Austria Hotels Travel :: R. Strauss - Elektra

R. Strauss - Elektra

R. Strauss - Elektra
Average Customer Rating: Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5

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Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
Starring: Leonie Rysanek, Astrid Varnay, Catarina Ligendza, Hans Beirer, Josef Greindl
Directed By: Karl Böhm

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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0044007340950
Format: Classical
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
Number Of Discs: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2005-11-08
Running Time: 118
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
Theatrical Release Date: 1981
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Editorial Reviews:

Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
Summary: Terrible
Comment: I have seen Elektra many times (15-20, mostly with Birgit Nilsson, (but also many others) and I understand that it is a difficult opera to put on stage. But you should always let the music speak (I love it!) and it is not necessary always to exaggerate the darker musical happenings within the staging. This is a film I do not want to see more than once. It is terribly ugly, dirt grey althrough - and with very much overacting. There is BEAUTY in the score, you can see nothing of it in this scenery and direction. As for Ms. Rysanek, I do think that an artist who has not tried out her role in the opera house never should try it on film only. Varnay is grotesque in her overacting (yes I know that she has a grotesque role, but not like this, please), Only Catarina Ligendza gives some comfort. I think I must mention here that I greatly admire all these artists, Varnay - I just adore her - in Wagner, Ligendza (in Wagner), and Rysanek, in amonger other fields, Wagner and Strauss/Empress.
Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: If all film could be this good!
Comment: I first saw this film over 20 years ago on PBS (on a small TV with tinny sound) and was blown away, so you can imagine my delight when I saw it again last week on my new large screen set up with surround stereo sound. I can't stop watching!

I have other recordings of Elektra, but this one is a sentimental and artistic favorite. It's especially touching to see Karl Boehm in the documentary on disc 2, in frail health and literally near death, give it his all and squeeze the very best sound out of the VPO. His body may have been failing, but his ear and mind were still sharp and this film is a testament to his true artistry.

Highly, highly recommended!
Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: Astrid Varnay is a wonder
Comment: She completly dominates this video. And her acting is never over the top considering the character or even her age where this is a new medium for opera and some of the stock opera poses look so out of place when viewed up close . I've read Varnay's biography and was surprised to learn she was an American and was a great Wagnerian soprano in the 40's and 50's singing the big roles, Isolde, Brunnehilde, etc. What an artist! And this video was recorded when she was no longer in her prime, whatever that is. I would have loved to have seen her then. Also, I'd like to add that an awful lot of nitpicking is done in these reviews and I think of the old adage: them that do sing, them that can't critique. We are so lucky to be able to enjoy watching and in our own homes operas which only 60 or so years ago was only for the elite.
Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: Powerful as Music, Drama, and Film
Comment: The previous review by Loki is quite informative, almost definitive. I have nothing to add except my personal endorsement. I'm a recent convert to admiration of Richard Strauss, but now I'm feeling the convert's zeal. It took the experience of watching and hearing this and other Strauss DVDs on a large HD screen with theater quality sound to convert me; that's my only "buyer beware"... you might enjoy chamber opera or Gilbert & Sullivan on a less-than-adequate system, but you need power to appreciate power.
Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: Achingly close to a five.
Comment: I would probably have to give this 4.5 in reality. I think the fact is I have been watching a lot of really top quality opera on dvd of late and thus the bar has been raised. On this basis i think this production just falls short because I think that Rysanek is not really a definitive Elektra. Sure, she gives it her all and for the most part is good enough but her singing is quite off at times - I know it's Elektra not Violetta Valery but it would be preferable if she had the capacity for beautiful singing; there are moments in this opera where it would be befitting. Rysanek is also too old and perhaps not physically right for the part, e.g., where the excellent Fischer-Dieskau as Orestes is lamenting her gaunt, skeletal look - well let's face it Rysanek is a bit on the chubby side here, not a porker but not skin and bone that's for sure.

As difficult an opera as Elektra is to pull off, therefore, I have to say that the Strauss score is not quite perfectly complemented by the sense of wretched hatred and fear that I would have liked and that is primarily the responsibility of the performer of the Elektra character to evoke, admittedly no easy task!

Still, that said, the staging by Gotz is excellent - some really nice touches and the use of rain and the effectively ashened skins of the 'corpse-like' people of King and Queen neatly promotes a feeling of death and decay. Böhm conducts well as expected and performances are generally strong; so, in general i would definitely recommend this version but to my tastes it is not definitive.
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