of good Hollanders. Up until now there has only been one Tristan worth watching - the 1983 Bayreuth production conducted by Barenboim and directed by Ponnelle.
I believe that this 1993 Bayreuth production, also conducted by Barenboim, surpasses the earlier recording.
Why? Let's start with the principals.
Meyer and Jerusalem have great stage presence, wonderful voices and, unlike some others I've seen in these roles, are very capable actors. Waltraut Meyer is at her peak - quite frankly, I've never heard her sing as well as she does in this production (and she normally sings very well indeed). Jerusalem sails through the difficult third act, exercising his vocal and acting skills to the full.
Barenboim matches the orchestra to the singers with amazing precision - not once did the opera overpower the voices, and not once was there a sense of holding back to let inadequate voices have their chance. This is particularly tricky in Liebestod, where the orchestra has a lot to say, but mustn't drown Isolde. The combination of Meyer, Barenboim, and of course, Bayreuth produced the most perfect Liebestod I've ever heard.
The supporting roles were well played. Konig Marke was sympathetically portrayed by Mattias Holle. Kurvenal and Brangane were excellent.
I suppose I should mention the slightly Eurodaft staging. Some odd decisions here, although they couldn't detract from the gesamtkunstwerk.
- The strange plexiglass harnesses worn throughout act 1 (which I imagine symbolized inhibition, since they fell off after the love draught)
- The vaguely Chinese costume and scenery (borrowed, I think, by the designer of the Met's current, lacklustre staging)
- The brief flash of red light when Tristan and Isolda succumb to the love draught (another idea borrowed by the Met)
However, unlike the Met, this was not a static, formalized, passionless performance. Tristan can be the most glacially slow of Wagner's operas if played without conviction, but this production conveyed the opera's essential passion.
This is apparently the first release of this performance in any format. It's quite amazing how a gem like this can lie hidden for fifteen years.
Technicalities; wide screen picture, synthesised DTS 5.1 sound; both superb.
Strongly recommended. Almost as good as a trip to Bayreuth.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful principals and orchestra, 16 April 2009
Wagner's "Tristan" is notoriously difficult to stage, and this Bayreuth version is upheld by the principals (Siegfried Jerusalem and the enchanting Waltraud Meier as Tristan and Isolde) and by the fabulous orchestra under Daniel Barenboim. The staging of the ship scene in Act One is sound (good lighting, and the not unusual but still dramatically effective tilting stage), but directorial ego-foibles include the lingering of the camera during the overture on a very, very third-rate painting (why not linger on the orchestra?) and the placing of Isolde inamongst a symbolically empty and never explained collection of partial suits of armour in Act Two. Perhaps the dare offered by this opera to the director is that he should do relatively little and let the singers sing. These caveats notwithstanding, I am happy to have this DVD in my collection.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Loses 1 star due to self indulgent director and unideal sound., 10 Mar 2009
This opera, Wagner's greatest, has a lot of way out philosophy in the libretto. Being so it lends itself to minimalist staging. The director denies what is clearly in the libretto, namely, the overriding view of Tristan that this world of consciousness, of differentiation, offers no lasting satisfaction only delusion. Therefore he, and by persuasion Isolde, opt for death, the realm of non-consciousness, non-differentiation. That in this realm they can experience the "highest rapture" of total unity in each other is nonsense since death is nothingness in which there are no experiences. Intoxicatingly sensual music falsely promises otherwise.
The director has made too many bad decisions to mention them all. Firstly, draping plastic tubing around the neck and shoulders of the singers. The acting is very accomplished, that of the beautiful Waltraud Meier as Isolde superb. But the presence of a plastic installation so near the face is just an irritating intrusion. Happily, Tristan and Isolde remove theirs after taking the love potion.
In Act 2 rows of breastplates make the stage look like an armour supermarket. Very annoying clutter. Superfluous symbol of the lovers entrapped by the conventions of knightly society. Plastic swords for the fights.
In fairness, the Liebestod is well done, complementing the stunning singing and playing. However, Isolde remains alive!
The singing of all is very satisfying, not far from the best available on DVD. (The pleasant voice of Siegfried Jerusalem as Tristan is rather underpowered set against Meier.) Daniel Barenboim's conducting is magnificent, admirably pacing the drama. The recorded sound is somewhat congested and restricted in dynamic range. Picture quality average for its time (1993).
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