Delius: A Village Romeo and Juliet / Mackerras, Hampson, Davies, Field, Mora

Director: Thomas Hampson, Sir Charles Mackerras
Studio: Decca
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Interesting and enjoyable
Very nice
Delius For The Eyes....
SLEEPING BEAUTY AWAKENED BY PETR WEIGL'S KISS
DELIUS MASTERPIECE FINALLY ON DVD . . . BUT

Delius: A Village Romeo and Juliet / Mackerras, Hampson, Davies, Field, Mora
Director: Thomas Hampson , and Sir Charles Mackerras
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Rimsky-Korsakov - Sadko / Vladimir Galouzine, Gegam Grigorian, Sergei Alexashkin, Larissa Diadkova, Nikolai Putilin, Valery Gergiev, Kirov Opera
Rachmaninov - The Miserly Knight / Leiferkus, Berkeley-Steele, Schagidullin, Voynarovskiy, Mikhailov, Jurowski, Glyndebourne Opera
Britten - A Midsummer Night's Dream / Bowman, Cotrubas, Lott, Buchanan, Davies, Duesing, Haitink, Glyndebourne Opera
Strauss - Daphne
Prokofiev - Betrothal in a Monastery / Netrebko, Diadkova, Alexashkin, Akimov, Gergalov, Gassiev, Sokolova, Gergiev, Kirov Opera

ASIN: B00009V3OC
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Customer Reviews:

Interesting and enjoyable.......2007-02-13

The music is sublime. Being a movie it can create problems for some opera buffs, but... I haven't seen any other productions so this is the best.
If you like Delius or if you want to explore non-traditional opera, you should have this DVD and watch it many times. Everytime you will discover something new.

Very nice.......2006-06-08

It is a motion picture, but very, very nice. Lip-synch is not so good, but we manage. We (opera goers) have managed much worse things before - so why can't we manage this one with such a beautiful music? - Go ahead, buy it!!! - you won't regret. I would rate it 4,5 stars, but there's no such thing, so I decided to credit 5 starts - and I am not going to regret that.

Delius For The Eyes...........2005-01-07

This film of Delius' best-known opera is sublime - it is almost as sublime as the music of Delius itself. So with this DVD you get not only the unparalleled beauty of Delius' music but a visual feast as well. The actors do a fine job of "performing" the libretto (Thomas Hampson, the actual singer of the soundtrack, is especially effective), and the direction/cinematography is marvelous (especially the Walk To The Paradise Garden segment, as well as the ending river scene). Even if one doesn't particularly care for opera per se, this film is still highly recommended. AND, it contains the best extra any Delius enthusiast could want: the superb documentary "Discovering Delius", which is worth the price alone!

SLEEPING BEAUTY AWAKENED BY PETR WEIGL'S KISS.......2004-03-29

I first bought this work on CD back in the eighties and I immediately had a profound longing for a visual experience to go along with Delius' gorgeous score. A few years later, my wish was granted with this film by Petr Weigl which I was able to buy on Laserdisc. It fulfilled my every expectation in spite of the fact that the actors were all lip-synching. (Many opera-goers would agree that the majority of "real" opera singers are bad actors anyway. At least in this visually gorgeous film, the characters all LOOK right for their parts, something that frequently is not the case on stage.) I think Gerald Fenech on classical.net says it best,

"Delius' beautiful opera takes on a new lease of life in this splendidly directed film by Petr Weigl. The music is provided by the highly recommended recording with Mackerras and the ORF Symphony whilst the acting by the doubles (who obviously don't sing) is adequate enough.

Whilst obviously relishing this gorgeous orchestral score, I was consistently moved by the exquisite scenery portrayed by the director, truly recreating a Swiss village lost in time with some stupendous nature scenes.

Weigl's direction allows for a certain amount of artistic liberty that culminates in a ravishing rendition of the 'Walk to the Paradise Garden', a touching moment of rare beauty that is also replicated in the equally moving Finale. I cannot imagine this drama being better enacted.

The late Christopher Palmer writes a lengthy and essential essay for the booklet notes which delve into great detail that is very much a must have for the seasoned Delian. One may lament the absence of a libretto but the CD version will probably be in most collectors' libraries anyway.

Still, the real bonus on this DVD is the hour-long documentary entitled, 'Discovering Delius'. This is another moving historical document described in fastidious detail and very artistical, with some invaluable contributions by that great man, Eric Fenby. This alone is worth the price of the whole issue."

DELIUS MASTERPIECE FINALLY ON DVD . . . BUT.......2003-10-09

I confess to having a magnificent obsession with Delius' elusive opera. I listened repeatedly to Meredith Davies' recording on Angel and dreamed what a staged presentation would look like. In 1972 a multi-media production was staged by both the Washington and New York City Operas and never offered again.

Advance to 1989. The European Mediascope company announces a filmed version using the digital recording on Argo conducted by Charles Mackerras as its soundtrack. The film is released on LaserDisc, NOT a format that I had the economic ability or desire to invest in. I take an interest in Mackerras recording, but still prefer the Davies reading which EMI finally unearths on CD. A few years pass and LaserDisc dissolves into oblivion as does the opportunity to see the film.

At long last, enter DVD and Decca's release of the opera on that format. I eagerly purchase the package and rush home to see it. You cannot imagine my disappointment.

Well, look at it this way - better a cracked cookie than no cookie at all. The visual images, sets, location shots and period costumes by director Petr Weigl and others are attractive and make sense. The direction takes things too literally and some of the staging is awkward (Sali's dispatching of Marti is totally unconvincing. No stunt doubles?) There are instances where abstract or symbolic imagery would have been welcome (Walk to the Paradise Garden, in particular). But what really ruins things is the lip-synching. Dana Maravkova and Michal Dlouhy are attractive in a chilly sort of way, but no one is going to believe the voices of Helen Field and Arthur Davies coming from the mouths of these babes. Thomas Hampson plays and sings the part of the Dark Fiddler here, but he is deprived of making a bigger impact of his role by the indifferent direction.

The Petr Weigl film fills a void, but not completely.

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