Carlos Kleiber: Traces to Nowhere

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This item has little going for it. True, it was a decent, even maybe great performance. But the sound was not recorded using 96kHz/24 bit sampling technology, which should be the starting point for fine symphony recordings destined to be published Blu-ray form.  There is only 1 hour and 6 minutes of music on the disc, which is a bad value even if the title otherwise were excellent. But this record is plagued with defects in both picture quality and video content.

 Let's start with PQ. The video is loaded with visual noise resulting in soft resolution. For example, there is not a single shot of the sheet music that shows crisp notes on the page. At long range showing the 100% of the orchestra, the faces of the players look as bad or worse than a DVD. We will never know, of course, whether the resolution problem were there from the beginning or crept in later. But having just consulted with the HQV Image Quality Assessment Tool (HD  HQV Benchmark) I'll make a guess about one thing that happened. Somebody tried hard to use what are called spatial noise filters to reduce the noise, and that's why the players look like they have plastic skin (in various shades of yellow, pink, and gray). In addition, there is something wrong with the way the original interlaced video gets converted into the progressive picture for an LCD display or plasma display, and this produces tons of "jaggies." Finally, the video has motion artifacts, which I don't see much in concert titles. Every time Welser-Möst waves his arm, I see jutter.

Someone on the AVScience bulletin board complained about subject PQ. But another member said the music was so good he didn't care about the picture.  This worried me.  I got with John Fort, my gear guru in Dallas, and we viewed this title on up-to-date equipment at his showroom. All the defects were still there, but the video did look better in John's studio than in my HT. (H'm--John has his sofa about 15 feet from the 59" screen, and I sit a lot closer than that because I want to see everything.) Finally, I checked out all my equipment, which passed PQ tests. Then I viewed the Bruckner 7 yet again, and it looked worse than ever.

Now let's turn to picture content. This title has also been issued as a DVD which the DVD folks seem to love. Is it possible that this is a DVD trying to impersonate a HD recording? Well, I don't think so. I think it was shot in HD with weak equipment. I also think the folks who made this video in 2008 knew a whole lot more about DVDs than HDVDs. So we do have here a case of "DVDitis."

DVDitis is a disease which afficts HDVDs when the show was shot to be published as a DVD as well as in high-definition. The low resolution of DVD requires the TV director to rely primarily on close-up shots where the lack of resolution will not be noticed by the customer. Started differently, if you have to shoot for DVD, you can't use many shots of large sections of the orchestra or the whole orchestra. So the typical DVD consists of a great many shots of the conductor cut quickly to close-up shots of one or two players in a rather frantic effort to keep the show moving.

If the TV director is required to present the show in high-definition video with the same content required for the DVD, the result will be a bad HDVD. That I think is what happen with this Bruckner 7. For more on what makes a good HDVD of a symphony concert, see our special artcle Standards for Grading Symphony Orchestra Concerts of Symphonies, Concertos, and other Large-scale Compositions.

So what do we make of this Blu-ray Bruckner 7? If you want to see a performance of this music, buy the DVD. If you have elite gear in your HT, money to burn, and you sit far from the screen, you might be happy with this HDVD. But there are so many better things to do with your time. Grade: F.

Kušej's Rusalka story has three levels of meaning:
1.  The base level is the traditional fairy tale of a water nymph whose infatuation with a human Prince leads both to disaster.
2.  Kušej adds a true-crime (or "thriller") level by presenting the nymphs as girls locked in a watery dungeon to be raped at the pleasure of  their water goblin "father" (with help from his wife, the witch).
3.  Finally, Kušej asks us to consider the permanent damage that may result from any sort of isolation or abuse of children. 

In addition to rape in the dungeon, Kušej also changes the kitchen boy to a girl who is blatantly groped and later nearly murdered by her lecherous uncle. I asked myself, "Is all this going too far?" Well, the very next morning, I read an article in the Dallas Morning News about Yolanda Méndez, who at age 11 was sold by her parents in Mexico to her uncle. The uncle took Yolanda to Dallas and kept her locked up as his "mistress" for years until she escaped. (The uncle is now in prison.)

