Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62358 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-03-02
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Classical, Colour, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Italian, German, English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 196 minutes

Synopsis
Live recording from The Opernhaus Halle.

Customer Reviews

Excellent music from the players and singers spoiled by "modernisation"
The booklet accompanying this BD is much better than most and gives a good account of the plot and attempts at explaining the philosophy behind the staging adopted by countertenor/director Axel Kohler. The music is among the best composed by Handel and the artists involved in this product generally handle their roles well although I was less impressed with Melanie Hirsch as her voice was often overshadowed by others.

As with many Baroque operas, the plot is based on ancient myth and is not always easy to follow. So why add in the distractions of inappropriate costumes such as Hercules dressed in a shiny plastic black suit and props like a modern chromed hospital bed, a bright red delivery van and an aluminium suitcase? I can accept some modern settings of operas but it is just so far out at times in Admeto it destroys enjoyment and would seem totally unnecessary.

The cover blub proclaims "Axel Kohler, the internationally renowned countertenor - now also famed for his work as a director - has brought Admeto into the modern era in timeless style by the skilful application of imaginative theatrical digressions. Kohler's production at the Halle Opernhaus revisits a work that encompasses comedy, tragedy and almost grotesqueness, couching it in the convincing metaphor of a modern hospital".

Sorry but my reaction has centred mainly on the grotesque side of what is presented and find the metaphor of the modern hospital utterly unconvincing. Come on, how is resurrection from Hades by mythical characters convincing when the set revolves around a modern hospital bed? The plot is complex enough in Handel operas with women often playing men's parts in mythical stories which are even more unbelievable than most, and they certainly do not increase my enjoyment by "moderisation". Quite the contrary, I find it offputting.

These operas are long and I find need approaching an Act at a time, but I found this presentation particularly hard to enjoy. This is a pity because the artistry and music are very, very good. That music is very appropriately and skilfully handled by the Handel Festival Orchestra on historical instruments, conducted by Howard Arman.

But I really cannot generate any enthusiasm to recommend this disc.

John

A 21st century "Admeto"
I must confess to having something of an obsession with "Admeto". Ever since I read about this opera in music books in the early nineties I longed to hear it. Those books told of strong characterisation, a rescue from Hades, a flute-accompanied lament, hunting music and pastoral sinfonias.

Back in those days the only way to hear "Admeto" was to find a second-hand LP copy of Alan Curtis's 1977 recording on EMI. I duly found a copy and, copying it onto tape cassettes, I listened to it constantly while commuting. As a result, I reckon I could now possibly sing the whole thing from beginning to end, by heart.

And of course the music was as good as those books said. The first two acts are truly magnificent and the third act is not far behind. The weaknesses in the work are mainly to do with the plot. It starts off as something of a gripping love triangle, but Alceste's irrational jealousy towards the end of Act 2 sends the story off the rails somewhat. The music just falters a little in the third act as Alceste's ill-founded anxiety compounds the King's own emotional dilemma. In addition, the denouement has a faintly comic feel that ill fits the sobriety of the early parts of the opera.

Anyway, Virgin Classics finally got Curtis's recording transferred to CD in 1997 but this the first "complete" new recording since.

Curtis's account is very good but is just starting to show its age now. I therefore welcomed the opportunity to hear a more modern account of this favourite among Handel's operas.

Lets get the staging out of the way from the outset. I'm not going to criticise it because, to coin a phrase, it is what it is. It's a modern staging set in a hospital. Of course it's going to ruffle a few feathers. If you are looking for wigs and candles then look elsewhere. For me it's the music that matters.

That said, there are far worse staging of baroque opera out there. The singers are pretty well behaved during arias and I found little that really annoyed me - although perhaps that because I realised from the off that this was not going to be a historically-faithful staging!

However, while I could accept Antigona and Meraspe climbing out of the back of a vehicle at the point at which we are first introduced to them, did it have to rev its engines and drown out the sinfonia pastorale so much?

Anyway, let's look at what really matters, the music.

Howard Arman conducts well. The orchestra is on fine form and shows the improvements in instrumental technique that have occurred since the 1970's. Tempi are generally ideal and in some cases (eg "Vedro fra poco" and "Quanto godra") more appropriate than Curtis. However, I felt that the aforementioned sinfonia pastorale was taken too quickly and "Spera Allor" which follows it should have been a little slower.

The cast is perfectly good, although no one truly shines. The two castrati roles are taken by male countertenors and both sing well; rumours that Matthias Rexroth had to use a microphone to be heard are an irrelevance.

The big issue for me is what is cut from the performance.

It is a fact of life that live performances of operas are cut to keep them to an acceptable length and a long opera like this can expect more savagery than most.

So what is cut here?

Well, there are some cuts and I have to say I think there are some real misjudgements.

For example, Act 1, as performed here, ends with Trasimdede's wonderful hunting aria. It makes a perfectly good - indeed resplendent - end to the act. The problem is it's not what Handel intended. He actually concludes the act with a snatch of dialogue for Antigona and Meraspe, followed by a gorgeous Aria for Antigona - "Se'n vola lo sparvier". Why cut it? To add insult to injury, had the decision not been taken to indulge Trasimede in a ridiculous "duet" with a solo horn at the end of his aria (ruining it in the process), there might have been time to close the act properly.

Act 2 sees another poor decision. At the end of the act Antigona and Alceste - love rivals - are finally alone together on the stage. It's a tense moment. Handel gives each lady an aria. Antigona's is rather seductive, whereas Alceste's is rather more sophisticated - but both are splendid arias and show Handel's characterisation powers perfectly. Well they would, had Antigona's aria not been cut.

Act 3 sees some similar shenanigans. The key weakness in "Admeto" is that Alceste explodes - with no good reason - into a jealous rage in Act 2, yet when she has reason to be jealous in Act 3 she twitters on about birds instead. This production `cures' the problem by cutting the Act 2 aria "Gelosia" and inserting it into Act 3 in place of the `bird' aria. All well and good, but again it's not what Handel intended!

These cuts are all the more grievous when we discover that other inferior arias are retained. Meraspe's aria in Act 3 is probably the weakest in the whole opera and yet it remains, as does Ercole's second aria, which could also be cut.

In the final analysis, this DVD set is for "Admeto" fans and those with a love of Handel's "Royal Academy" operas. I cannot really imagine a wider audience taking to it, but then again they are probably unlikely to buy it anyway. I don't regret buying it for one moment. I adore this opera and musically this is a really fine account of it, despite the cuts.

Before signing off, I should add that this set gives us a rare treat. Curtis's recording cuts Alceste's second aria and replaces it with an aria that was inserted into the opera by Handel at a later date. Curtis's decision is based on the supposed musical inferiority of the original aria. Well, the original aria is (quite rightly) restored here. This aria, "Faro cosi piu bella", seems simple enough at first glance but it has a real grandeur and pathos that for me is one of the highlights of the score. Quite why Curtis cut it is a question only he can answer, but I'm delighted this marvellous aria has been restored - even if the appalling booklet in the DVD case suggests that Curtis's choice of aria has been retained!