Thais – Massenet: Gianandrea Noseda (ArtHaus)/Cosi
fan tutte – Mozart: Ivan Fisher (Opus Arte)/La forza del destino – Verdi: Zubin Mehta (TDK)/Gotterdammerung – Der Ring des
Nibelungen/Wagner – Staatskapelle Weimar (Art Haus)/Naxos Blu-ray)
Picture:
B-/B-/B/B Sound: B- (Verdi: B) Extras: C- (Mozart: C) Concerts:
Thais C+
Cosi fan tutte C+
La forza del destino B-
Gotterdammerung B
It has
been a while since I have looked at Classical and Opera material on Blu-ray,
but for many who enjoy the High Definition format as I do, they may be
surprised how many such titles are already available in the format. So many that we have covered them
individually and in groups, like the four programs here from ace distributor
Naxos.
The four
programs here are the latest stage productions offers by Art Haus, Opus Arte
and TDK, whom many are surprised to learn
has a solid home entertainment division.
I had mixed feelings and viewings of the four programs here. Thais
(which takes place in Egypt involving the beautiful title character) and Cosi fan tutte (a opera comedy about
relationships that was first performed in 1790!) are top rate productions as
far as the talents, costumes and sets are concerned, yet they did not work for
me consistently and we uneven in bringing out the best in everyone and the
work.
La forza del destino has some of the same troubles,
but it works well enough in other ways and conductor Zubin Mehta has a knack
for bringing out angles in Classical and Opera music many conductors do not. Nicolas Joel directs and they mesh better
than the previous productions, yet it was not everything I had hoped for. However, Gotterdammerung
does deliver as expected and though not the best Blu-ray I have seen in the
genre, its playback is superior to the other Blu-rays and it is the one where
the work comes alive and tends to stay that way throughout.
All are
shot in 1080i 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition video and while Thais and Cosi fan tutte are softer than such a taping should be, La forza del destino and (especially at
times) Gotterdammerung have some
great-looking shots for the format and overcome their source limits at
times. Audio is less consistent,
however, with all but La forza del
destino not quite having the soundfield I was hoping for.
Thais is really pushing and thinning
out its audio with a DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 7.1 mix (the sound is
just not there) and also offers PCM 2.0 Stereo.
Cosi fan tutte has Dolby
TrueHD 5.1 and 2.0 mixes with the 5.1 a little better, but the sound is
limited. Gotterdammerung also has DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless sound,
but the makers leave it at a 5.1 (vs. 7.1) mix and stops any limits from being
any more so. La forza del destino also has a DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless
7.1 mix, but this is much better, fuller and creates a much better sound field
than the others, though a PCM 2.0 Stereo is also included.
Extras include
an extended booklet on the music, while the Mozart Blu-ray adds a fine illustrated synopsis (the effective kind
Opus Arte keeps adding to these releases, which are most welcome), animated
cast gallery and Insights featurette with Conductor Fischer, Stage Director
Nicholas Hytner and members of the cast.
For more
related Blu-rays, try these links:
Mozart’s Die Zauberflote
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6892/Die+Zauberflote+(aka+The+Magic+Flut
Massenet’s Manon/Wagner’s Tristan
& Isolde
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8513/Walter+Felsenstein+Edition+(7+Opera
Mozart’s Don Giovanni/Wagner’s
Lohengrin
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8662/Handel%E2%80%99s+Tamerlano
Verdi’s Il Trovatore
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7439/Giuseppe+Verdi's+Il+Trovatore+(Blu
Verdi’s La Traviata
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7681/Giuseppe+Verdi%E2%80%99s+La+Tra
Verdi’s Rigoletto
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8070/Giuseppe+Verdi+%E2%80%93+Rigolet
- Nicholas Sheffo
