Monteverdi - Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria / William Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Adrian Noble (Aix-en-Provence Festival)
by Humphrey Burton, Adrian Noble
List Price:
Our Price: $15.86
You Save: $9.12 (37%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bertrand Bontoux, Cyril Auvity, Joseph Cornwell, Kresimir Spicer, Marijana MijanovicDirector: Adrian Noble, Humphrey Burton
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Italian (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Italian (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 180 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Virgin Classics
Movie Reviews of Monteverdi - Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria / William Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Adrian Noble (Aix-en-Provence Festival)
Movie Review: A unique and effective production that puts Monteverdi first
Summary: 5 Stars
Approximately 20 years ago I saw a production of Ulysses mounted at San Francisco Opera with Thomas Hampson in his debut in the role of Ulisse and Frederica von Stade as Penelope. To say that I was underwhelmed is to put it lightly. That was, without question, the longest evening of musical theatre that I have ever had the misfortune to sit through and I wasn't alone in my displeasure. At intermission, half the house cleared out and those that remained, spent the second half of the performance sleeping or admiring their cuticles. I would have left, too; however, the tickets were a gift from a friend who joined me and I thought it grossly impolite to walk out. Mind you, he was snoring up a storm. It was a dreadful affair: Turgid, old-fashioned and static, it was a lifeless production that put me off to Monteverdi for years. It wasn't until five years later that I saw a first rate production of Poppea that I reassessed my appreciation for the Venetian master's art. I realized then just how vibrant and beautiful these works can be. Of the three extant Monteverdi operas, I've always found Ulisse the least accessible of the lot. It is, for the most part, more interior and subtle, more psychological drama than musical spectacle, but that's not at all a bad thing. This wonderful production from the Aix-en-Provence Festival is a winner on every level. Talk about effective direction and design. A sand covered stage framed on either side by two high walls and a large arched entry upstage is pretty much all there is to the set. Some singers scale the walls, while others ascend from beneath the stage, others still descend from the rafters or stride in through the arched portal. The lighting is effective but unobtrusive, a dramatic device used with great economy. This whole production, for me, was an exercise in restraint. A studied but vital mounting. It thankfully lacked pretense. Too often nowadays, the drama and beauty of opera gets bogged down or lost all together in productions that want to revolutionize the art form regardless of whether the audience feels it needs it or not. Striving to make the works contemporary and relevant, they end up confusing what's important with what's impressive and what is insight with what is manipulation. This production is a perfect example of how you can be relevant and fresh while still respecting the source. It steers clear of the cheap, sensationalistic and the vulgar. Save for some dimly lit and brief nudity in the prologue, there is nothing here to shock. Calixto Bieito this ain't. All of the singers were wonderful, especially Marijana Mijanovic's beautifully delivered Penelope. Her dark hued mezzo was like balm to the ears, rich as molasses and just as sweet. Kresimir Spicer (a name unknown to me) is a dramatically and vocally convincing Ulisse. There was such tenderness in his "Gia Que Sorte e Felice" and Mijanovic responded in kind. I can't think of a remotely weak link in the cast. William Christie's commitment to Monteverdi is both well known and unparalleled and he sure as heck doesn't disappoint here. Wonderful from beginning to end.
