Rating: 
Summary: As Good as it gets.
Review: No weak links in the cast or production. It is beautiful to watch and to listen to. Kiri is at the top of her form. It's a literate opera with little action and plot. The beautiful voices and stongly drawn characters carry the opera along in a very satifactory way. The costumes are particularly fine, helping to deliniate the characters and adding visual spectacle to the opera. Troyanos is poutstanding. Her treatment of a minor charcter is wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: As Good as it gets.
Review: No weak links in the cast or production. It is beautiful to watch and to listen to. Kiri is at the top of her form. It's a literate opera with little action and plot. The beautiful voices and stongly drawn characters carry the opera along in a very satifactory way. The costumes are particularly fine, helping to deliniate the characters and adding visual spectacle to the opera. Troyanos is poutstanding. Her treatment of a minor charcter is wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Te Kanawa is a delight
Review: This is exactly as advertised, i.e. great. They (meaning the cast) have made a lack luster Strauss opera into a gem. I just got my DVD and recomend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Te Kanawa is a delight
Review: This is exactly as advertised, i.e. great. They (meaning the cast) have made a lack luster Strauss opera into a gem. I just got my DVD and recomend it highly.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid, but not spectacular.
Review: This is the only DVD release of a late Strauss opera (post-Arabella), and as such fills a large niche in the catalog. The good: it's pretty solidly cast, well-played, and intelligently staged in a good approximation of the appropriate period, the Opera Reforms of the 18th century in France. Everyone acts at least solidly, and the camera work is inobstrusive, bringing the viewer in close for this intimate work.The bad: there are cuts, which are particularly inexplicable in an opera of Capriccio's conception. One of the passages cut is the discussion of what the opera written should be; cutting the 'Ariadne' and 'Daphne' quotes makes the Count's witty suggestion all too abrupt. There's also a cut in La Roche's monologue, another unfortunate omission. The men generally outclass the women. Olivier and Flamand (Keenleyside and Kuebler) are solidly characterized and elegant, but top honors go to Braun as La Roche. I found Hakegard to be too pompous and caricatured as der Graf, particularly in the sonnet reading. It's a possible reading of the character, but a more sly and subtle approach would have been welcomed. Troyanos as Clairon is as elegant as always, but she was very sick when this performance was filmed (and unfortunately died the same year), and is nowhere near her recorded performance for Bohm. The Countess is the role around which the opera revolves, and Te Kanawa is...mixed. She has a beautiful, clear, smooth voice, and a great deal of natural poise. But the role never really comes to life; she feels rather unengaged. It's not a fatal flaw for most of the work, but it takes some of the power out of the lovely final scene. The supporting cast is solid, although the costuming for the Italian Singers is painful at best. Recommended to get to know Capriccio, but to really know this work, I would recommend the Bohm and/or Sawallisch recordings, and following the libretto carefully! Capriccio is a "Conversation Piece for Music", and the truncated subtitles of this issue will let you follow the argument, but not carefully enough. This is particularly relevant in the two-part Octet (Laughing/Quarreling Ensemble), where there's simply no way to effectively subtitle it. Capriccio is not an overtly dramatic work, but repays careful attention and study.
Rating:
Summary: Solid, but not spectacular.
Review: This is the only DVD release of a late Strauss opera (post-Arabella), and as such fills a large niche in the catalog. The good: it's pretty solidly cast, well-played, and intelligently staged in a good approximation of the appropriate period, the Opera Reforms of the 18th century in France. Everyone acts at least solidly, and the camera work is inobstrusive, bringing the viewer in close for this intimate work. The bad: there are cuts, which are particularly inexplicable in an opera of Capriccio's conception. One of the passages cut is the discussion of what the opera written should be; cutting the 'Ariadne' and 'Daphne' quotes makes the Count's witty suggestion all too abrupt. There's also a cut in La Roche's monologue, another unfortunate omission. The men generally outclass the women. Olivier and Flamand (Keenleyside and Kuebler) are solidly characterized and elegant, but top honors go to Braun as La Roche. I found Hakegard to be too pompous and caricatured as der Graf, particularly in the sonnet reading. It's a possible reading of the character, but a more sly and subtle approach would have been welcomed. Troyanos as Clairon is as elegant as always, but she was very sick when this performance was filmed (and unfortunately died the same year), and is nowhere near her recorded performance for Bohm. The Countess is the role around which the opera revolves, and Te Kanawa is...mixed. She has a beautiful, clear, smooth voice, and a great deal of natural poise. But the role never really comes to life; she feels rather unengaged. It's not a fatal flaw for most of the work, but it takes some of the power out of the lovely final scene. The supporting cast is solid, although the costuming for the Italian Singers is painful at best. Recommended to get to know Capriccio, but to really know this work, I would recommend the Bohm and/or Sawallisch recordings, and following the libretto carefully! Capriccio is a "Conversation Piece for Music", and the truncated subtitles of this issue will let you follow the argument, but not carefully enough. This is particularly relevant in the two-part Octet (Laughing/Quarreling Ensemble), where there's simply no way to effectively subtitle it. Capriccio is not an overtly dramatic work, but repays careful attention and study.
Rating:
Summary: Divine Richard Strauss :)
Review: This production is absolutely fabulous. The cast, headed by the incredible Kiri Te Kanawa as the Countess, is as follows: Hakan Hagegard - Count David Kuebler - Composer Simon Keenlyside - Poet Tatiyana Troyanos - Clarion Victor Braun - La Roche I can't imagine a production being more perfect - the chemistry between the Countess and both the poet and composer keep you really guessing as to which one she'll chose, in Richard Strauss' greatest masterpiece. Keenlyside is a stand-out performer, singing beautifully. As for Te Kanawa - she IS the ONLY Countess! She sings beautifully, and her acting talent is supreme. She masters the tricky final scene amazingly well. Te Kanawa is the human Countess, she's not untouchable, she's on your level, and makes you feel truly sympathetic towards this beautiful woman. A performance Richard Strauss himself would be proud of.
Rating:
Summary: Divine Richard Strauss :)
Review: This production is absolutely fabulous. The cast, headed by the incredible Kiri Te Kanawa as the Countess, is as follows: Hakan Hagegard - Count David Kuebler - Composer Simon Keenlyside - Poet Tatiyana Troyanos - Clarion Victor Braun - La Roche I can't imagine a production being more perfect - the chemistry between the Countess and both the poet and composer keep you really guessing as to which one she'll chose, in Richard Strauss' greatest masterpiece. Keenlyside is a stand-out performer, singing beautifully. As for Te Kanawa - she IS the ONLY Countess! She sings beautifully, and her acting talent is supreme. She masters the tricky final scene amazingly well. Te Kanawa is the human Countess, she's not untouchable, she's on your level, and makes you feel truly sympathetic towards this beautiful woman. A performance Richard Strauss himself would be proud of.
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