Britten - Death in Venice / Jenkins, Tear, Opie, Glyndebourne Opera

Rating:
Summary: Excellent production but problem with story
Review: Other viewers may respond more positively than me to Britten's "Death in Venice." The searching and inward qualities of the writer Aschenbach are certainly noble, but, while I am far from a prude, there is a repulsive quality here which loses me. Nonetheless, Britten is a terrific opera composer, his last opera has magnificent music and the performance is superb. Robert Tear is very moving as Aschenbach. He is in excellent voice and his superb, plangent tenor is matched by eloquent acting. Alan Opie, too, is quite fine, in very good voice and offering a wide variety of acting skills in his numerous roles. The staging, video and sound are first rate.

Although this is in English, I wish subtitles were available, as they would have made it decidedly easier to understand the entire opera. Fast moving choruses are indecipherable without them. I definitely got more out of this by reading through a libretto as I watched. Still, if you can embrace the story, this is recommended. By the way, the production is not from 1973 but from 1990.