R. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos

I like this video quite a lot, one reason is the recording is extremely well. Considering the tech at the time, I need to give it five stars.

Like most Strauss fans my first exposure to thie opera (not counting 78's) was the EMI recording from 1955. It remains a classic recording and deservedly so. It did have a major competitor when EMI released a recording with Janowitz. I was lucky enough to be in Vienna in the fall of 1978 to see a production with Janowitz, James King, Agnes Balta and Patricia Wise. It was a glorious evening in the great house. This filmed version takes me back to that experience even though the film has a different cast, Janowitz excepted.I would have preferred a live performance to a film, but since that isn't possible what DGG have given us is not to be dismissed. The lipsynching is better than most DVD's that utilize this technique. In any event there are more closeups than most opera DVDs. The production is traditional without a whiff of Regietheatre. The colors glow and give off a richness that is appropriate--house of the richest man in Vienna! Janowitz is peerless; it was her role for many years and deservedly so. Trudelise Schmidt is not a name widely know in this country. If I can't have a Seefried or Jurinac I will accept Ms.Schmidt with no qualifications; her top is radiant and open. Reme Kollo is more problematic. He can sing with great nuance and sensitivity but he is also guilty of loud and/or vulgar singing. Damming with faint praise, the role is not long. Gruberova fan will not be disappointed. I wish I could write more favorably about her since she clearly has owned the role for many years. I suspect that hers is a voice that sounds better in the theatre than on discs, but there is no gainsaying that she is totally unfazed with the difficulties of the role and dispatches them with panache,The competition is not great; the Met's production is a mixed bag. A black and while production from Salzburg boasts one of the great singers of the century, Sena Jurinac. Alas the Ariadne is close to disaster. Hillebrecht's career is one of the great mysteries.A production from Germany (Dresden?) is a Konzept that will not endear many viewers and the singing is good enough to overlook many of the dramatic faux pas. A new recording from Zurich is on the way and while the cast is somewhat problematic this new DGG release would be my choice if one only has room for one Ariadne.

For a good performance of Ariadne, the most important ingredient is a good Ariadne and Zerbinetta. Gundula Janowitz sings superbly and ably conveys the bearing of the distraught and, at times, aloof princess, Ariadne.Edita Gruberova turns in the performance of a lifetime, as the epitome of a coquettish Zerbinetta. Her "Grossmachtige Prinzessin" by itself is something you will want to share with friends, to show them the virtuosity of a truly great singer. As a crowning glory to this famous aria, our flirty Zerbinetta effortlessly ascends to the very highest notes--Get this!--as she powders her face. Spectacularly, it displays both Gruberova's incomparable singing abilities, and her perfectly complementary acting abilities.The "harlequin group" also displays joyful singing and acting that make them absolutely lovable.So could anything make this even better? Yes, the tempi and conducting interpretation seem to me to be just as Strauss would have enjoyed hearing them. The hauntingly and ethereally beautiful "Tone, tone, susse Stimme" sung by the nymphs is sung with sufficient volume to be more appreciated. Every other performance seems to make that passage a bit too soft. It's too beautiful not to be properly heard! So why was this conductor able to turn up the volume on it? I think it's because the conductor, Karl Bohm, advanced in age as he was here, had actually worked alongside Richard Strauss. He knew what Strauss expected, and the result is that we can hear it Strauss's way. It's superb, exquisite, and sublime. Oh, and in Zerbinetta's final scene, she winks to us, at precisely the right moment--icing on a delicious cake.

I bought this because my other versions do not quite come up to my expectations and this is an opera I have seen many times in London, the UK provinces, Vienna and New York - and this is the best version I have encountered yet - Gundula janovich excells just as she does in other Strauss roles - her intonation, understanding of the nuances and voice control are all superb. I also love the setting - simple yet utterly effective. Zerbinetta is magnificent and the harlequins quite the most polished ever. The three Naiads are also incredibly penetrating with their hymn-like theme. The opening prologue is managed with great aplomb and the composer sings beautifully. Rene Kollo - much younger then - gives a wonderful performance as Bacchus in this very challenging role. it is well worth having this copy in addition to other versions you may have already purchased. My one little niggle is that at times voice and lip movement do not seem to quite match leading me to wonder if the sound track has been added later, or the singers are miming. But that does not detract from a great performance.

I mostly agree with the positive reviews and thought that this was a very enjoyable performance. Remember that it was recorded in 1978 and when comparing live to filmed opera from that period filmed versions often had better image and sound quality. The staging was traditional and allowed one to easily follow the complex plot structure. I thought the images a bit soft focused and the colors pale. The lip synching issues that others commented on, I only noticed on occasion but they could be distracting. While everyone praised the sopranos I must put a word in for Rene Kollo who played Bacchus. Of the three DVDs versions that I have watched recently, his rendition had the most "life." His tenor voice was resonant to the point that I stopped and repeated several sections just to hear his voice.

Beautifully 'in period' and simple production, very precise with fine gesture and elegant movement, nothing demands the singers to be big stars playing to their fame, just to sing and move terribly well and they do. Bohm on very good form if the sound is a little clipped and boxy played through good equipment. Zerbinetta's aria some clipping, but this really is as good as one could wish for the complex and profound ironies of this astonishing work. Cameo roles from old but once great performers too. It is not as interesting as the Magee with Saccà but he is awfully noisy, but it complements any collection of recent recordings and is not outdated by them.

A spectacular rendering. Bohm conducting, perhaps greatest Strauss interpreter. Brilliant cast, especially Trudeliese Schmidt as the young composer and of course Edita Gruberova as Zerbinetta, surely one of the world's most brilliant sopranos.

I think the previous writers have been a little cruel over the lip synching. This is a traditional film with a wonderful cast. It's good to see Böhm conducting the Prelude to the Opera proper and with Janowitz, Kollo, Gurberova and Berry in principal roles and even Kunz as the Major Domo what's not to like. Above all, Trudeliese Schmidt is an ideal Composer, a true Soprano-Mezzo, puppy eyed and palpitating with creative ardour - just ravishing.

Beautiful production, excellent cast, especially Gundula Janowitz, the finest Ariadne I have ever heard, and the brilliant Editha Gruberova, no better Zerbinetta since Rita Streich.However, the orchestral sound shows its age, with wiry string sound and undernourished brass, and - most disappointing of all - the performance is dubbed throughout, and thus entirely loses any feeling of spontaneity and the excitement that a live performance brings. This means that the acting is wooden and lacking in passion.

Excellent.