Yolanda's story silenced any criticism I had of Kušej's topical and allegorical overlays. After reading a bit about Joseph Fritzl (Austria), Natastha Kampush (Austria), and Jaycee Dugard (California), it finally dawned on me what real-world cases most closely relate to the Kušej's dungeon. Both involved religious figures in Texas: the David Koresh (Branch Davidian) catastrophe and the recent Warren Jeffs case, where a polygamist was convicted of the rape of many extremely young "wives," usually with the active approval of the mothers of the girls. Both these cases involved systematic persuasion of everyone involved by father figures who had rationalized their crimes in their own minds.

I previously gave Kušej the stingy grade of "C+" for his HDVDs of Genoveva, Elektra, and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. I thought his attempts to shock us in those productions were either too obscure or silly to take seriously. But subject Rusalka is a winner for Martin in every way.

As is explained in the informative bonus feature, a Kušej project requires actors who can sing, not singers who try to act. Well, in this production everybody can do both. They say Opolais (who stared in The Gambler HDVD), turned down a Met debut to work with Kušej. This decision took guts and smarts, and it appears to have paid off for her with accelerated fame and awards in Europe. Vogt, perfect as the wan and ethereal Prince,  has proved already his acting and singing prowess to HDVD fans in Lohengrin, Lulu, and Meistersinger as well as his solo singing ability in the Bruckner Te Deum. (Trivia question: both Ulrich Reß and John Chest appear in what other HDVD? Answer: the Bayerische Staatsoper Dialogue des Camélites.)

Tomáš Hanus successfully coordinates Dvořák's romantic music to the wild action on stage. Any time you think the plot is about to spin out of control, Hanus is there with some reassuring Dvořák melody and harmony to calm things down.

Of course, you know there will be surreal staging and costumes in any Kušej work. In particular he likes to symbolize isolation and alienation by building small stages inside the big stage (see, for example, the tunnel-like courtyard in Elektra). In Rusalka, Kušej has, of course, his dungeon for a lake. But the stroke of genius comes with what is probably the smallest stage he has built: the Rusalka aquarium. Poor Rusalka, confronted by the hot world of humans with their incessant survival instincts for blood and sex, finally finds relief by submerging and luxuriating in the family aquarium. The image is both logical and unforgettable---it may well become an icon symbolizing contemporary 21st century opera.

Talking about blood, Kušej wanted to skin a real deer carcass on stage and had the requisite animals reserved at a specially slaughterhouse. There was a huge uproar about this and the producers at the last minute agreed to substitute props for real deer. Was this an actual fight or just a PR stunt?

All the action is photographed and recorded with startling clarity. The show is presented almost as a motion picture of an opera taking place. The producers wanted and got it all: sold out live performances and an HDVD that sets new standards for quality in presentation for the home theater audience. It was about a year ago that Rusalka was the talk of all Munich and the European opera world---now I can see for myself in my home theater what all the commotion was about. This disc gets an "A" grade and is an "A+" item for anyone with a keen interest in contemporary opera.

1. Il tabarro to libretto by Giuseppe Adami. Stars Alberto Mastromarino, Amarilli Nizza, Rubens Pelizzari, Alessandro Cosentino, Alessandro Spina, Annamaria Chiuri, Roberto Carli, Chiara Moschini, and Allessandra Cantin.

2. Suor Angelica to libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. Stars Amarilli Nizza, Annamaria Chiuri, Elisa Fortunati, Paola Leveroni, Katarina Nikolič, Paola Santucci, Alice Molinari, Camilla Laschi, Alessandra Caruccio, Alessandra Cantin, Paola Leggeri, Margherita Pistoni, Tiziana Tramonti, Beatrice Sarti, Dan-I Kuo, and Chiara Moschini.

