Opera on Blu-ray

[Pabby]

During the past several months I have acquired each of the four operas in this cycle from Amazon at reasonable prices, and did not listen to a friend who runs a classical HighDef site saying that the complete cycle would come out the end of the year. Each has been excellent if you don't insist on the traditional customs. Singing is, in my opinion, excellent throughout and staging releavant to the story line.
However, now I find I could get them ALL in a complete set at Amazon at $75.99 (thus free shipping!). Coming out on September 29, 2009.
By the way my friend's site has excellent information about all classical HighDef discs and his site is named "ClutureVultures" and if you google culturevulture.com you will get to his excellent site. There you will find nearly every classical HD disc with leads to both Amazon and foreign sellers.

[Bruce Morrison]

I invested in Blu-ray in 2008 and initially concentrated on buying films, but I've now started building up a collection of opera performances as well.

Unfortunately I seem to have just bought my first faulty blu-ray disc - it's the first disc of the Tristan & Isolde set from Bayreuth in 2009 (on Opus Arte), and the playback freezes for a few seconds during the curtain calls at the end of Act 1! Although it doesn't affect the actual performance, it's still annoying and I think I'll get it exchanged. Has anyone else had the same problem with this disc?

The orchestral performance is fantastic with the famed Bayreuth accoustic in full evidence but I was a bit disturbed by the balance at the start of the act, where Iréne Theorin was completely covered by the orchestra at one point. Things got better as the act continued - or maybe Theorin's vocal production improved as she warmed up and her voice was certainly better focussed in the latter part of the act.

[stridonolassu]

I just watched Act I two days ago and I experienced the same problem. At first I thought it was switching layers (even if it was an odd spot in which to place the break). It looks like there is indeed some sort of a defect. The image pauses and freezes two or three times and then jumps to the "Insert Disc 2" screen. Since it happens during the curtain calls it's not enough to make me want to go through returning it. I suspect all copies probably have the same defect. On to the second disc this weekend, hoping there are no unpleasant surprises there.

I agree with you about the audio balance at the beginning and Theorin's improvement as the act goes along. Quite enjoyed it overall and I'm looking forward to the rest. My only issue with the stage direction so far was the Chaplinesque comedy bit when Isolde checks her pulse as she waits for the potion to take effect.

[Bruce Morrison]

Thanks for your response - since it appears to be a general problem with the current batch of pressings, I'll just hang on to this copy.

I watched Act 2 this evening and, unbelievably, the same kind of freeze happens in the curtain calls again! It's just a pause of about two seconds and then it continues normally, but it's weird that both problems happen during the curtain calls!

Actually, I believe that Bayreuth performances are usually taken down on video during special sessions without an audience, so I think those curtain calls must have been tacked on from "ordinary" performances. That would explain why the pattern of the applause clearly doesn't match the comings and goings of the singers - rather a giveaway really!

I didn't think the production for Act 2 worked as well as in Act 1 - there are some bizarre touches, but I suppose we are getting used to that in so many opera performances these days. Anyway, it's on to Act 3 tomorrow!

[stridonolassu]

I watched the rest and, sure enough, the problem not only happens during the curtain calls for Act II but also during the final bows at the end of the opera. It's disappointing but I guess I can live with it. I don't care for mid-act bows but I do like seeing the ones at the very end. As you said, in what little you do get to see the audio and the video do not match. Oh, well. Had the slightest glitch occurred during the performance I'd surely be sending it back.

BTW, all of the videos from Bayreuth going back to the first one (the classic 1978 Tannhäuser) were filmed without an audience. What we saw and heard was "live" in that there was no lip-synching, but it was still all done pretty much under studio conditions. Thanks to new equipment this changed in 2008 with Meistersinger, their first live performance recorded with an audience and streamed live on the web (and later released on DVD only in Germany). The booklet for this Tristan says this was taped on one day (August 9th, 2009), which I believe was the day you could also watch it live on the internet. If this is true then I must say they did a great job editing takes and audio from just one performance. The curtain calls, whenever they were taped, have certainly been sloppily tacked on by Opus Arte.

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by stridonolassu

I watched the rest and, sure enough, the problem not only happens during the curtain calls for Act II but also during the final bows at the end of the opera. It's disappointing but I guess I can live with it. I don't care for mid-act bows but I do like seeing the ones at the very end. As you said, in what little you do get to see the audio and the video do not match. Oh, well. Had the slightest glitch occurred during the performance I'd surely be sending it back.

