A Glorious Ariadne
As the newest entry in the Ariadne sweepsteaks, this DVD is clearly a major contender. For those hoping for a "period" (18th century) setting you will be disappointed. But really should you? After all both the composer and the librettist were playing with the conceit of an opera cum Comedia del Arte sharing the stage with a Greek legend, a concept not unknown to most regie directors. The settinig for this production is clearly contemporary--with some variation. What really matters is that it is stylish, imaginative and beautifully sung. I can't imagine anyone being offended by it.
Musically it is in great hands. Thielemann and the Dresden Staatskapelle. Could you ask for more? But it also delivers vocally. The greatest surprise for me was the Komponist of Sophie Koch. This is her second go round--she appeared in a early taping from Dresden in a performance directed by Colin Davis. She was very good but here she almost effaces memories of Seefried, Jurinac and...
Ariadne, the operetta
I do adore Renee Fleming, and so fell for another reviewer's rave of this DVD. Musically, it is lovely. Thielemann is a fine Straussian, and all the singers look beautiful and sing with great artistry. But for my taste, the staging is all wrong. Both Hoffmannsthal and Strauss intended this to be a barb aimed at rich patrons, but also a deep analysis of great art vs. what Wagner critiqued as triviality. What could be more trivial than a nightclub, which this staging offers as substitute for the Grecian Isle of Naxos? Fleming herself contributes to the operetta feeling, singing the tragic aria "Es Gibt Ein Reich" with a slightly regretful smile as she flirts with a black veil. She is gorgeous of face and voice, the perfect Thais or Rusalka, but if you want the heart-searing emotion and the consequent elation of the apotheosis, go to Jessye Norman. And the scruffy appearance of Robert Dean Smith is more like my dog Bacchus (god of whine, get it?) than the rescuing...
Very satisfying performance on all fronts
Whilst there will never be another Irmgard Seefried nor Lisa Della Casa for the Composer and Ariadne respectively, and I do not have them on the same discs anyway, this is very much a modern day wish list and beautifully so. A clever clear staging, nice video cutting from Brian Large and vocally and orchestrally superb.
Whilst I am not an out and out fan of Fleming, I liked her Zurich Arabella vocally and here there is much to like about her Ariadne. She even looks right (not something she did in Arabella) and apart from some odd non Germanic inflections gives a very convincing performance without ever being Wagnerian! Just how it should be down really!
The other stars are Sophie Koch as the composer, is there ever a badly cast composer? Koch's acting is marvellous also. Jane Archibald is also superb as zerbinetta. Dean Smith is probably just right as Bacchus. The supporting cast can't be faulted either.
I found myself replaying the DVD it's that...
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