Johann Strauss - Die Fledermaus / Domingo, Te Kanawa, Prey, Royal Opera Covent Garden

The opera itself was brilliant entertainment, with lots of laughs in it. It was almost as madcap as Gilbert & Sullivan (NOTHING can be as madcap as <i>Trial by Jury</i>). It well deserves the innumerable performances that have been done of it.Perhaps because of my interest in languages, the scene that amused me most was when the husband and the jailer were introduced as Frenchmen and they had to pretend to speak French to one-another even though they knew just about as much French as I do, which is very little. They managed a few common but totally unconnected French words and even threw in a bit of Italian.I can get by in reading French to some extent because I have a general knowledge of European languages but I have never studied it. I <a href="http://antigreen.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/another-blast-from-past-via-steve.html">recently translated</a> some Afrikaans, though. So that may explain why I was so amused by the scene. I couldn't watch it right through the second time around because it was so funny. I am like that with Mr Bean too. He is so unbearably funny that I have to switch off the recording half way through and watch the second half another day. Do Leftists have a sense of humour that strong? I can't imagine it.And the performance was a distinguished one indeed. Kiri te Kanawa was at her very good best. She both sang and acted admirably. And Hermann Prey as the husband was in his element. His expression when his wife was expounding his sins was very well and amusingly done.And a big surprise was the appearance of every woman's favourite soulful singer -- "Sharl" Aznavour -- playing, what else, Charles Aznavour. To get him along in a cameo role was undoubtedly a bit of a coup for the production. You don't have to understand a word Aznavour sings to get the soulfulness. He is a mobile evocation of tragedy. He is not my cup of tea at all but he is undoubtedly a supreme master of his genre.And the dancing was surprisingly good too. The dancing in operas and operettas can be pretty basic. I have an example in mind -- from Britain -- but will not be so unkind as to record it.On this occasion, the participation of an accomplished ballet company was secured, however, ensuring very good dancing indeed. The chief male dancer impressed me. It is of course routine for male dancers to lift the ballerina above their heads at some stage, though few have been as good at it as Nureyev. He would lift the lady up with two hands and then hold her there briefy with one hand -- a great feat of strength. And the dancer on this occasion was even better. He exited holding the ballerina above his head -- with his grip on just one of her ankles. Just holding her there would be pretty good, let alone walking off with her like that. <i>Update</i>: On further viewing he seems to have a hand on his lady's bottom too. But it is still quite a feat.And I was rather pleased at how un-Islamic the show was. It featured a huge amount of alcoholic imbibing and not a little of amusing drunkenness. Towards the end the whole proceedings were said to be a celebration of Champagne! I think I too would blow myself up if I were a Muslim. Though I was in fact teetotal until my late 20s. I was very skinny in my youth and I used to wonder what I could eat or drink to put on a bit of weight. In my late 20s I found the answer: beer!Speaking of 21st century concerns, I was pleased at how good the ethnic stereotyping was in the casting. Ethnic stereotypes are absolutely <i>verboten</i> these days but they have been something of an interest of mine. I have even written academic articles on the subject (<a href="http://jonjayray.comuv.com/scots.html">here</a> and <a href="http://jonjayray.comuv.com/stereo.html">here</a>). So I was pleased to see that the Italian music master could not have been more Southern Italian: A Neapolitanian, I suspect. And I was initially a bit critical of "Dr Falke" looking so English -- but I note now that he is introduced as "from London" -- so the casting director and I obviously thought similarly. And Hermann Prey looked as German as he is.So what did I not like about the production? I LOATHED the "trouser role", where the Prince was played by a bald-headed woman. The role was originally written that way but I am obviously not alone in my response to it -- as quite a lot of productions have put a man into the role. And couldn't they at least have put some hair on her? A bald-headed woman is a tragedy. The lady sang well enough but looking at her was a pain.I suppose the producer at Covent Garden was being true to the text in casting that role but I wish he had been true to the text throughout. He clearly couldn't decide whether to produce the show in German or English. It was mostly in German but also substantially in English. Because I have a degree of age-related hearing loss, I understood the German better -- because it had subtitles -- while the English did not. The English bits were mainly to get laughs -- which succeeded -- but why not be done with it and produce the whole thing in English? Kiri te Kanawa is of course a native English speaker and I can't imagine that the other singers would have had any difficulty.Many patrons of the arts are elderly and reduced hearing is a normal part of aging so all recordings of operas and operettas should be fully subtitled, just as all live performances should include supertext.And whatever limitations the show had were all more than made up for by Strauss's wonderful music. The profundity of J.S. Bach is my musical home but you would have to be a sad soul indeed not to hear the joy that is in the music of Johann Strauss II. Unlike some others I have seen recently, I will be viewing this show again.

