Wagner - Lohengrin / James Levine, The Metropolitan Opera

Starring:Wagner, Rysanek, Marton, Peter Hoffmann
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Product Type: DVD

Customer Reviews:

Lohengrin.......2007-01-04

Vocally this is a most satisfying performance. All the voices are clear and the acting is good. I do miss the swan however.

The Vocalists Are Not Always Perfect But The Opera Is Brought Thrillingly To Life In This Production.......2006-11-08

To start with, James Levine conducts masterfully, with spaciousness where needed and exciting drama in other places. He is certainly one of the best operatic conductors working today. The staging, lighting, costumes, the whole production is fully captivating. The DVD quality is very fine, good picture and sound.

Other reviewers have mentioned that the vocalists are not always at the top of their game, I concur. However having this opera on DVD with their masterful characterizations is much more persuasive than it would be to just hear this on a sound recording. Peter Hofman plays Lohengrin really well although Domingo in a competing DVD is his superior in voice. The other singers do their parts proud, Eva Marton makes a very good, not always great Elsa. The other two main characters played by Leonie Rysanek as Ortrud and Leif Roar as Telramund are both phenomenal actors and singers.

The production is large and spares no expense in it's tradional staging, all the big set pieces come off wonderfully, the direction is top-notch. If you're a Wagner newcomer, this DVD of Lohengrin or the Placido Domingo version are both wonderful choices to view this most accessible of Richard Wagner's grandiose works for the stage.

A different take on this production.......2004-10-14

I was very excited to come across this Met performance by one of my favorite dramatic sopranos, Eva Marton. Wonderful dramatic gifts aside, I was quite disappointed and saddened by the amount of wear and tear the voice exhibited at this point by such a gifted actress and musician. She put tears in my eyes and touched my life when I saw her in a concert video singing "Sola, perduta, abbandonata" from Manon Lescaut. It is a rarity to have as much emotional depth as she had in that recital. I also hold the opinion that she attacks the role of Elsa with so much vocal force that it sounds as though it would be more fitting for Isolde. I believe that Cheryl Studer hit the nail more squarely on the head with a more lyrical approach to the vocalism in the Abbado-Vienna production, although Studer did not have Marton's depth of character. I am completely amazed at the choice of Telramund, Leif Roar, who made up for his apparent inability to sing the exposed high notes of the role by snarling and literally screaming them out in a melodramatic manner here, as well as in the Vienna State Opera venture also out on video. Levine and the Met Orchestra exhibit exceptional, intense playing here. In my humble opinion, the orchestra's comtribution was on of this production's saving graces. Peter Hofmann's voice as Lohengrin is crystal clear, youthful and as powerful as necessary here, but I prefer Placido Domingo's (in the Vienna production) warmth and color, although his German is un-idiomatic. Also what was up with Levine's shameful casting of the Herald, whose wobble was so great that it was impossible to discern his pitch?? One should be focusing on the drama at hand and not worrying about someone's attention-grabbing lack of technique. Shouldn't we expect more from the Met, with such a supposed standard of excellence? I am glad I bought this on Ebay and didn't pay full price.

Another Triumph For Eva Marton!!!.......2004-05-22

As Elsa,the lovely Miss Marton stole the show,despite attempts by the fading glory Leonie Rysanek to upstage her. I found Rysanek's voice as Ortud a bit caustic at times & shrill the rest of the time. Miss Marton maintained her composure,elegance & grace throughout. She brought the innocence to the role so needed when performing Elsa. Her voice was flawless. A true genius of a singer! She allowed her art to make her statement rather than pander to the crowd.The Lohengrin looked the part but fell short vocally. The music is glorious.The supporting singers are adequate.

Slight Hiccup.......2004-04-24

I must admit slight disappointment after watching this DVD. Let's start with the plus's: Levine's conducting, staging and chorus efforts are admirable. Hofmann's portrayl of Lohengrin, while coarse in some places, sounds great, Roar as Telramund also sings and acts well. Now the not so good moments: Marton, as much as I admire her vocal prowress, simply sounds too heavy for Elsa. Her acting is also too stifled and contrived. Rysanek as Ortrud, as intensely as her acting is, simply does not have the voice for her part. Her high notes, as secure as she places them, just do not hold much weight as compared with perhaps Waltraud Meier. Marton should have reprised Ortrud from the previous staging and another singer performed Elsa. Otherwise, the supporting roles are well filled. The other DVD version of Lohengrin with Domingo from the VSO also lacks a good Ortrud. Can we not perhaps have Meier's performances released? They must be lurking somewhere.................

Wagner - Lohengrin / James Levine, The Metropolitan Opera

Average customer rating:

Lohengrin
The Vocalists Are Not Always Perfect But The Opera Is Brought Thrillingly To Life In This Production
A different take on this production
Another Triumph For Eva Marton!!!
Slight Hiccup

Wagner - Lohengrin / James Levine, The Metropolitan Opera
Starring: Elena Nicolai , Giaciulo Prandalli , and Peter Hoffmann
Manufacturer: Geneon [Pioneer]
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Wagner - Tannhauser / Richard Cassily, Eva Marton, Tatiana Troyanos, Bernd Weikl, John Macurdy, James Levine, Metropolitan Opera
Wagner - Parsifal / Levine, Weikl, Mazura, Metropolitan Opera
Wagner - Der Fliegende Hollander / Estes, Balslev, Salminen, Schunk, Schlemm, Clark, Nelsson, Bayreuth Opera
Verdi - Luisa Miller / Renata Scotto, Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Bonaldo Giaiotti, James Morris, James Levine, Metropolitan Opera
Strauss - Elektra

ASIN: B00004ZERK
Release Date: 2001-06-05

Description

The Met brought out its best available performers... James Levine...controls the music superbly and...brings out a texture of sound in which Wagnerian sensualists can simply wallow." Washington Post The medieval romance of the Swan Knight, who comes miraculously to the rescue of the falsely accused Elsa of Brabant, became on of Richard Wagner's most beloved operas. Enacted against a background of chivalric and religious pageantry and made vivid by Wagner's powerful, richly scored music, Lohengrin comes grippingly to life in this handsome Metropolitan Opera production, featuring a notable cast under the baton of Artistic Director James Levine. Peter Davis in New York praised Leoni Rysanek's Ortrud, "an especially fascinating creation," and Eva Marton's "creamy-voiced Elsa, "while Mary Cambell of the Associated press declared Peter Hoffman "a splendid Lohengrin.

Customer Reviews:

Lohengrin.......2007-01-04

Vocally this is a most satisfying performance. All the voices are clear and the acting is good. I do miss the swan however.

The Vocalists Are Not Always Perfect But The Opera Is Brought Thrillingly To Life In This Production.......2006-11-08

A different take on this production.......2004-10-14

Another Triumph For Eva Marton!!!.......2004-05-22

Slight Hiccup.......2004-04-24

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