Rating: 
Summary: Germany takes on Greece: and we all win
Review: "Ariadne Auf Naxos" is Richard Strauss' scintillating foray into the world of neo-classicism. The brilliant innovations of "Salome" and "Elektra" were history, and here, Strauss luxuriated in the beauty of sound as an end in itself. Employing a chamber orchestra of 36 pieces with all the fluency of an master, he, and his librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, conjure a delightful two-part opera consisting of a Prologue, which is mostly sung in recitative, and a full-scale operetta boasting some of the most delectable melodies and set-pieces to be found in all opera. Jessye Norman is wonderful as the forlorn and abandoned Ariadne. Kathleen Battle is superb as Zerbinetta, tackling "Grossmachtige Prinzessin" - a virtuoso aria that is to the coloratura soprano what Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto is to the pianist - with a deceptively cavalier aplomb and grace. The rest of the MET cast is a delight. The sets are simple and straightforward, as befits this "play within a play." I watched this performance twice at one sitting, and have to admit getting teary-eyed at the end as Bacchus and Ariadne resolutely face the future, secure in their new love. Strauss' glorious music was never more endearing: pair it with the professionals at the MET and you have an exquisite evening's entertainment. Richard Strauss is sometimes criticized as difficult or too modern: "Der Rosenkavalier" aside, this opera, and subsequent masterpieces such as, "Capriccio," belie such accusations. Strauss, as in this opera, could write music of surpassing mellifluousness. This is a wonderful performance of an enchanting opera.
Rating:
Summary: Germany takes on Greece: and we all win
Review: "Ariadne Auf Naxos" is Richard Strauss' scintillating foray into the world of neo-classicism. The brilliant innovations of "Salome" and "Elektra" were history, and here, Strauss luxuriated in the beauty of sound as an end in itself. Employing a chamber orchestra of 36 pieces with all the fluency of an master, he, and his librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, conjure a delightful two-part opera consisting of a Prologue, which is mostly sung in recitative, and a full-scale operetta boasting some of the most delectable melodies and set-pieces to be found in all opera. Jessye Norman is wonderful as the forlorn and abandoned Ariadne. Kathleen Battle is superb as Zerbinetta, tackling "Grossmachtige Prinzessin" - a virtuoso aria that is to the coloratura soprano what Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto is to the pianist - with a deceptively cavalier aplomb and grace. The rest of the MET cast is a delight. The sets are simple and straightforward, as befits this "play within a play." I watched this performance twice at one sitting, and have to admit getting teary-eyed at the end as Bacchus and Ariadne resolutely face the future, secure in their new love. Strauss' glorious music was never more endearing: pair it with the professionals at the MET and you have an exquisite evening's entertainment. Richard Strauss is sometimes criticized as difficult or too modern: "Der Rosenkavalier" aside, this opera, and subsequent masterpieces such as, "Capriccio," belie such accusations. Strauss, as in this opera, could write music of surpassing mellifluousness. This is a wonderful performance of an enchanting opera.
Rating:
Summary: Germany takes on Greece: and we all win
Review: "Ariadne Auf Naxos" is Richard Strauss' scintillating foray into the world of neo-classicism. The brilliant innovations of "Salome" and "Elektra" were history, and here, Strauss luxuriated in the beauty of sound as an end in itself. Employing a chamber orchestra of 36 pieces with all the fluency of an master, he, and his librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, conjure a delightful two-part opera consisting of a Prologue, which is mostly sung in recitative, and a full-scale operetta boasting some of the most delectable melodies and set-pieces to be found in all opera. Jessye Norman is wonderful as the forlorn and abandoned Ariadne. Kathleen Battle is superb as Zerbinetta, tackling "Grossmachtige Prinzessin" - a virtuoso aria that is to the coloratura soprano what Rachmaninoff's 3rd piano concerto is to the pianist - with a deceptively cavalier aplomb and grace. The rest of the MET cast is a delight. The sets are simple and straightforward, as befits this "play within a play." I watched this performance twice at one sitting, and have to admit getting teary-eyed at the end as Bacchus and Ariadne resolutely face the future, secure in their new love. Strauss' glorious music was never more endearing: pair it with the professionals at the MET and you have an exquisite evening's entertainment. Richard Strauss is sometimes criticized as difficult or too modern: "Der Rosenkavalier" aside, this opera, and subsequent masterpieces such as, "Capriccio," belie such accusations. Strauss, as in this opera, could write music of surpassing mellifluousness. This is a wonderful performance of an enchanting opera.
Rating: 
Summary: Superb source. Erratic reproduction.
