Tannhauser
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Franz Mazura, Gwyneth Jones, Heinz Feldhoff, John Pickering, Robert SchunkComposer: Richard Wagner
Conductor: Colin Davis
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: German (Original Language), DTS 5.1; Chinese (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Classical, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 188 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-08-12
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
Movie Reviews of Tannhauser
Movie Review: Not the Paris version - BIG MISTAKE
Summary: 2 Stars
For some reason, Bayreuth is about the only opera venue that performs the original 'Dresden' version. This is a huge mistake. The 'Dresden' version dates from 1845. Wagner made huge strides in musical innovation during the next 15 years. And of all his operas the only one he ever amended is Tannhaeuser. And so the 'Paris' version (1860) shows all the musical advances of his 'Tristan' period, and that is why every opera house except dumb old Bayreuth puts on the 'Paris' version. The main difference is in Act I, in the Venusberg music, but smatterings of change are to be found in Act II also. After you hear the Paris version you will be quite bored (if that is possible with any Wagner opera) to hear the 'Dresden'. So, avoid this DVD. It's a shame the Met did not produce a DVD with Levine - I saw a magnificent 'Paris' Tannhaeuser there only a couiple of years ago, in this our era of perversion known as 'producer opera'.
I give it 2 stars only because the musical performance is indeed superb. You don't get less than superb musical performances at Bayreuth. As for the staging - well, they fall right in line with today's modernity - unfortunately. Someday someone will explain why a composer's score is faithfully followed while the libretto is wholly discarded.
Summary of Tannhauser
"Conducted by Sir Colin Davis, the score is interpreted splendidly." (The New York Times) Gwyneth Jones bravely tackles the roles of both Elisabeth and Venus with glorious tone and splendid stage presence. This 1978 production from Bayreuth was directed by G?tz Friedrich, and includes choreography by John Neumeier with stage designs by J?rgen Rose. The controversial production shocked many opera patrons while ushering in a new age of Wagner interpretation.This video of Wagner's Tannh?user at the 1978 Bayreuth Festival makes for an outstanding DVD. The Festival's staging, by G?tz Friedrich, is simplicity itself: a dish platform with a minimum of clutter, vaguely medieval costumes, and atmospheric lighting delineate the narrative of the eponymous errant knight whose soul is saved by the prayers of a pure woman who loves him. Wagner returned to this theme again and again, but Friedrich's staging and the video direction of Thomas Oloffson make a story that many modern viewers find hard to take seriously hit home. The production's stress on Tannh?user's anguish and Elizabeth's devotion creates an intimacy that trumps productions focused more on pageantry or inappropriate modernization of time and place. Friedrich sees Tannh?user as a loner, an artist outcast in a society whose primary value is conformity, adding further tension to the tale. The first Act is set in the Venusberg, the subterranean haunt of Venus and her cohorts whose worship of unbridled pleasure is equated here with death and damnation. The scene is darkly lit with Venus in her mask and fright outfit looming above the rest, and the Bacchanal, choreographed and filmed by John Neumeier, now seems just a tame modern dance set-piece, with writhing dancers in scanty (but not too scanty) costumes.
But what makes this Tannh?user outstanding is the singing of the soloists and Colin Davis' inspired conducting of the Bayreuth forces, chorus and orchestra singing and playing with energy and nuance. Gwyneth Jones takes on both of the female leads, Venus and Elizabeth. Her Venus is good, though one might prefer a singer with a stronger bottom register, and her Elizabeth is sung beautifully. Her big arias, Dich teure Halle and >i>Allm?cht'ge Jungfrau are sing with the intensity she displays in her acting. Time and again the camera focuses on her subtle facial and body movements that reveal the characters' thoughts. In effect, she's acting three roles here, the imperious Venus of Act One, the innocent young Elizabeth of Act Two, and the stricken, disheveled girl of Act Three. Tenor Spas Wenkoff matches her in intensity of singing and acting, never seeming to tire, even in the harrowing last Act of this demanding role. Baritone Bernd Weikl is an excellent Wolfram, Tannh?user's friend who loves Elizabeth, and Hans Sotin's strong bass makes the Landgraf an imposing authority figure. --Dan Davis
Tannh?user is sung in German with subtitles in German, English, French, Spanish and Chinese. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround.
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