3. Gianni Schicchi to libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. Stars Alberto Mastromarino, Amarilli Nizza, Annamaria Chiuri, Andrea Giovannini, Alessandro Cosentino, Tiziana Tramonti, Grigorij Filippo Calcagno, Maurizio Lo Piccolo, Alessandro Spina, Mirko Quarello, Katarina Nikolič, Gian Luca Ricci, Alessandro Busi, Romano Franci, and Antonio Manosperti.

Julian Reynolds directs the Orchestra della Fondazione Arturo Toscanini, the Coro Lirico Amadeus---Teatro Comunale di Modena (Chorus Master Stefano Colò) and the Coro di Voci Bianche del Teatro Comunale di Modena (Chorus Master Melitta Lintner). Sets by Giacomo Andrico; costumes by Gianluca Falaschi; lighting by Cesare Accetta; directed for TV by Loreena Kaufmann. Released  2012, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This is the same disc as an earlier Il trittico released by TDK in 2009; it appears to be the same as the earlier release except for the artwork. As such, we have reproduced the mini-review from the  2009 article. Grade: A

Puccini's Il trittico or Triptych has three one-act operas with two obvious things in common. First, each has a corpse; second, each work is completely different from the others. Il tabarro is opera verismo laden with social criticism; Suor Angelica a work of inspiration with a supernatural miracle; Gianni Schicchi is a boisterous comedy with no redeeming feature except that it's a great way to trick children into watching an opera. This was my first experience with Il trittico, and I'm glad I watched it cold. I was expecting to be bored with the two relatively unknown works leading up to the famous Gianni Schicchi. So I was surprised to find both Il tabarro and Suor Angelica to be completely absorbing. Now I understand why Puccini insisted that all three of these operas should be presented only together on the same program.

I'm also ashamed to admit that before I saw this HDVD, I had never heard of Modena, its opera house, of Cristina Pezzoli, or of Amarilli Nizza. Well, now I have learned there are opera houses all over Italy with rich production traditions. Such a house in a town of 200,000 Italian souls can produce, using 100% Italian signers, a show that can compete with the work of the most famous and best-financed opera companies in the world. This is exactly what Pezzoli pulled off. Every aspect of the music, direction, acting, settings, costumes, and lighting is exemplary. And don't think this was a small task because each opera in this work is short. There are 43 credited roles in this disc, and only three singers appear in all three operas. The three sets have nothing in common. Back stage at Il trittico is going to be a busy place!

These operas here have another thing in common that is not so obvious: Amarilla Nizza sings lead soprano in all three. Il tabarro demands plenty of the female lead, especially in the acting department. Suor Angelica is totally draining in all departments. In Gianni Schicchi the lead lady gets a little rest---all she has to do is nail one of the most famous of all arias ("O mio babbino caro"). Most productions of Il trittico are cast with two or three sopranos. But Nizza handles all the different roles, and she does it so well that I didn't realize until I studied the keep case booklet that I had seen the same soprano three times!

The video, sound, and production work on this disc are excellent. The keep case are fine, and TDK elected not to waste our time with inane extras. It appears that most if not all the singers on on this disc are native speakers of Italian. And guess what---TDK gives us Italian subtitles. Now this is a nice bonus--- a chance to learn some more opera Italian. 

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Vincent Van Gogh

When I first stumbled onto this title on Amazon.com I thought, "This must be another one of those van Gogh dramas about paid love and missing body parts." But something told me to buy it anyway. It turned out to be what we have been waiting for for 5 years (since the first fine-art HDVD was published): a serious treatment in high-definition TV of a large number of paintings and drawings with expert curation by art historians. This is a milestone for fine-art HDVD fans, and I found it by accident! Well, it's a milestone for folks who have a good command of either Dutch or English (more later about the language problem with this disc.)

