Hit Parade 2010

We gave a A-, A, or A+ to about half of the titles we have reviewed up to April 1. Obviously, we will have to find our Hit Parade winners among the 18 A+ titles. We will not try to pick any grand winner; but we will declare a winner in each of the three categories of ballet, concert, and opera. (We ignore the Wagner Ring des Nibelungen operas in this Hit Parade report; we plan to include the Ring operas in an update of the Hit Parade later this year.)

Ballet Winner and Runner-Ups

We have six A+ ballet discs. If you have any interest in ballet, you should buy all six of them as a starter set. If you can't buy them all, we pick a winner and consider the runner-ups in historical order:

• The ballet winner is the Opus Arte Swan Lake performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. Opus Arte picked this performance for their first HDVD (in the HD-DVD format). Buy the Blu-ray disc that came out later. This is the Nureyev "tragic" version; a monumental performance of the most popular ballet. It has white scenes in Acts 2 and 4 which set the standard for all other ballet. The quality of the portrayal of these white scenes by the POB and their presentation in the Blu-ray HDVD have not been equalled in any other video.
• Next consider the Opus Arte Fille mal gardée performed by the Royal Opera House Ballet. This is the oldest ballet in the standard repertoire. It is also the funniest, happiest performance of any of our fine-arts HDVDs. It's something that everyone in the family, from children to granny, will love.
• For a romantic ballet, try the TDK Giselle performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. Again the Paris female corps carries the day in Act 2, which consists almost entirely of white scenes.
• Moving into the 20th Century, you will like the Decca Romeo and Juliet performed by the Royal Opera House Ballet. This is performed to the Prokofiev score, which is considered to be the best ballet music written after Tchaikovsky.
• Perhaps the most important contemporary ballet is the John Neumeier Dame aux cameléas, and we have a wonderful recording of it from Opus Arte with the Paris Opera Ballet. In this work the emphasis is on individual virtuosity rather than corps. Agnes Letestu (who is also the star in POB Swan Lake) is magisterial in the lead role as dancer and actress.
• Finally, we got caught off guard by the BelAir Orpheus und Eurydike performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. This was called a "dance opera" by its creator, Pina Bausch. It's built on the Gluck opera, which is early music. Each of the three main characters are represented on the stage simultaneously by a dancer and an opera singer. The poignancy of this unique and profound work is underscored by the fact that Pina Bausch dedicated this performance it to the memory of her late husband. When Bausch appeared in the curtain calls, it was obvious that she was ill. She died several months later.

Concert Winner and Runner-Up

We have only two A+ concert discs:

• Our concert winner is the Opus Arte Twin Spirits, performed at the Royal Opera House. This is a unique concert with musicians performing music by Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck and actors reading selections from their letters, all moderated by Derek Jacobi. We call it "poly-discipline performance art." But for HDVD, it's unlikely that this would have been enjoyed by more than a tiny group of elite art supporters.
• If you like Bach, you have to have the Medici Arts Brandenburg Concertos 1-6 performed by the Orchestra Mozart. It's familiar music, and we doubted that a video presentation of this would contribute all that much. Wrong. It is astonishing to see how fresh and interesting these pieces become when you see them performed by the Abbado-lead Orchestra Mozart in HDVD.

We now have a number of fine concerts recorded by famous symphony orchestras and instrumental soloists. We graded most of them A. Some were downgraded to A- because of technical difficulties like bad menus. We gave an X and a D to discs that didn't have enough music on them to warrant the high price. But otherwise, there have been no "bad" concert discs.

Opera Winner and Runner-Ups

Nine operas made the A+ cut. If you have any interest in opera, these could be your starter set. We'll award the top prize and then describe the runner-ups in alphabetical order:

• The opera winner is the Opus Arte Nozze di Figaro performed by the Royal Opera House. Everything about this David McVicar production is exemplary. That's saying a lot because it's so hard to get all the moving parts of an opera exactly right. This is the oldest opera in the standard repertoire. It has stayed on the boards pretty much continuously since it was a hit in 1786, and this HDVD continues the tradition.
• Next comes the Opus Arte Così fan tutte performed at Glyndebourne. Miah Persson is a star in this and in the Nozze di Figaro above! This is another totally exemplary show.
• Don't miss the Opus Arte Die Fledermaus performed in Glyndebourne. This is, of course, an operetta in stature, but it's of grand opera quality in every other way. It's hard to image how the performance or the recording here could be excelled. This is the HDVD you need to throw a New Years Eve party in your home theater.
• The sleeper in this group is the Opus Arte Gianni Schicchi packaged as a double feature with the Rachmaninoff Miserly Knight, both performed together at Glyndebourne. Gianni Schicchi is a scintillating comedy. The Miserly Knight is a dark study in abnormal psychology. The two one-act operas fit together because they have a common theme: the illusory and transitory nature of wealth. The Miserly Knight also has probably the most elegant libretto of any opera, because it was written as a poem by Alexander Pushkin. The two operas are also linked by the director with an unusual prop, but I'll say nothing further about that here.
• Baroque opera fans have to get the Opus Arte Giulio Cesare performed at Glyndebourne. This is an excellent example of tasteful updating which makes it easy for modern audiences to enjoy the somewhat stilted and repetitive music of Handel. It also has a pumpkin-smashing performance by Danielle de Niese who can sing, act, and dance the hoochy-koochy all at the same time.
• Wagner fans will have to wait for tips on Ring titles. For now, they must try the Opus Arte Lohengrin performed at Baden-Baden. This is a modern rendition of Lohengrin which is totally effective and has no whiff of Eurotrash. It's our only experience with Wagner when we wished it had lasted longer.
• The Deutsche Grammophon Opera Gala, performed at Baden-Baden, is the best of the opera medley discs that have come out on HDVD. It has four different voices (soprano, mezzo, tenor, and baritone) and a fresher program than is the norm for galas.
• We recommend the Deutsche Grammophon I Puritani, recorded as a Met HD-Live performance. We saw it at Tinsletown, on Public television, and as HDVD. The HDVD rocks and rules. This is the one where Anna Netrebko sings upside down.
• Finally, try the Opus Arte Les Troyens performed at Théâtre du Châtelet. This is a landmark Berlioz production which came out in DVD several years ago and got raves from friend Gordon Smith in HDVD.

There are many other treasures on our alphabetical list. Our grading scheme takes into account the quality of the performance and includes our thoughts on whether the work has broad appeal. For example, we gave the Virtual Haydn the grade of B+ because it will not appeal to everyone. But if you have an interest in early music or the history of keyboard music, then this astonishing set would be an A++ title for you.

Last updated April 6, 2010.