BTW, all of the videos from Bayreuth going back to the first one (the classic 1978 Tannhäuser) were filmed without an audience. What we saw and heard was "live" in that there was no lip-synching, but it was still all done pretty much under studio conditions. Thanks to new equipment this changed in 2008 with Meistersinger, their first live performance recorded with an audience and streamed live on the web (and later released on DVD only in Germany). The booklet for this Tristan says this was taped on one day (August 9th, 2009), which I believe was the day you could also watch it live on the internet. If this is true then I must say they did a great job editing takes and audio from just one performance. The curtain calls, whenever they were taped, have certainly been sloppily tacked on by Opus Arte.

It's interesting that they have started recording with an audience at Bayreuth - I hadn't realised that the practice had changed. Thanks for the information. Do you have any details about that DVD of the 2008 Meistersinger from Bayreuth. As it was released only in Germany, do you know whether it has optional English subtitles?

I've e-mailed Opus Arte pointing out the problems with playback freezing during the curtain calls, and I've already had a reply from them asking for the make and model of my Blu-ray player. They have said they want to investigate it further so let's hope they eventually correct the problem on subsequent pressings.

[stridonolassu]

Bruce: I hadn't thought of playing the discs on a different player. I was using a Panasonic DMP-BD55. I just tried them on my laptop (VAIO F-series) and the curtain calls play without any problems. This is the first time something like this happens to me with this player.

The 2008 Meistersinger DVD was released only in Germany and it doesn't have subtitles in any language (not even German). You can get a copy from amazon.de or any other German retailer. It is region 2 encoded and PAL. If you're in the UK it might be easier and cheaper to get. Shipping alone to the US is outrageous. Shortly after Bayreuth bypassed traditional labels and distribution and released this on their own (like the Met has done with a few titles), Opus Arte signed a deal with them to carry their recordings (Tristan and a CD Ring being the first releases). Hopefully Opus Arte will pick up Meistersinger as well. I understand that Parsifal from the 2008 festival was also filmed but that hasn't yet seen the light of day.

[Bruce Morrison]

Originally Posted by stridonolassu

Bruce: I hadn't thought of playing the discs on a different player. I was using a Panasonic DMP-BD55. I just tried them on my laptop (VAIO F-series) and the curtain calls play without any problems. This is the first time something like this happens to me with this player.

Opus Arte have responded with some interesting information about the problem. They have identified that it is due to the PiP option available on the Tristan set, whereby you can have a small picture of the conductor visible in a corner of the screen while watching the stage action.

At the end of each act, the PiP stops when the conductor leaves the orchestra pit. It's at this point that the freeze occurs - but they have found that it's only Panasonic players that react in this way. I have the Panasonic BD35 player. The problem happens even when you don't actually have the PiP activated.

I've asked them if they can contact Panasonic to see whether firmware updates could be released for their players to deal with this issue. I think such a request would carry more weight coming from a prominent Company releasing Blu-ray discs rather than from myself as a mere consumer! Anyway, I haven't heard back from them yet. I don't know whether this is the kind of issue that firmware can deal with or if it's more of a hardware issue.

They have said that, in any case, they will endeavour to avoid the problem in the authoring if they release other Blu-ray sets with a PiP option.

[Lawrence Schulman]

I recently purchased the Blu-ray disc of the opera Der Rosenkavalier, filmed in the early 1960s and conducted by Herbert Von Karajan, and had to return it to Amazon because the sound froze at several spots at the beginning of Act 1. I exchanged the defective disc for a new one, and that too freezes on several occasions at the exact same places. I asked Amazon to make a third exchange, and their policy seems to be that after one exchange, the customer gets a refund, not a third try. Has anyone had the same problem? My player is an Oppo. I am immensely disappointed, as this film is legendary.

[desiderialouis]

The mixing has not been completely redone to accommodate playback on multichannel systems. In all these the sound track are really very awesome and it is also use for so many occasions i like it so much.

[Leonthewolf]

I have not purchased the Karajan Rosenkavalier on Blu-Ray although I have a DVD version of it.

