Wagner – Tannhauser: Jordan/Shostakovich
– Lady MacBeth Of Mtsensk: Conlon (Art Haus)/Stravinsky & The Ballet Russes: Firebird/Rite Of Spring (Bel
Aire)/Delibes: Sylvia – G. Bond/ Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake - Ovsyanikov/ Wagner: Tristan & Isolde – Belohavek
(Opus Arte)/Puccini: Il Trittico – Reynolds/R. Strauss: Elektra – Von Dohnanyi (TDK)/Grieg: Piano Concerto (2L w/SA-CD)/(Naxos
Blu-rays)
Picture:
B- (B Elektra/Grieg has no picture)
Sound: B* (B+ Sylvia, Grieg & Tristan) Extras: C (C+ Russes, Lake & Tannhauser) Concerts: B (B- Elektra)
*Super
Audio CD for Grieg: DSD 5.1 B+, DSD
2.0 B, PCM 2.0 B-
A look at
the latest high quality Classical Blu-rays distributed by Naxos with all their
great label partners is an interesting mix this time around, including an SA-CD
and some works we don’t hear about or see enough.
Wagner – Tannhauser: Jordan is a 2008 show with Philippe
Jordan that has the thrust and feel of his work and a German/Amsterdam
co-production that is a very effective rendering the tale of a man whose search
for what life is turns into a possible deal with the devil as realized as a
stage version can get. It did not stay
with me a very long time, but was rich enough to recommend strongly for those
who have not seen it. The DTS-HD MA (Master
Audio) lossless 7.1 is not bad, but still does not take full advantage of the
soundfield all the time. A documentary
is an additional extra worth seeing after watching the main program.
Shostakovich – Lady MacBeth Of
Mtsensk: Conlon is
an impressive revision of the Shakespeare tale in hard life Russian terms. Also taped in 2008, this is an Opera in four
acts that brings a new side out of the classic tale that has been done one too
many times in its classic form. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 7.1 is also not bad here, but (again) still
does not take full advantage of the soundfield all the time.
Stravinsky & The Ballet Russes:
The Firebird & The Rite Of Spring (Bel Aire) brings the two classics together in this
energetic, high quality production from 2008 at the Marinsky Theater and is one
of the better ballets I have seen on home video of any kind to date. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 mix
is pretty good for the most part, if lacking in some depth. Additional extras include a short called Documentary and An interview with
Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer.
Delibes: Sylvia – G. Bond is another ballet that is more
traditional and more effective than expected, being another less-famous but
highly worthy work from Graham Bond and The Royal Opera House. Not as stuffy as expected, well done
throughout and compelling enough to watch all the way through. The PCM 5.1 is one of the best soundtracks
here, with rich, clear sound that has fine depth and a solid soundfield.
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake - Ovsyanikov is easily one of the best
versions of this work I have ever seen and I have seen (and even suffered)
through a few. Another winner from The
Royal Opera House, the PCM 5.1 is just fine if quiet and additional extras
include cast gallery, illustrated synopsis, interview with Producer Anthony
Dowell and a half-hour piece Four Swan Queens involving interviews with former
prima ballerinas on the demands of this work and the business in general.
Wagner: Tristan & Isolde – Belohavek is a fine operatic interpretation
of the legendary love story that is my favorite of the releases here, with
grand Glyndebourne production values and performances that really make this
come alive. I liked the cast very much
and found it the most engrossing of the shows here, though there were a few
parts that hold it back, but this is impressive. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is exceptional and
along with Sylvia is how clean,
clear, warm and real all of the releases here should have been. The often dark image is exceptionally
rendered for a 1080i HD recording. This
also offers one of the better Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mixes I have heard lately. Additional extras include cast gallery,
illustrated synopsis, on the set stills (animated), Trimborn on Tristan
interview with music scholar Richard Trimborn and the short film Do I
Hear The Light?
Puccini: Il Trittico – Reynolds is a fine version of one of
Puccini’s less discussed and performed works as performed in 2007. He made this based on WWI and its fallout, in
three separate pieces and I like how the three pieces play on their own, then
make sense in context to each other.
Once again, we get a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 7.1 mix that is
not bad, but still does not take full advantage of the soundfield all the time.
R. Strauss: Elektra – Von Dohnanyi (TDK) is an ambitious but just
too-modern-in-style interpretation of the work despite the ambition here. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 7.1 is just
good enough to get its rating, but expect more compression in places than
expected.
Grieg: Piano Concerto is recorded in the Digital
eXtreme Definition PCM-based format at 24 bits and a very high 352.8 kHz, but
with the better dynamics come problems and distortion. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 96/24 7.1
on the Blu-ray and DSD 5.1 mix on the SA-CD are both strong, but harsh due to
the DXD recording process that proves the limits of PCM at its highest versus
how much better this could have been if it were a Direct Stream Digital (DSD)
recording. Somewhere between 96/24 and
192/24, PCM starts to have distortion problems and you can begin to hear some
of them here in both formats.
All have
2.0 Stereo versions of their multi-channel mixes that are not as good and all but
the imageless Grieg release have 1080i
HD shoots and they can look fine, but like their Rock counterparts, 1080i only
goes so far and usually comes with limits that film and higher HD formats (2K -
4K, not used for any concerts yet) would be less likely to have, like slight
noise, slight limits in black, white & red or even slight staircasing,
digital noise and slight issues with the interlacing working. All offer 2.0 Stereo versions of their audio
that is not as effective in the same format the multi-channel is offered. I should add that while the audio is better
than what you would find on a DVD, factors like slight compression, soundstage
limits or just a lack of total envelopment held the multi-channel versions back
a bit. They are all still fine
recordings, though, so don’t let that stop you from enjoying them for as well
as they work. As for extras, all have
thick booklets inside the Blu-ray case and some have trailers for other Blu-ray
releases.
For more
related Blu-rays, try these links:
Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7643/Vincenzo+Bellini%E2%80%99s+Norma
Puccini’s La Boheme
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7504/Giacomo+Puccini%E2%80%99s+La+Bo
Puccini’s Tosca
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8216/Puccini%E2%80%99s+Tosca+(Naxos/T
R. Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7880/Richard+Strauss%E2%80%99+Der+Ro
Wagner’s Gotterdammerung
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/9111/Thais+%E2%80%93+Massenet:+Nose
Wagner’s Lohengrin
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/8662/Handel%E2%80%99s+Tamerlano+DVD
-
Nicholas Sheffo