There are 3 segments on this title. The main program lasts 135 minutes and is called Vincent van Gogh Een leven voor de kunst or Vincent van Gogh, A Life for Art. There is an extra that lasts 15 minutes called Van Goghs roem zijn tweede leven or Van Gogh's Fame---His Second Life. Finally, there is a Picture Gallery that displays 14 paintings.

The main program divides van Gogh's life in 5 periods. The full resources of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam are exploited for each period. You see wonderful shots of numerous painting and drawings, historical pictures, excepts from letters, and the like as well as great high-def video showing what the locations and buildings that van Gogh knew look like today.  What you see is explained in voice-over narration and via numerous short interviews with art historians and experts from the Van Gogh Museum. The material is quite detailed and absorbing--- the 2 hours and 14 minutes goes by fast. The main program ends with Vincent's death.

The bonus extra about Vincent's "second life" deals with what happened after Vincent's death. As you probably know, he died young and still almost unknown outside a tiny circle of admirers, mostly other avant guarde artists. Vincent had been supported by his brother, Theo, who inherited the paintings and drawings. But Theo died just a few months after Vincent. There is a famous photo of Jo, Theo's wife, with her baby son in her lap. Jo, and later the boy, worked for decades to keep together the works that are now at the Van Gogh Museum. Still, many paintings were given away or sold over the years. About 100 were collected by Helena Kroller-Muller, and this collection is now in a museum at Otterlo in Holland.

If you speak Dutch or English, this is an excellent title that will give you a fine introduction to van Gogh. But what's the problem with the other languages? The show uses voice-overs to narrate much of the visual material. The voice-overs are provided in Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish, and Italian. But much of the program is also conveyed through interviews with the art experts. These folks speak in Dutch. There is no voice-over for the interviews in other languages. Only English subtitles are given for the interviews (and English subtitles are used only for the interviews). So if Spanish, French, German, or Italian is your only European language, you will probably understand the voice-over narration, but you will not benefit from the interviews. But hang onto your hat! If you can read Chinese or Simplified Chinese, turn on those sub-titles. Then you will have a nice written translation for both the narration and the interviews. What's going on here? Did the publisher assume that anyone who knows German, French, Spanish, or Italian also must know English? Or is there supposed to be a voice-over for the interviews in German, French, Spanish, or Italian which somehow got dropped by mistake in post-production? Or maybe those languages are on the disc as voice-overs for the interviews, but don't play due to a disc manufacturing error? (Is your head spinning?)

This disc sports excellent PQ in 1080p. I do see severe motion artifacts, which I think is called "jutter" on my system when the camera pans any stationary object.  I also get strange motion artifacts with images of any object with a lot of fine parallel lines close together such as a drawing at 03:09 of the main program. My TV display can't maintain the lines correctly and they "shimmer" or jump around extravagantly. I took this disc to my gear guru, John Fort in Dallas. The nice system in his showroom could handle the fine parallel lines without a problem, so the shimmer I get in my home theater is my fault. But John had the same jutter problem I have. We suspect this may come from poor handling of frame rate issues somewhere along the line as this film made its way from the camera to my HT.  The sound is fine; the background music (probably generic stock material) is forgettable, but it does sound nice. 

Now for a grade. This title is informative and well done. It's a shame that the art work on the front of the keep case (and the presentation of this on Amazon.com) gives so little information about the delightful content. It's regrettable that the language issues are so goofy and frustrating. This could have been an "A" or "A+" title; but due to issues mentioned, the best grade I can give is "A-." Still, as long as you are strong in Dutch or  English, or read Chinese well, you should enjoy this title a lot.

Please help us by writing a comment that we can place here as a mini-review of this title.

Please help us by writing a comment that we can place here as a mini-review of this title.

Please help us by writing a comment that we can place here as a mini-reivew of this title.

Please help us by writing a comment that we can place here as a mini-reivew of this title.