Theodora - Glyndebourne Festival Opera details
| Formats: | Ex DVD, Blu-ray |
|---|---|
| Starring: | William Christie, Richard Croft, Lorraine Hunt, Orch Of The Age Of Enlightenment, Frode Olsen, Dawn Upshaw |
| Director: | Peter Sellars |
| Genre: | Music/Musical - Music - Jazz |
| Studio: | WARNER MUSIC VISION |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
Theodora - Glyndebourne Festival Opera |
Ex Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 3 hours 26 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 05 Jul 2004 |
| Main languages: | English |
| Subtitles: | English, French, German |
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Most helpful review
possibly the best Handel production ever
By Andrew M from London, UK , 12 Oct 2004[Highly rated reviewer]
Superb singing and playing - but it is the intense and deeply emotional staging that makes this production so outstanding. A must-see for any who likes Handel, and especially for anyone who thinks baroque opera is dull or uninvolving.- Was this review helpful to you?
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All reviews
(7)Pretentious philistinism
By PaoloC (55 reviews) from Norwich , 23 May 2009Theodora is a great Handel oratorio, not an opera. This Glyndebourne production by Peter Sellars has to invent action during long da capo (repeated) arias of great intensity and beauty. To this end he introduces a series of extreme arm gestures, like semaphore or revivalist gospel meetings. During the first act they are bearable, later completely distracting from a wonderfully sung performance by Lorraine Hunt as Irene,David Daniels as Didymus and Dawn Upshaw as Theodora. Others have loved this, we listened in awe but watched a tiny amount so awful and ill considered was the production. The choice is yours,be warned.- Was this review helpful to you?
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A Brechtian drama?
By a customer from Grantham , 04 Jan 2009It has been asked if Handel would have approved of an anachronistic setting: but this isn't an opera anyway. The brilliance of the singing and stage direction created its own world which transcended the modernistic interpretation. (Perhaps communist Russia might have been more appropriate.) The 'opera' is very long and the arias are extensive and so the action seems to appear in very slow motion. However there is continuous movement in the style of Brechtian gesture which makes the choral singing interestingly visual during the contrapuntal sections. A successful representational music-drama in a Brechtian sense but of the camera work, there was too much flashy cutting and dental inspection!- Was this review helpful to you?
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Noble Handel
By a customer from St. Albans , 05 Dec 2008I rented this DVD for Dawn Upshaw and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson but was completely bowled away by the counter tenor David Daniels.... magical. Intense and beautiful performances all around..... look out for Lorraine Hunt Lieberson singing 'The Clouds begin to Veil', Dawn Upshaw singing 'Oh thou Bright Sun', and David Daniels with 'And Must Such Beauty Suffer'.
This is a 'modern' production by the great director Peter Sellers and is a powerful dramatic work. Didymus and Septimus are dressed in what appears to be fighter pilot outfits whilst Theodora appears to part of a holy sect..... loved the ideas behind this production but really apart from the fighter pilot outfits everyone else appears to be dressed as Blue Peter presenters of the early 1980s including a jumper that looks like a Noel Edmunds cast off. hideous.... hopefully if you can forgive this fashion nightmare this is a great Handel opera to watch.- Was this review helpful to you?
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great perfomances shame about the production
By a customer from Bath , 31 Aug 2008A great ensemble cast let down by a decidedly low budget production in which the visuals have no connection with the music or the drama. I don't mind modern productions so long as they are relevant and provide some visual interest. However the set consists of what looks like 4 giant sample bottles whose relevance to the plot is never made clear, and the cast appear to have been outfitted by BHS circa 1980. However the arias and the acting is superb so i would recommend it for that alone. Like the other reviewer said, turn up the volume and close your eyes.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Would Handel have approved
By Robert Smith from Ashby de la Zouch, Leics. , 03 Feb 2008I cannot believe that Handel would have approved of this staging of his oratorio. After all the story is about the Romans of the 4th Century and their opression of the christians. The Roman officer Didymus sings about his sword whilst yielding a machine gun, which is rather ridiculous. Having said that you will realise that I prefer operas etc.to be performed as the composer intended. Otherwise I agree that the performers were excellent, and Handel's music was played perfectly by the orchestra. Here again was an anomaly, why use an orchestra using instruments from Handel's time and modernise the production. Is it solely to reduce costs on costumes and scenery? It would certainly have merited 5 stars had it not been for a 4th century story being brought up to this one, even to the extent of death by lethal injection. Recommend but close your eyes.- Was this review helpful to you?
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