Rosenkavalier - Strauss DVD

Advantages: Great cast, conductor and orchestra, top notch production
Disadvantages: None, to be honest

...'ve always been an advocate of having singers who can "act" properly and one of the main reasons why this is my top DVD choice for "Der Rosenkavalier" is that the acting quality is undeniably first rate. I have to say that my favourite character is Kurt Moll as Baron Ochs. He treads that fine line between good acting and caricature perfectly. You cringe at Ochs' antics as the bachelor male relative from Hell, yet he doesn't go so far as to make himself unlikeable. At the end you are compelled to feel a little sympathy for him as he is humiliated in the inn by Mariandel/Octavian and her collaborators, and I think that's what Richard Strauss would have intended. In an opera where interaction between the characters is so vital, I especially like the way in which TV director Horant Hohlfeld has successfully managed the difficult balance... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Superb historical performances and fascinating insights
Disadvantages: Only that there are no bonus interviews this time

...of the project by having only complete pieces. It's a hard call, sometimes one longs to hear the next movement or part of an extract, but some of these performances are now thankfully available on individual DVDs, so personally I'm happy to have so many DIFFERENT interpretations conveniently put together on one disc. Certainly some of the extracts have made me determined to track down other DVDs and CDs featuring these conductors and I have to say that if you don't really know much about these magnificent maestri from the past - this DVD is an absolutely brilliant starting point to further more detailed musical explorations. Music featured includes: Richard Strauss - "Ein Heldenleben" and "Til Eulenspiegls lustige Streiche"; Dvorak -" Wild Dove" Symphony from the New World; Kallinikov - Symphony No. 1; Ravel - "Rapsodie espagnole"; Tchaikovsky... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: see below
Disadvantages: see below

...an explanation and a lot of people didn't care. I think Warner Bros. is now the leading studio in terms of film restoration and remastering, and now they are bringing back many Kubrick films on DVD with all-new treatments, with the others being A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut. The 2001print on the special edition is practically the same one as the one on the previous DVD, with one small exception: it is now in anamorphic widescreen 2.20 instead of 2.35, as well as being available on Blu-Ray and HD for the first time. The audio mix is remastered in Dolby Surround 5.1 which should give your system a workout with all the Strauss tunes. The other carry over from the previous DVD is the grainy theatrical trailer, which basically uses the music and several scenes to fine effect. What is new here in terms of bonus features... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful