Rating: 
Summary: Marvelous but with a problem....
Review: I've had Ariadne long enough that it's on VHS. There's no point in reiterating what's already been raved about. I gave it five stars because we're reviewing, really, the opera and its performers and not the unfortunate insertion of the rehersals between the Prologue and The Opera. I would have loved the extra treat at the END OF THE OPERA. Placed as it was, I found it annoyingly interruptive.
Rating:
Summary: Let's Go Met
Review: I've just finished watching this DVD. It was really great. Such an excellent cast. Kathleen Battle is absolutely adorable. I highly recommend it to everyone. It will not disappoint. I enjoyed the bonus material on it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great performance but disappointing sound
Review: Let's get the bad news out of the way first. The recording quality of this performance is disappointing for 1989. We really should have been able to get better. Frustratingly, I can't get the DTS on my copy of this disc to work (it works fine on other DVDs). The recorded sound is cramped and the levels are unpredictable.But Norman is an imposing Ariadne and thrills the senses as usual. James King (that's right, James King) is in surprisingly good voice for a 60 year old Bacchus and holds his part well. Kathleen Battle is Zerbinetta to the life - physically and vocally enchanting throughout. Troyanos makes a fine composer (though has an unhideable bosom!). All up a very enjoyable night at the opera which we should be grateful to have preserved, despite the deficiencies in sound.
Rating:
Summary: Ariadne Suprimo
Review: Richard Strauss' operas are not as easy to stage as the conventional opera, and finding a cast to sing them equally as difficult.(A bit like Wagner). However, this production from the Metropolitan Opera has not only managed to pull it off, but have done so with a win, win formular. The cast is as powerful as the music itself, then there are the sets, costumes and direction, all equally mastered like a master craftsman working on a prized sculpture.This production has an extremely strong female cast headed off by Tatiana Troyanos who gives the performance of her life as the Composer. Almost bringing the house down in her final statement in the prologue not to mention her skill as an actor. Her singing of "Seien wir wieder gut.....Musik ist eine kunst" blew me away. What a pitty that's all she has to do. One would like to hear her glorious tones again.Then we have Kathleen Batttle as Zerbinetta. Ah! what warm tones and brilliance of voice and character that Kathleen brings to her role. When I heard Kathleen sing "Großmächtige Prinzessin, wer verstünde nicht" I thought that I had died and gone to heaven, what control. Jessye Norman! what can one say of this veteran performer in the title role. The power, the sheer beauty and elegance of her vocal powers. This woman can not only handle the high notes that Strauss demands but those low chest notes roll off her tongue like wine from a bottle. I have never heard Ariadne sung with such conviction, strength and passion. These three singers aptly cast certainly drive this opera home. Barbara Bonney, Gweneth Bean and Dawn Upshaw as Najade, Dryade and Echo respectfully hold their own exceedingly well and balance off the female ensembles with such precission like a well run military machine and enjoying every minutes of it. Then there are the men. I must say that I have never been a great fan of James King as I have only heard him singing Wagner, and I found his voice not quite up to the challange of all that power. But! having seen his performance here I must say he seems much more capable although I would have prefered a much stronger voice, eg Ben Hamper. However his performance and presence are passable. The rest of the men are excellent in their respective rolls especially Stephen Dickson as Harlekin.
The Metropolitan Opera Production team are to be congratulated on such a marvelous production. The sound and vision are not only clear and undistorted but also well balanced.
This would have to be my favourite Opera DVD to date. I look forward to viewing more operas from the Metropolitam Opera in the future.
It is so nice to see an opera production staged as the composer intended and NOT as a contempary nightmare. (I am not a fan of contempory productions and make no apology for it). Which seems to be the way some opera houses are heading these days. What a pitty, it's hard enough getting people into an opera house because the operas are sung in a different language, let alone scaring the pants off them with a wayout production that no one, but the prodction team seems to understand.
Thank you Metropolitan Opera for this wonderful production of Richard Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos."
Rating:
Summary: An uneven cast, charming production
Review: Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos is one of my absolute favorite operas. An opera-within-an-opera, it tends to bring out the best in performers, who shed their "bad habits" for the sake of art, very much like the Prologue's Komponist. This dvd, a live performance from the Metropolitan Opera, has a spirited if uneven cast.
First, the good news. Jessye Norman as Ariadne/PrimaDonna is near-perfect. She has the larger-than-life personality, the touch of self-mockery, and the large rich voice that is mesmerizing. Norman's a dramatic soprano but in her prime she had both a soaring top and rich organ-like low notes. If anything Norman is finer here than on the Masur recording. The much-missed Tatiana Troyanos is also a treat to watch as the fervent, rattled Komponist. It's a brief part, but Troyanos makes the most of her shy duet with Zerbinetta, her frustrated complaints at the backstage mess, and conveys the humor, pathos, and nobility of the Komponist.
Then the bad news. First, Bacchus. James King was Gundula Janowitz's Bacchus on the wonderful Kempe recording and it's churlish to criticize a much-loved tenor who gave so much to such difficult roles such as Bacchus but ... he can't sing this fiendish part anymore. His voice sounds dry and hoarse, and at times it seems as if he's simply out of gas. The final duet, instead of sounding soaring and life-affirming, simply makes you wonder if James King is going to expire before the curtain falls. The other weakness is Battle's Zerbinetta. The long and difficult coloratura aria "Grossmachtige prinzessin", which famously ends on a high D trill, has IMO always been better served with sopranos with a bit of metal and heft in their voices. Examples are Hilde Gueden (on the wonderful 1964 Salzburg recording), Natalie Dessay, and Edita Gruberova. Battle's voice is simply too small, too light, to make Zerb a dazzling showpiece role. Her top at times sounds strained, and she seems to be pushing too hard and her voice sounds breathy and weak. The high D's and E's are daintily touched. Battle is a charming actress, but overly "cutesy" and doesnt have the kind of saucy, streetwise personality for a Zerbinetta.
The sets in the first act consist of some doorways (symbolizing the rich man's house) and there are some rocks in the second act, with the appropriate colorful costuming.
Rating:
Summary: Exquisite!
Review: This is a stellar cast performing one of Strauss' greatest operatic works. Jessye Norman is phenomenal as the title role. Kathleen Battle is one of the greatest Zerbinetta's ever to perform the role. Her unequalled coloratura is highlighted in this extraordinary, yet difficult role. This video is a must-have for Opera collectors.
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