I was wondering what people thought of other versions. I have two:
(1) Decca - conducted by Christian Thielemann
(2) Euroarts - conducted by Fabio Luisi

In the Decca Fleming is wonderful as the Marschallin but Hawlata (Ochs), whom I thought did a good job in the blu-ray version of Meistersinger, seems to have a voice problem; it is weak. At the end when taking a bow with the other stars he is visibly coughing. When he comes out onto the stage to receive applause by himself there is very little response from the audience.

So did Hawlata have a health problem on this disc? It is disappointing since the rest of the cast are great and the sets are moderately traditional.

In the EuroArts version the sets are less traditional but Ochs (Kurt Rydl) is in good voice.

Leon

[Leonthewolf]

I am wondering about other opinions of this Parsifal. I was very impressed with all aspects of this - particularly Matti Salminen and Waltruad Meier who are still going very strong.

The sound and vision were superb.

It was a fairly traditional set and rather low-lit at times; particularly compared with the Bayreuth version I saw there a few years ago where the Grail scene, in particular, was flooded with light.

I would certainly highly recommend this one but I wonder if others have seen it.

By the way, is there a better site on which to discuss Blu-Ray opera or is this it?

Leon

[sevepally]

Thanks Lee. Don Giovanni is probably my favorite Mozart opera.

[Cinquero]

What Blu Ray players are you using to play back operas? Is there any affordable solution that is noiseless during playback?

[LaserD]

Originally Posted by Cinquero

What Blu Ray players are you using to play back operas? Is there any affordable solution that is noiseless during playback?

I suspect you're going to hear from several Oppo BD player fans in the next while. When I first got into blu-ray, I went with Samsung (never again, not ever) and also with tried and true Pioneer (love those guys, you can never go wrong). But after a couple of years of research and enough of the hype from Oppo devotees, I have little doubt that my next player will indeed be an Oppo, now that they have gone to wireless internet connection. I'm just waiting to hear if their new model can be modified to handle all of my other-region DVDs like their previous models.

[McCrutchy]

Indirectly related:

I started a thread for the Met Live in HD performances after I went to one yesterday for the first time:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/movies/189...a-live-hd.html

The Movies subforum is the kiss of death for all but the most mainstream fare, so I'm trying to drum up some posters for it. If you have been to any screenings, please post and share your experience.

[Telstar]

Curious why people seem to have lost interest in this thread.
Any updates of note over the past year or so? Any thoughts (new or otherwise) on the best operas currently available on blu-ray?

[mattconroy]

Haven't posted here in a while. I've expanded my collection pretty significantly since 2009. I'm wondering what people would consider to be the biggest "gaps" in the Blu-ray opera category. Here are a few I would like to see:

-A decent production of Madama Butterfly. All of the current options seem unsatisfactory.
-Wozzeck. I don't understand how we can have 2-3 offerings of Lulu yet not a single recording of Wozzeck. Is the BelAir Classiques DVD scheduled for Blu-ray release?
-More Russian opera. Would love to see Prince Igor or The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh made available, if they exist.
-Les Contes d'Hoffmann
-Pelleas et Melisande - one recording out there but a strange production
-Gounod's Faust
-Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila
-Weber's Der Freischutz

Come to think of it there are lots of gaps in French opera.

What's on your wish list?

[mattconroy]

Quick word of praise for the new EMI Tosca Blu-ray - outstanding in every way. I am not Gheorgiu's biggest fan, but her voice and demeanor are perfect for Tosca. Jonas Kaufmann is probably my favorite tenor signing today - totally inhabits Cavaradossi. Terfel is a fantastic Scarpia - really captures the malevolence of the character in a believable way without going over the top. Massive performance by Pappano and his orchestra as well.

I can't understand the lack of Blu-ray titles from EMI. They have an amazing catalogue yet this is their first opera Blu-ray if I'm not mistaken. More please! Especially if they are of this quality.

[McCrutchy]

It looks like DGG will upgrade the 2009 Met Opera performance of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, this May / June. In the case of this title, the international market is going to get it the first week of May, while the U.S. won't get it until June 18th.

The UK price is particularly attractive (at £15.50, it is over US $10 less after shipping to the USA, compared to Amazon.com, which are currently asking US $35.98), especially when coupled with the May 6th street date:

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor Blu-ray

Anna Netrebko.