Good product. Delivered by promise date.

like it

The first and third acts are both delightful, the second act is where I had a problem. Whereas the first and third acts followed the score fairly closely, the second act is greatly expanded with specialty performances that vary considerably in their ability to communicate. On repeated viewings, I found it increasingly easy to fast forward over several of the added performances. Such is the beauty of the DVD.The first and the third acts generally make up for the somewhat bloated second act. The second act does have some enjoyable parts, and one can pick out the parts that will stand repeated viewings, and just skip over the others. I will admit that I've viewed the DVD in it's entirety only once; I have, on the other hand enjoyed the first and third acts, as well as selected parts of the second act many times.The added performances are, in their own ways, competently done. I just feel the flow of the second act is seriously compromised by all of the extra performances.On balance, I'm glad I have the DVD; the portions that I've mentioned favorably above are really quite good.

Yes, it's an older production and yes it suffers from being a product of its times but I disagree with those who try to pick it apart. I have loved this music since I was a kid but I especially enjoy the humor, joy and obvious fun of the theater that the cast and audience are sharing. Domingo is exuberant in his English debut as a conductor and Prey and Te Kanawa are excellent leads. The staging is marvelous. The "guest" appearances add to the party atmosphere.This is nothing more than fun. Fun done very well. Enjoy it for what it is.

OK--let's get this out of the way: Most of us are used to seeing and hearing Die Fledermaus in German with subtitles.This performance is in English with no subtitles.Instead of a setting in Vienna, this is set in New York, but it retains the interaction of the upper and lower classes who suppose they are so disimilar.At first, hearing my favorite Fledermaus songs IN ENGLISH was a bit of a shock, but you know, it started growing on me. Before long, I was looking forward to each new phrase in this remarkable English version of an old familiar friend. The language is witty, and the delivery very well-done.The singers are quite good--you just have to remind yourself that you won't be hearing German. You'll especially enjoy the bubbly Adele, and a jaunty Eisenstein. Because it's in English, it might also be a good way to introduce friends to the world of operetta. If you remember to forget the traditional German performances, and just enjoy this as a clever and entertaining musical (or operetta), you're in for two and a half hours of "mistaken identity" fun.

Loved Kiri in Met production 1985 and used to see it on TV every year, but found this one even greater. The whole case was hilarious, the singing is wonderful, my only disappointment is that it is totally in German with a bit of English dialog. But, it still is well worth the price. Placido was doing his first conducting rather than singing and was excellent. And, he even has a bit of singing with the characters at times. Very humorous. Does have subtitles if you wish.

Great DVD of a historic performance of this season classic

I bought this DVD for my mother to replace her worn out video version. She loves it and will not consider any other production. I think that says it all.

This is a brilliant recording. Don't hesitate to buy it. It's lovely. It came very quickly too which is always a useful thing.

I saw this on TV as a New Year telecast in 1984 taking a video recording of it. The "proper" video was purchased as soon as it appeared and has been enjoyed over the ensuing years. Imagind my delight when I found (on Amazon) the DVDs as frsh as ever.

Llevaba tiempo buscando esta grabación de una puesta en escena especial con la orquesta dirigida por Plácido Domingo. Me quedé tremendamente decepcionada con la calidad de la imagen, que es tan mala o peor que las versiones colgadas en Youtube. El sonido, por otra parte es pasablemente bueno.

It's an old recording/video, but it is quite good both for audio, and video. And you can't beat the cast! Best viewed with a glass or two of bubbly!