Orlando (DVD)

Opernhaus Zürich

Click on Image for Martina Janková singing "Se fedel vuoi ch'io ti creda"

Orlando: A Brilliant Production of One of Handel's Best Operas

by Brian Hay

This production is fabulous.

Musically, it's beyond reproach. William Christie takes the score at a faster tempo than he did when he recorded the piece with Les Arts Florissants back in 1996, but, as was the case then, everything he's done serves the music beautifully. If anything, the differences only illustrate the fact that more than one approach can be valid. The playing of The Orchestra "La Scintilla" of the Zurich Opera is impeccable and inspired. Numbers like "Non fu giá men forte Alcide" with its horn obligato bristle with emotional fire. Gentle phrasings such as the lovely string passage that opens the second act express deep feeling without falling into excessive sentimentality. The accompaniment to "Cielo! Se tu il consent" never loses or overplays the darkness that implies the beginnings of Orlando's descent into madness. These are just a few examples.

Marijana Mijanović is spectacular in the role of the tormented 'Orlando'. Her singing is very strong through the upper and lower areas of her range and her shadings are very expressive. Her acting is stellar. She's a beautiful woman but her gestures and body language make her very convincing as a man. Her portrayal of Orlando's madness is chilling. Martina Janková is radiant as the lovely but conflicted 'Anjelica'. She uses a lot of vibrato to express the dramatic scope of the music but there's a quality of crystalline clarity at the root of her singing that lays a solid foundation for every note that passes her lips. As an actress (in this part anyway) she conveys seductive qualities that make it easy for the viewer to see why she's at the centre of focus for all the male characters. (They'd be dead if they didn't at least pay attention).

Christina Clark's voice is well suited to 'Bel Canto' singing (to sing beautifully in Italian). Her phrasings are exquisite. She has excellent clarity throughout her range and excellent control over her vibrato. Her acting is wonderful. She captures 'Dorinda's' sweet nature and the harshness of her situation without becoming an object of pity. The mezzo tones of Katharina Peetz are rich and filled with shadings. Her low end is absolutely lovely. Her portrayal of 'Medoro' as a rake of questionable integrity but no malice is excellent. When her character's dilemma is clarified she holds the viewers' understanding if not all of their sympathy. Konstantin Wolff has the least to do but his presence is felt throughout the opera. His portrayal of 'Zaroastro' as the manipulative and coldly malevolent 'creator' of heroes is, in its way, even more chilling than the madness that strikes 'Orlando'; unlike 'Orlando' he knows what he's doing. This is a tribute to both Wolff's ability as an actor and the work of the Director, Jens-Daniel Herzog.

Herzog does a tremendous job of keeping the story moving briskly. His sense of placing and movement is impeccable. He makes full use of both the cast and the music to flesh out the production. The set created by Mathis Neidhardt is a brilliant piece of work. It's less austere than what would be expected of a sanitarium but that never distracts from the action. There's plenty of room for the performers to move and enough space to allow different things to be shown simultaneously. The lighting design set in place by Jürgen Hoffman leads the eye to the appropriate focal points beautifully. The cinematography applied to the video shoot is very good as well. (TV) Directors Felix and Maud Breisach placement of the cameras do as much to keep the flow of the narrative moving on video as the work of the stage crew did during the performance(s) themselves.

The sound isn't quite what it could be. DTS 5.1 couldn't be tested because my system (pretty good conventional stereo) doesn't support it. The sound on the PCM track doesn't centre around the television as well as it should. The dynamic range and frequency separation on that track could be better as well. The Dolby 5.1 track centres properly and has better frequency separation but still falls short of what's been done on other releases. The mix is questionable at times. Much of Katharina Peetz' harmony singing on "Consolati o bella" is buried. With her pitch and volume that wouldn't have been the case on stage. These comments shouldn't be misconstrued though. The sound is good. But neither the Dolby or PCM tracks here are as good as the PCM track on the EuroArts edition of 'Persée or anything I've heard from Opus Arte.

The main menu is flawed as well. There are settings for languages and audio but none for the individual chapters. The discs are divided into chapters but having a table of contents would have been nice. This listing does show up on an optional side menu on Apple's DVD Player application however. Go Figure.

Against the whole these complaints are minor ones. The execution of this production is brilliant. It is one of the most engaging pieces I've seen on video. It gets the highest recommendation.

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