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Metropolitan Opera Archive

SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet & Othello (comp.productions by Royal Shakespeare Co.), Blu-ray (2016)

SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet & Othello (comp.productions by Royal Shakespeare Co.), Blu-ray (2016)

by | Feb 23, 2017 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet & Othello (comp.productions by Royal Shakespeare Co.), Blu-ray (2016) SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet ‒ Paapa Essiedu, Hamlet / Natalie Simpson, Ophelia / Cyril Nri, Polonius / Clarence Smith, Claudius / Tanya Moodie, Gertrude / Hiran Abeysekera, Horatio / Marcus Griffiths, Laertes / Ewart James Walters, Ghost; Gravedigger / James Conney, Rosencrantz / Bethan Cullinane, Guildenstern / Kevin N Golding, Bernardo / Priest, Player King / Theo Ogundipe, Fortinbras; Marcellus; Lucianus / Doreene Blackstock, Player Queen / Marième Diouf, Cornelia; Player / Romayne Andrews, Osric / Eke Chukwu, Voltimand / Simon Godwin, Director / Royal Shakespeare Company ‒ Opus Arte Blu-ray OA 807172 D, 180 min., main features; 5 min., extras (10/28/16) ****: SHAKESPEARE: Othello ‒ David Ajao, Montano / Nadia Albina, Duke of Venice / Scarlett Brookes, Bianca / James Corrigan, Roderigo / Ayesha Dharker, Emilia / Eva Feiler, Citizen of Venice / Owen Findlay, Gentleman of Cyprus / Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Cassio / Guy Hughes, Soldier / Gwilym Lloyd, Gratiano / Rina Mahoney, Citizen of Venice; Messenger / Lucian Msamati, Iago / Ken Nwosu, Gentleman of Cyprus / Brian Protheroe, Brabantio / Hugh Quarshie, Othello / Herald, Jay Saighal, Gentleman of Cyprus / Tim Samuels, Lodovico / Joanna Vanderham, Desdemona […]

VERDI: Macbeth, Blu-ray (2015)

VERDI: Macbeth, Blu-ray (2015)

by | Jan 8, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

Lots to recommend in this opera. It’s a keeper. VERDI: Macbeth, Blu-ray (2015) Cast: Anna Netrebko, Zeljko Lucic, René Pape, Joseph Calleja, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Studio: Deutsche Grammophon [10/30/15] (Dist. by Universal) Director: Fabio Luisi Video: 1.77:1 1080p HD Color for 16:9 screens Audio: DTS-HD 5.1, PCM Stereo Subtitles: English, German, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, Italian Length: 155 minutes Extras: Backstage at the Met – interviews Ratings: Audio: ****½ Video: ****½ Overall ****½ Who would have thought the old play had so much music in it? Unjustly considered one of Verdi’s second tier operas (just below his other Shakespearean operas, Otello and Falstaff), Macbeth nevertheless boasts excellent duets, solos, and several well-timed ensemble pieces. Yet it is rarely performed and even more rarely recorded. A film version (1987) transferred to DVD (2007) with Shirley Verrett and Leo Nucci is eminently splendid, with its simian topless witches (acrobats perhaps?), a musty Godfrey of Bouillon castle, and lots of blue-gray lighting. It set the bar very high, but lately it’s begun to creak in this age of HD and RF mikes. As Macbeth, Zeljko Lucic does a decent job, particularly at the beginning as he totes his AK-47 and […]

Audio News for April 16, 2013

by | Apr 16, 2013 | Audio News

Court Decision Makes Selling Digital Music Files Difficult; Increased Consumer Spending Lifts Electronics Sales; Sydney Opera House Partners with Samsung; Problems with Met’s 45-ton Wagner Set; Vudu User Data Stolen; Four Hisense TVs Now on Walmart Shelves

Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D / Vienna Sym./ Fabio Luisi – Vienna Sym. (2 LPs)

Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D / Vienna Sym./ Fabio Luisi – Vienna Sym. (2 LPs)

by | Mar 4, 2013 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 1 in D / Vienna Symphony/ Fabio Luisi – Vienna Symphony WSLP 001 (2 vinyl LPs) ****: This is a very good recording of the Mahler No. 1, well-played and well-recorded with a medium-distance hall ambience. Fabio Luisi, currently Principal Conductor of the Zurich Opera and Metropolitan Opera, New York has been Music Director of L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and other European orchestras. Known primarily as an opera conductor, he has established himself equally  well in the symphonic repertory. This is the start of a new label put out by the Vienna Orchestra, like many similar orchestras worldwide (though so far, no SACDs). The first symphony is Mahler’s Genesis. It establishes Mahler’s symphonic language, recurring thematic motifs referenced throughout his symphonic output: yearning, dream sequences of childhood, musical references to past life. This symphony paves the way for his magnificent symphonic output to follow. The first movement deals with innocence and emergence. This is exuberant declarative music,  presented with great clarity and notable restraint by Maestro Luisi and his fine orchestra. Movement #2 is a very deliberate ländler, contrasted with a wistful delicately-shaded  longing second subject. This is one of Mahler’s favorite devices, yearning , wonderfully accented […]