Richard Strauss - Arabella / Thielemann, Te Kanawa, Brendel, Metropolitan Opera

Rating:
Summary: Are You a Romantic?
Review: The strikingly beautiful daughter of a count, Arabella finds herself under immediate pressure to marry one of her three ardent admirers. Or, will she marry a young officer that her younger sister loves, or the extremely wealthy new stranger in town?

Not only does this performance bring you the typical heart-wrenching emotion of a Strauss opera, but also a story line that keeps you wanting to see what will happen next.

It seems everyone raves about Kiri Te Kanawa's affinity for Strauss. But it's true. Strauss could not be more pleased with the singing, personality, and presence that Kiri gives his leading lady.

The rest of the cast is equally well-suited. Wolfgang Brendel is an energetic prince as Mandryka. Donald McIntyre gives depth to Arabella's conniving, gambling-addicted father. Marie McLaughlin turns in an exemplary trouser-role, and where but in opera could we mistake her for a man?

If you're not a romantic, pass this up. But if you can let yourself go, in a romantic, Cinderella-story vein, then Arabella will reward you richly.

Rating:
Summary: Very Beautiful
Review: First rate cast, all singing supurbly. Beautiful production. Kiri is spectacular, Brendel is fine as a romantic lead. McIntyre is particularly fine as the father.

Rating:
Summary: Very Beautiful
Review: First rate cast, all singing supurbly. Beautiful production. Kiri is spectacular, Brendel is fine as a romantic lead. McIntyre is particularly fine as the father.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent DVD of an excellent performance
Review: How lucky we are to have this gorgeous Metropolitan Opera production on such a high-quality DVD! If you missed the original 1995 telecast of this opera, you have yet to discover the joys of this production. Arabella is a comedy of manners set in 1860s Vienna. Arabella's parents have a fading fortune, so they can afford to marry off only one of their two daughters; the other, Zdenka, they dress as a boy and refer to as Zdenke. I won't give away the rest of the story; it's really worth it to let this magnificent performance unfold and find out what happens that way. The cast was the best that could possibly be assembled at the time, with Wolfgang Brendel, quite convincing as the young, hot-blooded Mandryka, in his debut of the role. Kiri Te Kanawa is a legendary Strauss singer, and though she is often criticized for poor interpretation, in this opera her subtle acting shines. For example, look at her reaction when she meets Mandryka, the man she had been crushing on witho!ut knowing who he was. Her singing is consistently beautiful and soft, and her stage presence is radiant, in spite of her fifty years at the time of this taping. Arabella is supposed to be about twenty years old, and Kiri truly exudes the youth of the character, yet manages to convey the maturity that colors her almost maternal relationship with her younger sister Zdenka. Helga Dernesch and Donald McIntyre are animated as Arabella's parents. Marie McLaughlin is a passionate Zdenka. We really feel for her throughout the opera, as she longs for femininity and love. A special bonus in this production is the now-stellar Nathalie Dessay as Die Fiakermilli. She flaunts her coloratura in Act II. Christinan Thielemann is a sensitive conductor, and the MET orchestra plays flawlessly. The DVD transfer is superb. Subtitles available in German (original language), French, English, and Chinese. (Special note: Renée Fleming will perform in this same production at the MET in November 2001. G!et your tickets!)

Rating:
Summary: I loved it!
Review: I thought the production beautiful and the singing excellent. Kiri is a bit aloof as she is always but Wolfgang makes up for it. He is just scrumptous and the perfect leading man with some chemistry between them. All the parts have excellent casting and performances are very good to excellent. The conducting kept the pace very interesting. This is a keeper and I'm not a big Strauss fan! I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good love story!

Rating:
Summary: I loved it!
Review: I thought the production beautiful and the singing excellent. Kiri is a bit aloof as she is always but Wolfgang makes up for it. He is just scrumptous and the perfect leading man with some chemistry between them. All the parts have excellent casting and performances are very good to excellent. The conducting kept the pace very interesting. This is a keeper and I'm not a big Strauss fan! I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good love story!