Review: Ariadne auf Naxos is one of my top 10 favorite operas. I saw this Met production many times in person, with various casts. Under Levine's hands, a night at Naxos was always a sure thing. The DVD version is far from a sure thing. First of all, my copy has an unforgivable glitch in Act II. Following one of Jessye Norman's arias, the sound and image pause, and then come back after a few seconds. I bought my copy at Tower, so I went back and got a new copy, which had the same glitch. I tried two different DVD players, both of which (Marantz dv-12si and Kenwood dv-5700) failed at the glitch. I must conclude this is either an editing or production fault. I don't know whether this error exists in all batches. Unlike the reviewer below, I was able to get my dts track on. This could be due to the difference in regional codes. With my system, dts sounds cleaner than Dolby Digital, but both 5.1 versions place most of the voice at the front center channel. In my opinion, this poses two issues. First, unless you use identical speakers for the front three, the volume balance between voice and orchestra is altered by your system. Second, the soundstage of voice is narrow. When a singer moves on the stage, his/her voice sits at one place. The most problematic example of this is, when Bacchus (James King) first comes in this opera, he is not seen on the stage. 5.1 puts him in front of everything, nonetheless. For these reasons, I prefer the stereo track to 5.1s. The sound quality from the stereo track is on par with CDs. The video quality is what one would expect from a TV broadcast. Norman and Kathleen Battle are magnificent. DVD can't possibly replace the theatrical excitement I was accustomed to. But, now I live 3,000 miles away from NYC, having this DVD on my shelf is very nice.
Rating:
Summary: " Jessye Norman is Sheer Perfection!"
Review: Due to this DVD,I have had to change my approach to singers.I will always be the #1 fan of La Splendissima Leontyne Price.I was never particularly impressed by Ms.Norman as an artist.I found her to be showy with little to no substance.I,being somewhat jaded occasionally,never would have believed 1 performance could make me do an about face.There are not adequate superlatives to express the level of performance I witnessed.Jessye Norman's Ariadne is one for the ages. I found her comically delightful as the Primadonna.Ariadne's aria"Es gibt ein Reich" will never be sung more lyrically and compassionately.Kathleen Battle,whom I adore, was wonderful and coquettish as Zerbinetta.Tatyanna Troyanas was a fanastic Composer.The always wonderful Met Opera orchestra was phenomenal.This is the "Ariadne" that must be in everyone's collection.The final scene will take your breath away with it's sheer beauty. Viva Jessye!
Rating:
Summary: A superb Norman, a less then desirable King
Review: First the good news: The female cast in this recording/performance is superb, all three leading voices are mindblowing. I was enchanted by Normans beautiful voice, its scope and perfect control (and excellent German pronunciation also), her phrasing is sometimes mindblowing. The same is true for Battle and Troyanos. But who got the idea to cast a singer whose golden times have past about twenty years ago (James King)? The booklet states that "his experience dates back twenty years (...) and remarkably, he was in his early 60s when this film was made, but it shows him in fine voice...". This statement says everything and is warning enough! Kings high notes are often painfull, his voice strained, destroying (at least for me) a little bit the great finale duett. He is no match for Norman here! The "Buhs" for him at the end show that also some of the audience of the evening agree with me.
Conclusion: Due to Kings appearance this sadly is not an ideal cast (therefore only 4 stars), but for the female voices it comes very close. Norman alone is worth listening to. Image quality/sound is good too, Levine does a fine Job.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Flawless performances by Troyanos, Norman, and Battle. You will find yourself watching and listening to this over and over. This is by far one of the best opera/dvd discs that I own!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Flawless performances by Troyanos, Norman, and Battle. You will find yourself watching and listening to this over and over. This is by far one of the best opera/dvd discs that I own!
Rating:
Summary: A night of overwhelming vocal fireworks!
Review: I am relatively new to opera, and this DVD introduced me to Strauss' Ariadne Auf Naxos. I don't quite have the words to describe how I felt after viewing the whole thing, let's say I'm blown away. The three leading ladies were absolutely superb in their respective roles, but Norman gave me the most goosebumps. I could never imagine such waves of sound coming from a human throat! Can you say "dramatic"? Such a powerful sound coupled with such dramatic insight into the agonizing character makes for a knock-out of a performance. Kathleen Battle is not a true coloratura but she has the agility and high notes to pull off a stunning Zerbinetta. I've always admired her pure, crystal-clear tones and it's great hearing her sing a ditsy happy character. Troyanos was always known to give stellar performances with equal effort in the singing and the drama. The role of the Composer displays her talents extremely well as there are lots of high notes (for a mezzo anyway), and she gets to portray a jittery worry-wart. I actually enjoy a silly plot as such found in Ariadne auf Naxos; not everything has to be serious, uptight and boring, which is the impression of opera on many of us teenagers. I thoroughly enjoyed this opera, especially Norman's performance. I completely disagree with the person who said this DVD is overrated. Well, see for yourself, it's really that good!
Rating: 
Summary: good but overrated
Review: I have always considered this is the best of Strauss's operas if not the best opera, period. This DVD does contain some of the most exquisite singing by an amazing cast, great lush sound from the orchestra under James Levine with interesting rehearsal documentary. However, the whole production is sterile in its staging. Furthermore, there is a distinct lack of chemistry between the singers on stage (particularly that of Act II). I am not usually a person who focuses on aesthetic of things, however I do believe that operas (especially when you spend so much money) should come as a whole. This is a great recording to listen to but there are better ones out there with equally good singing and stupendous production values. A sure bet would be the Salzburg Festival production in 2001 with Polaski, Graham, Dessay and Villars. This DVD may not be available in US but I'll be more than happy to help anyone who needs to locate it!
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