Cast: Jerry Hadley (Tom Rakewell), Dawn Upshaw (Ann Trulove), Monte Pederson (Nick Shadow), Jonathan Best (Trulove), Linda Ormiston (Mother Goose), Jane Henschel (Baba the Turk), Barry Banks (Sellem), Peter Tuff (Keeper), Camerata Academica & Vienna State Opera Chorus, Sylvain Cambreling (conductor), Peter Mussbach (director), Jörg Immendorff (designer), Brian Large (television director)
Recorded at the Salzburg Festival in 1996.
Published by RM Arts and released by Image Entertainment in north America in 2000 (ID5778RADVD/Region 1 NTSC/subtitles only in English) and by Arthaus Musik in Europe in 2001 (100254/regions 2, 5 PAL/subtitles in English, German, French and Spanish)
Technical Details:
Picture Format: 16:9
Sound Format: PCM Stereo
Running time: 157 minutes
Sung in English
Review of the Image Entertainment DVD
It is a delight to find an ebullient, effective recording on DVD. There are some flaws, to be sure, but overall this disc provides an exciting and entertaining evening of opera. Credit must be distributed liberally among composer, librettist, cast, conductor, orchestra, designer and recording crew.
The central voice in this opera is that of the rake himself and it is difficult to picture a more effective one than Jerry Hadley. He seems to find the music easy, which is as it should be, and he realizes the 'progress' by effective acting with voice and body. Upshaw is hardly less attractive as his true love. Her challenges are primarily vocal and she conquers them so easily that one does not even hear that they were encountered. Pederson is a bit less satisfying, presenting a colorless devil accurately; one would hope for more 'bite' in the character and in other productions one finds a more interesting and less shadowy Nick. This reviewer found the casting of Henschel as Baba disturbing since it appears to exploit her physique; still, she delivers a fine performance so presumably was comfortable with the casting. Those four and all the other soloists show exemplary enunciation and accuracy; even the chorus is generally understandable.
The production is remarkable with brilliant sets and costumes prompting the viewer to look forward to the insights offered in the next scene. While some of the choices need a second viewing to decipher, none so dominates the stage that it distracts from the performance. Tom's jeans and tee shirt are consistent even as he achieves and loses wealth; the implication that he is the same man throughout is clear and relevant, while simply adding a hat shows his advancement. Makeup is used effectively, with reality reflected in the natural appearance of Ann throughout and Tom at the beginning and the end, where grotesquerie is used when he is dissolute. Why, then, the artifice for Trulove and the near-natural appearance (beard aside) of Baba? More viewings will be needed to appreciate those.
Technically, the disc ranks among the best of its era. The picture is crisp throughout. Sound is effective stereo without surround; clarity is exemplary and Ann Beckman's harpsichord glistens without blaring - just right in performance and in recording. Subtitles are in English only and cannot be suppressed; that is unfortunate since their style and color (yellow) are sometimes diverting and they are superfluous in this performance.
Overall, the word for this disc is 'delightful'. It rewards repeated viewing and serves the work well.
Related websites:
Image Entertainment www.image-entertainment.com
Arthaus Musik www.arthaus-musik.de
Michael Richter, 27 May 2002
mrichter@cpl.net
See also Michael Richter's Introduction to the DVD, for a list of other reviews see the DVD Project page.
