Cheap Wagner - Lohengrin / James Levine, The Metropolitan Opera (DVD) (R. Wagner, Eva Marton, Peter Hoffmann) Price

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Customer Reviews of Wagner - Lohengrin / James Levine, The Metropolitan Opera

Another Triumph For Eva Marton!!!
As Elsa,the lovely Miss Marton stole the show,despite attempts by the fading glory Leonie Rysanek to upstage her. I found Rysanek's voice as Ortud a bit caustic at times & shrill the rest of the time. Miss Marton maintained her composure,elegance & grace throughout. She brought the innocence to the role so needed when performing Elsa. Her voice was flawless. A true genius of a singer! She allowed her art to make her statement rather than pander to the crowd.The Lohengrin looked the part but fell short vocally. The music is glorious.The supporting singers are adequate.

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Slight Hiccup
I must admit slight disappointment after watching this DVD. Let's start with the plus's: Levine's conducting, staging and chorus efforts are admirable. Hofmann's portrayl of Lohengrin, while coarse in some places, sounds great, Roar as Telramund also sings and acts well. Now the not so good moments: Marton, as much as I admire her vocal prowress, simply sounds too heavy for Elsa. Her acting is also too stifled and contrived. Rysanek as Ortrud, as intensely as her acting is, simply does not have the voice for her part. Her high notes, as secure as she places them, just do not hold much weight as compared with perhaps Waltraud Meier. Marton should have reprised Ortrud from the previous staging and another singer performed Elsa. Otherwise, the supporting roles are well filled. The other DVD version of Lohengrin with Domingo from the VSO also lacks a good Ortrud. Can we not perhaps have Meier's performances released? They must be lurking somewhere.................

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A great night at the Met!
Some may dislike Wagner's lengthy tunes and overdone Leitmotifs -- especially on film -- but it takes a true Romantic to understand the beauty and sorrow of this story, one that chronicles the journey of the magical Swan Knight and his bride, Elsa von Brabant. James Levine leads the Met Opera Orchestra with incomparable grace, never drowning the singers or muffling Wagner's brilliant score. The choral work, however, is mediocre at best, though it picks up in Act III. The staging seemed a bit stiff at times, and while the set was impressively humongous, I would have liked to see a Swan and/or Dove incorporated in the story somehow. The cast was great, all except for Peter Hofmann, who made an unusually uninspired Lohengrin. Thankfully the others sparkled on stage: John Macurdy was a noble King Henry, Leif Roar a sensational Telramund, and Eva Marton a wonderfully-acted and sympathetic Elsa. But Leonie Rysanek, with her vibrant portrayal of the villainous Ortrud, stole the show many times over. She's one of the best in the opera biz, and in sensational voice for this 1986 production. Despite the flaws, which are, in all honesty, somewhat expected with Wagner, this show is an absolute delight and a welcome addition to any opera maven's DVD collection.