Leos Janacek - From the House of Dead / MCO, ASC, Boulez, Chereau (Festival Aix-en-Provence 2007)
by Patrice Chereau, Stephane Metge
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Heinz Zednik, John Mark Ainsley, Olaf B?r, Peter Straka, Pierre BoulezDirector: Patrice Chereau, Stephane Metge
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: Czech (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Original Language); German (Original Language); French (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Color, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-22
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
Movie Reviews of Leos Janacek - From the House of Dead / MCO, ASC, Boulez, Chereau (Festival Aix-en-Provence 2007)
Movie Review: A Superb Producion of a Little Known Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
There are already seven reviews that rate this DVD most highly. I can only agree with all of them: it is one of the most stunning productions I have ever seen; that is made it to the Met is extraordinary and Gelb is to be honored for taking a chance on an opera that is so little known in this country. I suspect that is didn't create a box office bonanza but for those willing to take a chance they will be richly rewarded. Owning this DVD is a way to acquaint yourself with the idiom and Janacek's style. It is quite different from Jenufa, but clearly both works represent the composer. Yes, repeated viewings are required, mandatory if you are to "know" this work. Rewards are there for those willing to make the effort.
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Summary of Leos Janacek - From the House of Dead / MCO, ASC, Boulez, Chereau (Festival Aix-en-Provence 2007)
Jan?c ek s rarely performed final opera From the House ofthe Dead is brought to the stage by acclaimed director
Patrice Ch?reau and legendary conductor Pierre Boulez,
serving as the third collaboration between the celebrated
team behind the famous best-selling DVD Ring also on DG.
This production, commissioned by the Aix-en-Provence
Festival, has been widely hailed as one of the operatic
highlights of the new millennium.
Harrowing and unforgettable; one of the great Jan?c ek
interpretations of our time. The Guardian
Few operas match Jan?cek's From the House of the Dead for sustained intensity and raw emotional power, especially effective in this 2007 Aix-en-Provence Festival staging. The opera is an ensemble work requiring an evenly matched cast of singing actors and a first-class orchestra under the baton of a conductor who masters Jan?cek's but tricky rhythmic patterns, gritty folk-based melodies, and brilliant orchestration. That's what it gets in this staging by Patrice Ch?reau and conductor Pierre Boulez, whose precision and attention to detail amplify the overwhelming power of the score. This is one of those rare operas where nothing much happens yet leaves you certain that it has revealed important aspects of life. Without conventional arias, it delivers the power of such "highlight" moments through dramatic monologues and a continuous stream of orchestral music that illuminates characters and situations. In this late work completed months before his death, Jan?cek does in a mere 100 minutes what others strive to do in much longer time spans. Sharing the honors is a superb cast that brings the opera to life. You may despise what these people have done to land themselves in the Siberian gulag of Dostoyevsky's novel, but Jan?cek's libretto, almost entirely taken and re-ordered directly from the book, makes you sympathize with their degraded state and shocked at the cruelty to which they are subjected. Jan?cek focuses on six of the prisoners and several relate their stories. These are uniformly well done, with the first act monologue of Luca, a tale of how he murdered a prison commander, a gripping experience. It's balanced in the final Act's story of Shiskov; a grim tale of how he murdered his wife when she revealed her love for the villainous Filka, who turns out to be none other than the prisoner known as Luca. Filka/Luca is powerfully sung and acted by Stefan Margita, Shiskov by Gerd Grochowski. Olaf B?r sings the nobleman, a political prisoner roughly stripped of his clothes and belongings and who's freed in the last Act. He becomes a father figure to the pallid, retiring Alyeya, brilliantly realized by Eric Stoklossa, teaching him to read and write and ministering to him as he lies feverish in the prison hospital. Special mention must be made of John Mark Ainsley, in the role of Skuratov, who murdered a rich man who wanted to marry his sweetheart.
Ch?reau's stage direction masterfully focuses attention where it needs to be, and keeps the dramatic arc flowing in ways that allow the audience to follow the action - not easy on a stage filled with secondary characters, nearly all male and all in either shabby prison clothes or green guard's uniforms. Thierry Thieu Niang staged the two brief plays within the opera, prisoners' performances mirroring some of their tales, bursting with depravity. The sets by Richard Peduzzi are fitting too, movable walls that reach to the top of the stage and enclose the prisoners in a claustrophobic setting. Film director St?phane Metge's camera placements and cutting are virtually always on target, blending the personal stories in a larger context. Extras include a 48" film that includes revealing scenes of Boulez and Ch?reau in rehearsal. This is a must-have for anyone interested in 20th century opera. --Dan Davis
From the House of the Dead is an all-regions disc in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround. Sung in Czech, subtitles include English, German, French, and Spanish.
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