Wagner - Tannhauser [VHS]

Streit ohne Heldentum, Lautstärke ohne Klang...
... or to put it in Italian, since this was a production in the Theater of san Carlos in naples, "serietà senza squillo" -- 'squillo being the word for the ringing heroic timbre of the best Italian tenors. Squillo is what's missing in the musicianship of this performance, both in the singers and in the orchestra. The overture to Tannhäuser should foreshadow and set up all the emotions of the production, the longing, the heroism, the adoration of Nature, the redemptive exaltation -- all shades of squillo ringing out from the transformations of the central motif. This San Carlos Orchestra lumbered when it should have soared, coughed when it should have groaned. I'd swear there were holes in the violin section, or rather in the master sound track where the violins were too obviously snarly. The trombones had trouble with the beat and the cymbal player must have been doing a crossword puzzle. I have a wealth of nostalgia for this overture; I played the bassoon part in it in the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra decades ago. But I almost shut the DVD off at the end of it.... ...and soon enough I wished I had. First there was the offstage chorus, badly out of tune. Then came Tannhäuser, sung by Alan Woodrow, also less than impressive in tuning and harsher of voice than even his weariness of Venusberg would justify. Next, up waddled Venus, sung by Marianna Pencheva, alluring neither vocally nor visually, and also out of tune far too often. This first scene of Tannhäuser has to be both lush and fraught with tension. Honestly, it's hard to get it right, and many productions fail, but what the audience saw and heard in Naples was closer to the mid-life spat of an overstuffed couple in an over-draped McMansion in Milwaukee. And that's as far as I got. I'm not masochist enough for three hours of third-rate Wagner.

Visually stunning Herzog production
There are no authentic Wagnerian voices here but everyone is dramatically committed and manages to sing well. The main pleasure is the imaginative production by Werner Herzog which is absorbing and truly theatrical, to say the least. The costumes, reminiscent of grotesque medieval drolleries, are particularly interesting and the spare sets and filming are equally effective. Conducting is incisive and detailed. If you buy it in the three-disc Masterpieces of Opera set at $25 it is a real bargain.

A very nice presentation of Tannhauser
Decent singing all around although not world class. The Heinrich is a little short on top but the voice is pleasant and he generally sings all the 8th and 16th notes, which many Tannhausers just glide right over. The Venus seemed a little unsteady on top. There was alot to like about the singing of all the principle singers. The production is the most beautiful of all the three Tannhauser videos I have seen so far. I do think that world class singing might more likely be had on the Met video, but I personally find that production quite brown, and the Heinrich terribly nasal.

If you're new in Wagner...
If you aren’t a experienced Wagnerian (like me: I never listened the complete "Ring", or "Tristan"), this is a good choice. A not “difficult” opera, with some good tunes, an easy story.The orchestra, if isn’t a “top” one, sounds good. The choir is acceptable.The conductor, Gustav Kuhn, a pupil of Herr von Karajan, really turns Wagner in a good experience. He counts with good singers: the Heldentenor, Alan Woodrow, seems a little uncertain in pitch at the beginning, but gains confidance , and his performance is, overall, very good. Other great pleasures are the deep bass of Andrea Silvestrelli (Landgraf Hermann), and baritone Ludwig Baumann as Wolfram . Venus and Elisabeth both sings very well , althought Pentcheva isn’t my perfect idea of a love’s goddess.I liked the stage design. Isn’t a tradicional one, but also isn’t a ridiculous one, like a lot of “pseudo-modernist” productions. Some colleagues here doesn’t like some concepts of Herzog, but for me they are all beautiful. The contrast between Venus and her hill, in red, and the other caracters, in white, is very impactant on the video – and with a high picture quality. The sound is, sometimes, very loud (when the singers are near the front end of the stage – a balance trouble) , and there is a very boring prompter (at the Venusberg he’s irritanting). But these are minor faults. Also, unfortunately we have only English (and not German!) subtitles. If you like to watch “having the words in your hands”, download a libretto in the Internet.I never watched the two other versions of this opera on DVD (Levine / Mehta),but I’m very satisfied with this one. If you can live with all these weak points (I can), buy it. The strong points: good sound (with minor faults); excellent picture quality (very superior to Metropolitan’s DVDs); very good singers ; and a good work, from conductor Kuhn and director Herzog. Don’t be afraid because it is Wagner: this is an easy Wagner.

DVD big let down; see it live instead!
This DVD was a great let down. I had seen this production in Baltimore and was expecting great things. When viewed live, the combination of the Venusburg set and the overture created the proper mood. Unfortunately, this DVD features the conductor and orchestra during the overture and continually flashes back to the conductor even after the singing has started. So much for thinking you are in Venusburg. The National Theater of Munich DVD has a much less interesting set design, but at least the shots of Mehta are kept to a minimum. I find it very disturbing that a conductor thinks that shots of his face are more important than setting the mood for a music drama.