WGBH Radio WGBH Radio theclassicalstation.org

J. Strauss Jr.: Die Fledermaus / Armstrong, Allen [Blu-ray]

Strauss,J. Ii / Armstrong / Allen / Petrova
Release Date: 05/27/2008 
Label:  Opus Arte   Catalog #: 7004  
Composer:  Johann Strauss Jr.
Performer:  Malena Ernman,  Håkan Hagegård,  Ragnar Ulfung,  Thomas Allen,   ... 
Conductor:  Vladimir Jurowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Philharmonic Orchestra,  Glyndebourne Festival Chorus
Number of Discs: 1 
In Stock: Usually ships in 24 hours.  
On sale! $45.98
Blu-ray Disc: $39.99
In Stock
BUY 
On sale!   $45.98   Blu-ray Disc:  $39.99 Add to Cart

WISH LIST



1 Customer
Review

Notes and Editorial Reviews

*** This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD or HD DVD players. ***

3223070.az_J_STRAUSS_II_Die.html

J. STRAUSS II Die Fledermaus • Vladimir Jurowski, cond; Pamela Armstrong ( Rosalinde ); Thomas Allen ( Eisenstein ); Håkan Hagegård ( Dr. Falke ); Pär Read more Lindskog ( Alfred ); Malena Ernman ( Prince Orlovsky ); Lyubov Petrova ( Adele ); Ragnar Ulfung ( Dr. Blind ); Artur Korn ( Frank ); Udo Samel ( Frosch ); Reneé Schüttengruber ( Ida ); Glyndebourne Ch; London PO • BBC/OPUS ARTE 7004 (Blu-ray Disc: 198:00) Live: Glyndebourne 8/17/2003


& Cast & costume galleries. The Genesis of the Waltz. The Architect Returns. Interviews. Frosch interlude


This pretty-much-perfect production of Strauss’s pretty-much-perfect operetta is an ideal specimen to demonstrate the visual and sonic virtues of the Blu-ray medium. The Glyndebourne staging is a feast to watch: the sets and costumes are lavish, the dancing accomplished. Opus Arte’s 24-bit PCM sound is way better than anything you’ve ever heard on a traditional DVD, both the stereo version and the spacious multichannel that puts the listener in the middle of the appreciative audience who experienced the real thing in Sussex back in August of 2003.


Director Stephen Lawless has moved the setting of Die Fledermaus ahead a few decades to around 1910, the Vienna of Sigmund Freud and Gustav Klimt. (Eisenstein’s dressing gown, in fact, is a facsimile of Klimt’s The Kiss .) This Fledermaus is clearly viewed as a play that happens to have awfully good music, and Lawless and Daniel Dooner have created new dialogue for the production. In the hands of an ensemble of terrific singing actors, the texts never impede the headlong momentum of this comic masterpiece.


What a cast! Pamela Armstrong, as Rosalinde, handles the part vocally quite well but is equally concerned with her character’s development: when she dresses up as someone else, Eisenstein’s wife discovers her “real self” (as the soprano puts it in one of the disc’s “extras”). Thomas Allen notes that the high tessitura of his role was a bit of a challenge—it sure doesn’t sound it—but his comic timing is impeccable and the man can actually dance. As Dr. Falke, Håkan Hagegård gives his character an edge: the practical joke that Eisenstein played on him months before the curtain rises for act I has deeply wounded him, and Falke is serious about getting revenge. Singing Alfred in an appropriately seductive manner is Swedish tenor Pär Lindskog who, like Allen, is obviously quite a versatile artist. You’d never know from this performance that the guy also sings Siegfried and Parsifal.


The kudos go on. Lyubov Petrova’s rendition of Adele’s big second-act aria is a showstopper and Malena Ernman is utterly convincing as the terminally bored and sexually ambiguous Orlovsky. It’s a surprise every time Ernman starts to sing and her voice jumps up an octave or two. The smaller parts—Dr. Blind, Frank, Ida, Frosch—are all covered quite well.


Vladimir Jurowski takes the music very seriously (as, the notes remind us, did Gustav Mahler) and his leadership of the LPO is spirited and knowingly inflected. To accompany the curtain calls, Jurowski conducts a rousing “Radetzky March.” Opus Arte provides subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, and Dutch. There’s a generous supply of extras, including cast and costume “galleries” and brief featurettes on the history of the waltz and the new (in 1994) opera house at Glyndebourne, as revisited by the architect who designed it. We also get observations on Fledermaus from Armstrong, Allen, Hagegård, Jurowski, and director Lawless and, to close, some shtick, mostly about champagne, by Udo Samel, the actor who has the speaking role of the jailer Frosch.


Yes, this one’s on my Want List.

FANFARE: Andrew Quint


Picture Format: 1080i High Definition, NTSC 16:9
Sound Format: 2.0 / 5.0 PCM Audio
Region Code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Languages: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch
Running Time: 198 min Read less

Works on This Recording

1. Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss Jr.
Performer:  Malena Ernman (Mezzo Soprano), Håkan Hagegård (Baritone), Ragnar Ulfung (Tenor),
Thomas Allen (Baritone), Pamela Armstrong (Soprano), Lyubov Petrova (Soprano),
Pär Lindskog (Voice), Artur Korn (Bass)
Conductor:  Vladimir Jurowski
Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Philharmonic Orchestra,  Glyndebourne Festival Chorus
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1874; Vienna, Austria 
 Date of Recording: 08/17/2003 
Venue:  Glyndebourne Opera House, London 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 Great entertainment and fun!!! December 7, 2012 By S. Mikolajczyk (Toledo, OH) See All My Reviews "Some purists may complain about the extended spoken dialogue and modernization of the production but I found this production to be very entertaining and great fun to watch After all isn’t that what this operetta is supposed to be? The singing and acting are excellent throughout. The whole cast is on top form as well as the orchestra and the chorus. The sound, lighting and sets were fabulous. The casting was perfect. The personality and quirks of each character were excellently conveyed. The blue-ray disk captures this production in all its glory. The nuances of the performers’ gestures and glances were expertly captured. This along with the excellent 5.0 surround sound made this production come alive. At times I forgot I was watching a recording felt my self being drawn in to scene." Report Abuse
Review This Title
Review This Title Share on Facebook