More Monteverdi - Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria / William Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Adrian Noble (Aix-en-Provence Festival) reviews:
1 2 3
1 2 3
Summary of Monteverdi - Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria / William Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Adrian Noble (Aix-en-Provence Festival)
Monteverdi's story of how Ulysses returned from the Trojan War and found his palace full of young suitors for his wife and kingdom has been well served in video productions, but never better than in this one. Les Arts Florissants has set new standards in Renaissance and Baroque music, both for technical skill and for period style. This performance upholds the group's exalted reputation in Monteverdi's magnificent music. Humphrey Burton's direction is effective, with convincing stage action that walks a tightrope between realism and allegory in situations that are sometimes contrived, symbolic, or inherently static. Costumes do not pinpoint any particular period; scenery is minimal almost to the point of nonexistence; what is lost in realism is gained in suggestiveness and flexibility.Various gods and goddesses meddle in the action. Burton takes these departures from realism in stride, most notably in the scene where Ulysses (Kresimir Spicer) shoots the suitors of his wife, Penelope (Marijana Mijanovic), and the goddess Minerva (Olga Pitarch) takes the arrows from his bow and guides them to their targets. As the goddess of love (several divine roles are double-cast), Pitarch strikes charming poses and has a big, pink heart tattooed on her shoulder. The singing under Christie's expert direction is excellent throughout the cast, notably from Robert Burt (the beggar Iro) besides those mentioned above. --Joe McLellan
Art House & International DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in The Full Monte(verdi)
Opera in Seventeenth-Century Venice: The Creation of a Genre (Centennial Books)by Ellen Rosand
University of California Press; Published: 2007-10-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $47.50
Price in other shops:
Music and Theatre from Poliziano to Montiverdi (Cambridge Studies in Music)by Nino Pirrotta, Elena Povoledo
Cambridge University Press; Published: 2008-11-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $45.36
Price in other shops:
Monteverdi's Last Operas: A Venetian Trilogyby Ellen Rosand
University of California Press; Published: 2007-12-03; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $48.99
Price in other shops:
Cavalli - Giasone / Chance ? Banditelli ? Dubosc ? van der Kamp ? Deletr? ? Visse ? de Mey ? Concerto Vocale ? JacobsRelease date: 2000-11-14; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Cavalli - La DidoneRelease date: 2007-09-25; DVD
Best price: $31.84
Price in other shops:
Monteverdi - L'Incoronazione di Poppea / Delunsch, von Otter, Brunet, Hellekant, Fouch?court, Sedov, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Minkowski, Gruber (Aix-en-Provence Festival)Release date: 2006-09-12; DVD
Best price: $25.72
Price in other shops:
Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione Di PoppeaRelease date: 2001-05-08; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Monteverdi: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in PatriaRelease date: 2003-05-13; Music CD
Best price: $161.41
Monteverdi - Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria / William Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Adrian Noble (Aix-en-Provence Festival)Release date: 2004-02-24; DVD
Best price: $16.02
Price in other shops:
Monteverdi - Madrigali guerrieri ed amorosi / Concerto K?ln, JacobsRelease date: 2003-03-11; Music CD
Best price: $27.80
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Cavalli - La CalistoRelease date: 2006-11-14; DVD
Best price: $37.99
Price in other shops:
Handel - Giulio Cesare (Glyndebourne Opera Festival 2006)Release date: 2006-05-16; DVD
Best price: $28.98
Price in other shops:
Rameau - Les Paladins / Piau, Naouri, Lehtipuu, d'Oustrac, Piolino, Schirrer, Gonzalez-Toroi, Christie, Paris OperaRelease date: 2006-01-17; DVD
Best price: $28.57
Price in other shops:
Monteverdi - L'Orfeo / Savall, Zanasi, Figueras, Mingardo, Abete, Turk, Vargas, Bettini, Gran Teatre del Liceu BarcelonaRelease date: 2009-01-27; DVD
Best price: $17.95
Price in other shops:
Rameau - Les Indes Galantes / Petibon, Croft, Hartelius, Agnew, Rivenq, Berg, Strehl, Christie, Les Arts Florissants, Paris OperaRelease date: 2005-08-16; DVD
Best price: $27.21
Price in other shops:
Claudio Monteverdi - L'incoronazione di Poppea (Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2008)Release date: 2009-07-14; DVD
Best price: $17.23
Price in other shops:
Lully - Persee / Novacek, Auvity, Lenormand, Whicher, Laquerre, Coulombe, Niquet, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, TorontoRelease date: 2005-08-16; DVD
Best price: $17.87
Price in other shops:
Vivaldi - Ercole su'l Termodonte / Il Complesso Barocco, Curtis (Spoleto Festival 2006)Dynamic; Release date: 2007-06-26; DVD
Best price: $21.95
Price in other shops:
Leos Janacek - From the House of Dead / MCO, ASC, Boulez, Chereau (Festival Aix-en-Provence 2007)Release date: 2008-04-22; DVD
Best price: $18.97
Price in other shops:
Monteverdi - L'Incoronazione Di Poppea / Leppard, Ewing, Bailey, Duesing, Lloyd, Gale, Clarey, GlyndebourneRelease date: 2004-02-10; DVD
Best price: $16.49
Price in other shops: