Lohengrin [VHS]

DISCONTINUED? OY!
I've had this Lohengrin from it's first printing. So when I wanted to buy this production for a dear friend, after looking at all the others, I returned to this one. If I were rich, it wouldn't be a problem. I'm tempted to mail my copy and ask that he return it to me after viewing. Disappointed in Ohio.

Great live performance
At the time i write this, i see this is only available used, and at inflated prices. If you can get a deal though, this is a great DVD of a great opera. This has a "front row seat" feel to it, and doesn't try to be a movie like some opera dvd's. It is cast very well, and all the performers are in top shape. It is presented as the legend and fairy tale it is, with appropriate costumes and sets. Lohengrin's appearance and departure aren't met with any great special effects, but you get the idea well enough. The dove at the end is missing, or maybe not caught by the camera. This is one of the best DVD's of anything that i own. Note: unlike most opera DVD's there is no menu choice for subtitles. It does have English subtitles however if you use the subtitle button on your remote.

swansense
Overall this is a fine production in musical terms, especially Domingo's impressive singing. Inexplicably, however, the brass and timpani are muted in some climatic crescendi, including the overture, though this seems to be more a fault of engineering balance than Abbado's conducting. Visually, the production can be summed up as bland and brown. It lacks even shining armor or colorful standards to break the sepia-toned monotony. The swan, which does appear, is so clunky and monstrous that it makes one appreciate the genius of the single wing gliding across the stage in Robert Wilson's otherwise ludicrous minimalist production at the Met. In fact, the swan looks as though it had been yanked from Santa's goose-shaped sleigh in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

Domingo gives a very sensitive portayal
This is a very good Lohengrin. Placido Domingo is very sensitive in the title character. Can be a bit slow but that's the way the opera is, thanks to Wagner's style, but nowhere near as heavy as the Ring Cycle.

A very conventional Lohengrin, well performed
This is a very good (but not outstanding)performance of Lohengrin. Everyone sings very well, the acting is adequate, scenery and costumes are adequate (certainly much better than the recent Metropolitan opera production).