Great Il Pipistrello Die Fledermaus
This production of Die Fledermaus was recorded at Glyndebourne in 2003 and delivers a sparkling production and performances to match from an experienced cast.
The singing and the acting is excellent throughout and the cast clearly seem to have a part icularly vibrant stage relationship with each other - so important with opera, which after all, is really a sung play at its most basic level. The extensive spoken dialogue, and there really is a great deal, is essential to the plot of course and is very easy to follow in the production which makes use of an adapted script by Stephen Lawless and Daniel Dooner and which can be considered a success.
The whole cast is on top form and it would be invidious to part icularly highlight any one or more members as being outstanding within such a group. However, there remain stand-out items that are clearly worth mentioning. Lyubov Petrova delivers an Adel of tremendous technical accuracy and this is clearly established with her early `laughing' song and prepares us for her fine delivery throughout the production. She also has a very attractive stage presence and the humour of the role is well-delivered. Malena Ernman delivers a remarkable performance as Prince Orlofsky. This applies to both her acting and vocal abilities and which is underpinned by the very distinctive tonal qualities of her voice, both in speech and in song. Her actual appearance as the prince is equally distinctive and she brings a dominating aura to the role whenever she is on stage .
The experienced Pamela Armstrong as Rosilinde is well part nered with the equally experienced Thomas Allen as Eisenstein and Par Lindskog maintains a pleasing twinkle in his eye as Alfred. Together they make a satisfying dramatic group to which can be added Artur Korn as Frank the prison governor. Haken Hagegard is a serious Dr. Falke intent on revenge and in this he is matched by Ragner Ulfung as Dr. Blind, Eisenstein's lawyer. The non-singing role of Frosch, played by Udo Samel is as convincing as it can be in the circumstances. Renee Schuttengruber is a suitably flighty sister to Adel in her rather lesser role. The chorus is well up to Glyndebourne standards and the staging is suitably opulent in the first two acts. The slight updating of the setting seems totally appropriate and convincing to my mind.
The orchestra plays superbly under the watchful eye of conductor Vladimir Jurowski and who makes sure that the pace of the performance never falters for a moment.
The recording offers sharp imaging that is detailed without being invasive. It fully captures the changing situations and moods unravelling on stage . The sound is provided in excellent surround 5.0 and stereo. There are a number of bonus features including cast and costume galleries, a description of the architecture of Glyndebourne's new opera house, a documentary on the development of the waltz and a number of interviews with the cast and conductor.
This was, justifiably, a part icularly successful Glyndebourne production and here it is captured in all its spontaneous glory and with a part icularly fine recording to match. Indeed, this performance is so good and of such a uniformly excellent production that it makes one wonder if there will ever be the need for another, although of course there inevitably will be!
The production and performance sparkles like the champagne so often featured in the opera! I have enjoyed it immensely and am sure many other purchasers will too. It seems very likely that most purchasers of this disc will consider that it is a clear 5 star issue and I would be astonished if there were any serious objections to this enthusiastic rating.
The production and performance sparkles like the champagne so often featured in the opera! I have enjoyed it immensely and am sure many others will too. I am as certain as I can be that most purchasers of this disc will agree that it is a clear 5 star issue! I would be astonished if there were any serious objections to this enthusiastic rating.
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