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Mozart - Die Zauberfl?te (The Magic Flute) / Keenlyside, Roschmann, Hartmann, Damrau, Selig, Allen, Sir Colin Davis, Covent Garden by Sir Colin Davis, David McVicar
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DVD Cover InformationActor: Diana Damrau, Dorothea Roschmann, Mozart, Simon Keenlyside, Thomas Allen Director: David McVicar, Sir Colin Davis DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: German (Original Language) Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC Picture Format: 1.78:1 Running Time: 185 minutes DVD Release Date: 2003-09-23 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: BBC / Opus Arte
Movie Reviews of Mozart - Die Zauberfl?te (The Magic Flute) / Keenlyside, Roschmann, Hartmann, Damrau, Selig, Allen, Sir Colin Davis, Covent GardenMovie Review: From Darkness into Light Summary: 5 StarsWhat an incredible portrayal of what is, in my opinion, Mozart's most beautiful opera. My love of this DVD began with the overture, with beautiful shots of the orchestra. Now, for the singing:
Everyone in this production is amazing. The show-stealer is Dorothea Roschmann, as Pamina, who plays this character as if the role was made just for her. She is innocent, yet knowing, and her search for truth gives her layering that not all singers playing Pamina can properly delineate. Brava to her and her beautiful, rich, emotional voice. Simon Keenlyside is just as marvelous, with an awkward yet strong presence as Papageno. He makes the audience laugh at him, pity him and root for him all within the same performance. Diana Damrau takes the Queen of the Night arias to a new level, adding her own shading to these songs and acting with great emotion and in-your-face anger that is very entertaining to watch. The other singers are equally talented, and round out the cast perfectly.
With the exception of sometimes poor intonation among the three young boys and the unfortunately unflattering costume that Pamina wears throughout the second act, this production is nearly perfect. I highly recommend that all fans of Die Zauberflote see this DVD for themselves.
Summary of Mozart - Die Zauberfl?te (The Magic Flute) / Keenlyside, Roschmann, Hartmann, Damrau, Selig, Allen, Sir Colin Davis, Covent Garden It's hard to find a DVD version of Mozart's Die Zauberfl?te that's as well sung as this 2003 Covent Garden production. Led by the eminent Mozartian, Sir Colin Davis, orchestra and singers present a warm, often intense vision of the opera, not as the fairy tale it's often taken for, but as a human drama of the passage from misguided beliefs to mature knowledge of self. Diana Damrau is the Queen of the Night for our time, with show-stopping bravura singing that tosses off the score's terrifying high notes with almost casual abandon. Her acting and her fright outfit never leave you in doubt that she's the evil presence here, even when she's pretending to be a good mom concerned about her daughter, Pamina. Dorothea R?schmann is superb, floating pianissimo notes to die for and singing with a beautifully rounded soprano allied to a dramatic sense that make her Ach, ich fuhl's so moving. Will Hartman is a virile Tamino, a bit heavier of voice than most of the lyric tenors who take the role, but singing well. Like most Tamino's, he's upstaged by Papageno, the bird-catcher who's his sidekick. Baritone Simon Keenlyside offers the best-sung Papageno one could hope to hear, and while he's funny in many of his more physical scenes, he replaces the usual clownish buffoon with an earth-bound Everyman. The noble Sarastro, the lovers' guide to self-realization, is well sung by Franz-Josef Selig, whose ample bass easily encompasses the low Fs that make most basses sound strained. The smaller roles are done well, too. Ailish Tynan has a romp as Papagena; the evil Monostatos is done to vocal and acting perfection by Adrian Thompson, the Queen's Three Ladies are well-matched and appropriately edgy, and the Temple Priests are convincingly sung and acted. This production of Die Zauberfl?te is a dark one. Producer David McVicar and conductor Davis reject the relatively recent transformation of the opera into a Disney-like romp for kids. The comic element in the opera is there, but its philosophical underpinnings--humanity's fitful progress to a higher plane - are paramount. There are still plenty of laughs with the fake dragon that pursues Tamino at the opera's opening and Papageno's funny business with a bird, among other chuckle-inducing scenes. But the production's Stygian backgrounds make for an oppressive setting. When light enters, as in the pomp of Sarastro's entry or the blazing yellow disc of the sun that conquers darkness, the opera's meanings are crystal-clear. Most of the characters wear 18th Century outfits, to comic effect as Monostatos' heavy makeup, lipsticked mouth, and elaborate wig. But there are occasional incongruities: Tamino's smock, the Three Boys' knit sweaters and short pants, and Papagana's mangy fur coat, among others. They're well intregrated into the staging so they don't jar. Nor, aside from the occasional too-tight closeups, does the video direction. In the special features, Davis speaks of the opera's tension between "lighthearted music and the seriousness of the story," and all elements of this production fuse those key aspects in a way that makes this DVD a joy to hear and watch. Dan Davis Die Zauberfl?te is an all-regions 2-disc set in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include Dolby Stereo and 5.1 Surround. Sung in German with subtitles in English and Spanish. Extras include an illustrated synopsis, a behind the scenes feature of the production, and Sir Colin Davis talking about Die Zauberfl?te The internationally renowned Mozart interpreter Sir Colin Davis conducts the chorus and orchestra of the Royal Opera House and a glittering cast in David McVicar's 2003 production of Mozart's last opera, recorded in sumptuous surround sound live at Covent Garden. SPECIAL FEATURES: Behind the Scenes Conductor Sir Colin Davis talks about Die Zauberfl?te Illustrated Synopsis of the opera
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