Richard Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer
by Vaclav Kaslik
List Price:
Our Price: $14.38
You Save: $15.60 (52%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $12.84 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bengt Rundgren, Catarina Ligendza, Donald McIntyre, Hermann Winkler, Wolfgang SawallischDirector: Vaclav Kaslik
Brand: Universal Studios
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); Chinese (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); German (Original Language), DTS 5.1
Format: AC-3, Classical, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Surround Sound
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 117 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-05-13
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
Movie Reviews of Richard Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer
Movie Review: INTERESTING STAGING EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE WITH GREAT SOUND
Summary: 5 Stars
I borrowed this DVD from our library with low expectations. My experience with opera films this old had not been good due to poor sound. When I put this disc on I was blown away. The sound is excellent, competing with current recordings most of the time. In addition I was not a fan of Sawallisch. He had conducted a very mushy Schumann Requiem which I returned to the library long before the due date. Bernard Klee (little known conductor) recorded an excellent Schumann Requiem which really showed what Sawallisch missed. Sawallisch is excellent with Hollander, equal or better than Kielberth, Solti or Dorati. In my opinion, the orchestra is fine and I found the instrumental balance more exciting than the Bayreuth DVD. The late 1980s DVD from Savolinna is not nearly as good, with much compressed sound and camera noise. Worse, Senta and Mary both have wide vibratos while the men sing well. I find it enjoyable up to the spinning scene.
Other than McIntyre, the singers are not familiar to me. All are excellent in my opinion with strong voices and accuracy, a combination that is very rare in newer Wagner recordings.
This is a lip sync film, and sync is not good in places. The singers don't look like they are working hard, as they are just "marking" and acting to the prerecorded sound. This is both good and bad. The sound is great because the sound engineers could concentrate on just recording sound with no interference from film people. In some ways opera is easier to watch when the more extreme facial contortions are left out. When confronted with stage problems, Wagner would suggest that someone should "try something". Had Film been available to Him, I suspect he would have been very interested.
My interest in opera started around 1960 when my great aunt gave me a bunch of Flagstad's 78 rpm records. Next I heard Nilson several times at the Met, once with Windgassen. In other words, spoiled rotten from the start. From this perspective, I am not holding out for a better Dutchman DVD.
The world is much louder today than in the 1930s and 1960s. Modern ears are somewhat deaf from all the noise,and as a result, singers must sing louder to make the same impression. Although newer recordings have less electronic distortion, older recordings have less distortion that originates in the singer's throat when sound pressure levels become very high. Air becomes increasingly non linear as sound levels increase. Early music singers compete with smaller orchestras in smaller houses and have fewer vocal problems. Their recordings are often free of both electronic and high sound level distortions.
The stage directing is in one sense very traditional and regietheater at the same time. Costumes are traditional. As an ex sailer, (sailing was my father's thing) this production really sets the right mood with very bad weather. Things start out with waves breaking over Daland's ship and everyone gets very wet. The Dutchman climbs down a rope ladder into dirty water and slogs around. On the otherhand Daland's house is very traditional and the women spin and sing beautifully. The Dutchman,s crew is very decrepid looking. They break into Daland's house but fade away as is only possible with film.
In my opinion Der Fliegende Hollander has a weak plot, but is saved by music that depicts the sea in a brilliant way. While the staging is variable, in this production , the effect overall is better than live. Nothing modern has been added, leaving the story in it's own time. I cannot think of a better introduction to Wagner than this DVD. There is no nudity or crude gestures, making this great viewing for all ages.
Summary of Richard Wagner - Der fliegende Holländer
WAGNER:FLYING DUTCHMAN - DVD MovieHere?s a filmed Dutchman soaked in the sea from which the doomed figure of legend emerges into an atmospheric production enhanced by a powerful rendition of the title role and effective conducting by Wolfgang Sawallisch, an experienced Wagnerian. The story of a sinner condemned to sail the seas until Judgment Day, thirsting for a death that can only come through the redemption of a woman?s selfless love, is, in Wagner?s hands, a searing drama. The Overture is here illustrated with painted scenes that encapsulate the narrative. The opera itself offers traditional costuming and sets with a realism a stage production can?t capture. When the Dutchman emerges from his gnarled, threatening ship he tramples through the shallow water of the harbor and we hear the splashes made by his boots. His ship of doom has blood-red sails, but, less happily, his ghostly crew seems left over from a B horror flick. Václav Kaslík?s film direction captures the opera?s atmosphere well, with expressionist touches like the mists that shroud the vessel of doom, and the spider?s web of fishing nets that symbolize the way the characters are trapped in their situations. But too-busy camera work and a penchant for closeups more revealing of singers? tonsils than necessary sometimes distracts. Lip-synching, often a problem in filming operas to pre-recorded music, is reasonably well done here. The musical side of the production is successful, with a towering Dutchman in Donald McIntyre whose anguish is clear from his very first appearance and whose singing is exemplary, the voice firm, the interpretation nuanced. Daland, the greedy ship captain seduced by the Dutchman?s wealth to promise his daughter, Senta, in marriage is well done by Bengt Rundgren. Senta is a bit more problematic, as soprano Catarina Ligendza tends to be blank-faced as an actress, and with her thin, sometimes ugly high notes and scooping, some distance from the Senta of one?s dreams. Her frustrated suitor, Erik, is sung by Hermann Winkler, who brings intensity but also a burly tenor voice to the role. His aria recalling how he met and fell in love with Senta is bawled as if tenderness had no role in a love song. Harald Ek?s colorful tenor is ideal for the Steersman and Ruth Hesse is an effective Mary. The Bavarian Opera chorus and orchestra are fine and Sawallisch?s excellent conducting keeps the tension high and the narrative swift-moving. Some small cuts, common to stage productions of the period, don?t compromise a recommendation firmly based on the conducting and McIntyre?s first-rate Dutchman. --Dan Davis
The Flying Dutchman is an all-regions disc in 4:3 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround. Sung in German, subtitles include English, French, Spanish, and Chinese.
Similar DVD Movies
Offenbach: Les contes d'HoffmannKultur; Release date: 2003-10-14; DVD
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops:
Tristan und IsoldeRelease date: 2009-01-13; DVD
Best price: $20.95
Price in other shops:
Donizetti: Anna BolenaRelease date: 2011-11-01; Published: 2011-11-18; DVD
Best price: $22.46
Price in other shops:
Wagner: LohengrinUniversal Studios; Release date: 2008-04-08; DVD
Best price: $22.40
Price in other shops:
Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen - Complete Ring Cycle (Levine, Metropolitan Opera)Release date: 2002-11-12; Published: 2011-10-24; DVD
Best price: $73.68
Price in other shops:
Gounod: FaustRelease date: 2010-10-05; DVD
Best price: $20.95
Price in other shops:
Wagner - ParsifalUniversal Studios; Release date: 2007-09-11; Published: 2011-10-24; DVD
Best price: $21.45
Price in other shops:
Wagner - Lohengrin / Peter Hofmann, Karan Armstrong, Bernd Weikl, Elizabeth Connell, Leif Roar, Woldemar Nelsson, Bayreuth OperaNaxos OF America INC; Release date: 2006-07-25; DVD
Best price: $27.84
Price in other shops:
TannhauserUniversal Studios; Release date: 2008-08-12; DVD
Best price: $25.69
Price in other shops:
Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Heppner, Mattila, Morris, Pape, Allen, Polenzani, Levine, Metropolitan OperaUniversal Studios; Release date: 2005-01-11; DVD
Best price: $21.98
Price in other shops: