Tannhauser
List Price:
Our Price: $29.97
You Save: $10.01 (25%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $27.80 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
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-Video, 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: Historic Tannhauser
Summary: 5 Stars
Time to celebrate! Finally this memorable production comes on DVD! What made the folks at DG wait such a long time? There were so many other sub-par DVD performances of this opera available out there long before this version was available. This is perhaps the only version of the opera that I have seen where I have not been bored or just turned off by some director's "vision". And boy does this opera need all the help it can get-which is exactly what happens here! First is the production itself which successfully combines (mostly) the traditional directions of the composer with a good jolt of the modern perspective. Of course nowadays this production would probably be seen as tame compared the the Munich production (w/ Rene Kollo and Waltraud Meier), although nowhere near as traditional as the Met's. Second, this production would only succeed with strong, visually believable singers in the principal roles. In Gwyneth Jones and Spas Wenkoff we have two such singers. Yes, they are not exactly in the first flush of youth, but good grief, has any Wagnerian soprano displayed such physique as Dame Gwyneth (Venus) in her prime? Waltraud Meier (Venus) certainly matches her in Munich, but Dame Gwyneth goes one step further and performs the role of Elisabeth with even more distinction since it is vocally better suited to her. Spas Wenkoff of course has to be mentioned since Tannhauser is such a murderous role. He more than holds his own, and while his acting is respectable, the overall combination of vocal stamina and dramatic concentration makes him an interesting Tannhauser (how often can you say that about a Wagnerian tenor?). Bernd Weikl and Hans Sotin lead the distinguished supporting cast while Colin Davis leads a reading of lyricism devoid of sentimentality and cheesiness. The chorus is of course superb, and the videography is good for its age (1978). Don't expect any HD-like visual quality. Highly recommended.
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.
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 Best Wagner opera recordings
Wagner - ParsifalRelease date: 1999-03-30; DVD
Best price: $99.95
ParsifalRelease date: 1992-05-11; Music CD
Best price: $32.34
Wagner - Parsifal / KnappertsbuschRelease date: 2001-10-30; Music CD
Best price: $93.96
Wagner - Parsifal / Ventris, Hampson, Meier, Salminen, Fox, Kristinsson, Nagano, Berlin OperaRelease date: 2005-05-17; DVD
Best price: $28.44
Price in other shops:
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von N?rnberg / Weikl, Studer, Heppner, Moll, Lorenz, van der Walt, Kallisch; SawallischRelease date: 1994-09-13; Music CD
Best price: $47.98
Price in other shops:
Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Mackerras, Doese, McIntyre, Opera AustraliaRelease date: 2001-11-20; DVD
Best price: $16.49
Price in other shops:
Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Bernd Weikl, Siegfried Jerusalem, MariAnne Haggander, Hermann Prey, Graham Clark, Matthias Holle, Horst Stein, Bayreuth OperaRelease date: 2006-06-13; DVD
Best price: $29.14
Price in other shops:
Wagner: Die Meistersinger Von N?rnbergRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $49.00
Price in other shops:
Wagner - Tristan und Isolde / Mehta, West, Meier, National Theatre MunichRelease date: 2001-04-10; DVD
Best price: $49.98
Richard Wagner: Tristan und IsoldeRelease date: 1990-10-25; Music CD
Best price: $29.97
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Puccini: La Boheme (Live from the Met)Release date: 2008-09-16; DVD
Best price: $17.55
Price in other shops:
Tristan und IsoldeRelease date: 2009-01-13; DVD
Best price: $30.70
Price in other shops:
Jules Massenet: ManonRelease date: 2008-09-23; DVD
Best price: $19.00
Price in other shops:
The Copenhagen Ring: The Complete DVD SetRelease date: 2008-08-12; DVD
Best price: $68.90
Price in other shops:
Wagner - ParsifalRelease date: 2007-09-11; DVD
Best price: $29.96
Price in other shops:
Bizet: CarmenRelease date: 2008-10-28; DVD
Best price: $18.97
Price in other shops:
Wagner: LohengrinRelease date: 2008-04-08; DVD
Best price: $29.88
Price in other shops:
Fidelio (Deutsche Oper Berlin)Release date: 2008-08-12; DVD
Best price: $18.97
Price in other shops:
Richard Wagner - Der fliegende Holl?nderRelease date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $18.96
Price in other shops:
Wagner: Tristan und IsoldeRelease date: 2008-07-08; DVD
Best price: $29.33
Price in other shops: