I have never seen it before but have a vinyl Renee Doria recording of the opera. I thought there would never be anything that could compare with my vinyl set but this is just so fabulous. Mei, Pertusi, Joyner, all are vocally and dramatically so fine. The photography and sound is wonderful. In fact, everything about it is more than you could ever think of to want in a dvd of opera. You might have to quit your job to just stay home and watch it all the time. Would that all dvds of opera were as good as this.
February 12, 2007 |  | Not perfect but the only available DVD |  |
Actually, I'd rate this 4 1/2 stars. This is a very good opera very well performed and this DVD is at present the only (therefore the best) commercial DVD of it. I recommend it unless you find nudity (there's lots of it in the ballets) or what some reviewers refer to as inappropriate use of the cross unacceptable.
The orchestra is very good; the staging, although not entirely conventional, works; the singing and acting is mostly very good.
December 17, 2006 | | Excellent music, doubtful production. | |
The music performance is excellent and very consistent, considering that this is a live performance. I didn't object to the nudity, although it seemed unnecessary, perhaps just a gimmick to sell tickets. It does make it impossible for me to show this to my young students, something I had wanted to do.
The set is rather heavily symbolic, especially the scene with a forest of crosses. The dance during the Meditation was also rather obvious, playing down to the audience.
Even with the production weaknesses, this DVD is a welcome addition to my collection.
August 15, 2006This is an incredible staging of the opera Thaïs, loosely based on Anatole France's book of the same name. As in so many operas, the story is nominal. Paphnutius is a monastic hermit who retired from worldly temptations many years ago. They have not retired from him, though, and he is bedeviled by thoughts of his former life of dissipation. Thaïs, a renowned actress and courtesan, is chief among the devils in his mind. He undertakes to claim her for the holy life, despite the lush promise of secular pleasures that he sees on his quest. He claims her and consigns her to a nunnery. She dies, then he dies, and they're all dead happily ever after.
OK, I guess the plot isn't why you'd go see an opera. The reason for seeing this is the fantastic staging: stark and geometric, vivid and monumental. The main palette is extremes of black and white, until the scene turns to profane pleasures, or dreams of them. Then, the sets and costumes are all the red of passion and hellfire. Dancers join the stage at that point, semiclad women who represent lust in a wholly convincing way. The dance performance has spectacular solos at its several high points. In them, the prima ballerina captures the overwhelming grace, beauty, and physical power of the human animal. I guess that's the best word for this presentation, if I had to use just one: spectacle.
I admit, I'm not a fan of opera per se, so I can't comment on the quality of the vocal performances. I don't have to, though - there's plenty here to enthrall us non-lovers of opera, and maybe to entice us back for more.
//wiredweird
June 5, 2006 | | Where is Cecil B. DeMille When You Need Him? | |
I'm not going to go into the depths that previous reviewers have, as theres no need to repeat many of their observations. Eva Mei was not overly interesting as Thais and the production really would have been helped had she disrobed at the end of Act I. Carol Neblett did it to great acclaim years ago in Los Angeles and don't think for one minute that it wasn't the high point of the opera which everyone was waiting for. That said, it should be obvious that I don't have a problem with nudity on stage. I did have a problem with the nude ballerina writhing around on a large crucifix during the Meditation. It was uncalled for, visually offensive and there's no way I can ever show this DVD to my parents. I'm surprised that the audience, in what is a heavily Catholic country, accepted it. Had the artistic director had a different vision in designing this production, a scene like that would have never occurred. As I mentioned in my review of this Teatro's production of Le Roi de Lahore, it seems to be a trademark of the Teatro La Fenice's to have stylized sets and somewhat historically incongruous costumes. The Teatro should watch San Francisco's production of Samson et Dalila, as it appears they have no idea what French orientalism is all about. Lavish sets and costumes would have more than made up for this production's shortcomings.
June 4, 2006More reviews at Amazon.com ...
![Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Fleming, Vargas, Hvorostovsky, Gergiev, Carsen [Metropolitan Opera 2007]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000YCLRBA.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg)
