| Berlioz - Les Troyens (remastered) | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 5 reviews)
Sales Rank: 46136
Category: DVD
Actors: Jessye Norman, Tatiana Troyanos, Placido Domingo, Allan Monk, Paul Plishka
Director: Fabrizio Melano
Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Format: Classical, Dolby, Dts Surround Sound, Ntsc, Subtitled
Languages: German (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 253 minutes
Number Of Items: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 000916609
UPC: 044007343104
EAN: 0044007343104
ASIN: B000OONQ1M
Release Date: August 14, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: 1983
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Honey, Who Does Your Hair? September 24, 2008
First off, I have to admit that "Les Troyens" is just not a favorite opera of mine. Despite all the sturm und drang (French translation, please), I just don't find the piece involving. That said, it's obviously a significant work and worthy of every opera fan's attention. And this DVD, recorded at the Met in 1983, offers a starry cast, all of whom do themselves proud. Norman has to be one of the most intense and idiosyncratic sopranos of the past 30 years, and she's riveting here; the sound is glorious, the acting remarkable. Domingo is hardly less effective, with his bright, clarion sound superbly matched by the mellowness of Troyanos, herself a superb actress.
So why only 3 stars? Because the production is a disaster. It's ill-conceived and lumbering, with sets that match the auditorium's garish gold theme to ill effect. (Can this look really have been considered stylish in the 70s?) The costumes in particular are a joke; literally, they're laugh inducing. The identical braids for the female chorus and the Chewbacca boots for the Trojan soldiers may have seemed chic on paper, but when seen on the frumpy, geriatric singers, they're nothing short of ridiculous. (It may sound as if I'm being unduly harsh, but they have to be seen to be believed.) At one point, poor Mr. Domingo must don an enormous helmet that all but swallows his head -- and you can palpably sense his embarassment and discomfort. Troyanos' gold lame outfits are equally absurd. One can only watch in amazement and think that for their fashion sense alone, the Trojans deserved to lose the war. All this tackiness undermines the entire enterprise, which is a shame, as the sounds that the singers and Levine's orchestra are producing are magnificent. If you're a die-hard fan or very, very curious, by all means buy this version of "Les Troyens." But prepare to watch it with your eyes closed.
 Stunning singing, slightly odd production May 6, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I fell in love with the story of the Trojan War, even before I sold my soul to classical music. So naturally I was drawn to this production of "Les Troyens." And there are some astonishing moments here! Norman is wildly gripping in the part of Cassandra, totally dominating the stage and the first part of the opera. Domingo makes for a strong, masculine Aeneas, and although he had some doubts about singing the part, does a fine job with it. Troyanos is good, but not as blisteringly magnificent as Norman.
I do have some problems with the staging, however. Right from the beginning, which should burst at the seems with wild excitement, we get the Trojans walking out, lining up, and declaiming that they are generally pleased the war is over. Um, couldn't they scurry, dance, hug...? The costumes seem to be of the historical epic type, but the er, "sets" are modernist symbolic. Is that the Trojan Horse they drag within the walls...? But don't get me wrong -- a solid production with some incredible singing, acting, and orchestral playing in a rich, fascinating opera that is too vast to be produced regularly. Very rewarding.
 Great Cast\Production-still prefer Gardiner September 15, 2007
6 out of 11 found this review helpful
If a cast boasting the names Placido Domingo, J. Norman, and Tatiana Troyanos isnt enough to entice you or merely catch your interest-you dont know a thing about opera. But to say that (despite this stellar cast) this is the best DVD version out there when the Gardiner production is still in the DVD catalog- you appreciate fine opera even less. For me, this served to prove how fine the Gardiner production, with names no one will recognize with the exception of Susan Graham, is. For one, Gardiner seems like he truly relishes in the score-which is, despite many naysayers-truly a sublime work of art that reaps huge rewards on repeated listening. The first aria alone, with Cassandre singing about how everyone in troy, including her lover Choreble, thinks she is mad reveals how stunning the Gardiner is compared to this production. Cassandre steals the show.
One point that the met has is the staging is, overall finer and more complex while the Gardiner is refined and quasi-minimalist but ingenious at the same time-again look to the opening aria and compare.
The met production may be more entertaining visually, but the Gardiner is better musically-so you decide based on that.
Of CD versions-go with either of Davis' two versions-the new one is much cheaper and in my opinion better
Order And Excess September 11, 2007
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
It is gratifying to see this, one of the most enticing Met DVDs to have been issued on the now-defunct Pioneer label, emerge from out-of-print limbo. DG's reissue has spread it over two discs and remastered it, and it looks and sounds splendid for the effort. Claims for greatly improved sound and picture often are dubious, but having seen and heard this, I am tempted to re-buy the label's similar spiffing-up of the rather good Pioneer DON CARLO (an artifact of the same era) after all.
TROYENS, Berlioz's ambitious and comprehensive setting of Virgil's AENEID, is a challenging opera for theaters and audiences alike. It had made its belated Met debut in 1974 under the baton of its great champion Maestro Rafael Kubelik, and was chosen to inaugurate the theater's centennial season in the fall of 1983. For more than one reason, we are fortunate that a television broadcast from the run preserved the undertaking for posterity. For starters, there will never be a great abundance of recordings of TROYENS (although there are at present two other DVD vers |
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