Gluck-Alceste (Kaasch, Naglestad, Stuttgart, Carydis) (2006) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Opera	Booklet
Rating
Year Of Production	2006
Running Time	164:01
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (82:08)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Nele Munchmeyer
Studio Distributor	Arte Select Audio-Visual Distrib	Starring	Donald Kaasch Catherine Naglestad Bernhard Schneider Catriona Smith Johan Rydh Nam Soo Kim Motti Kaston Michael Ebbecke Wolfgang Probst
Case	Amaray-Opaque
RPI	$74.95	Music	Christoph Willibald Gluck

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	French Linear PCM 44.1/16 2.0 (1536Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English German French Spanish Italian	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) was perhaps the most influential opera composer of the mid-eighteenth century. While few of his 35 works in the medium are performed today, he revolutionised opera by insisting that the emphasis be placed as much upon the drama as upon the music. Prior to this time opera had been full of recitative and opportunities for singers to show off their vocal skills. Gluck decided that the drama was just as important as the music and set out to write works consistent with his theories.

    Alceste was first performed in Vienna in 1767. While Gluck was living in Vienna one of his pupils had been Marie Antoinette. Once she was married to the King of France Gluck was able to obtain a commission to write works for the Paris Opera. One of these works was a French version of Alceste, which premiered in 1776. The work was significantly revised from the Vienna version, so much so that it is virtually a different opera.

    The performance on this DVD comes from the Staatsoper Stuttgart in 2006. The staging is not traditional. It looks as though the directors have attempted to make it look like the 1950s or 1960s, judging by the outfits. While this is not one of those Eurotrash productions where the intention is to shock rather than illuminate, it is difficult to understand what the directors were trying to achieve. It certainly does not add anything to the narrative. The set starts out as the side of a building (the exterior of the Temple of Apollo), with a second story window opening to allow the oracle to speak. The lower half later opens to reveal a small chapel or lecture hall from the side, then later a recital room behind it. Most of the men wear suits and ties, while the women are in skirts with white blouses. Alceste wears a green three-piece suit, while she, Admète and their children have bright orange hair.

    The story is based on the play by Euripedes, where Alceste chooses to sacrifice her life to save that of her ill husband Admete in a bargain with the Gods. Admète decides to follow his wife down to the Underworld where they are rescued by Hercules. There, I've saved you nearly three hours of your life. Seriously though, Gluck's opera is a little short on action but long on beautiful music in the early Classical style. There is no recitative, and though there are several passages of ballet music there is no ballet in this production. The music for the singers in itself does not seem a major progression forward from the operas of the previous century and a half, however the accompaniment by the orchestra is more weighty and dramatic. There seems a world of difference between this work and Mozart's mature operas, which were all written in the next fifteen years. However Mozart's earlier operas are much in the same vein, and he even wrote several works with the same title as works by Gluck (La Clemenza di Tito and Il re Pastore).

    The singing in this performance is uniformly good, Catherine Naglestad in the title role being the standout. Donald Kaasch as Admète is also very good, while the baritone of Michael Ebbecke, who is sort of a thickset Jean Marais, is a little wayward at times as Hercules. The recording balance slightly favours the orchestra and at some points it threatens to drown out the soloists. No such problem with the excellent chorus.

    While this is a strange and unsatisfying staging of the work, the musical performance is very good and well worth hearing.

Video

    This is an NTSC transfer in the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and 16x9 enhanced.

    It's unfortunate that most opera distributors these days are recording in NTSC for world markets, as I imagine the increased resolution of PAL would have served the video transfer better. As it is, while this DVD is sharp in brightly-lit close-up, there is a lack of detail which is more apparent in wide shots. A view of the entire stage has quite poor detail. This lack of detail is extended to some sequences in shadow or semi-darkness.

    Colour is okay, with flesh tones reasonably lifelike. Most of the colours are fairly pale, with only the bright orange hair of Alceste and her family standing out.

    There is a lot of aliasing in this transfer, which might not be that noticeable on smaller displays. There is plenty of low level noise in the background, while Gibb Effect and edge enhancement can be seen most of the time. Being shot on video there are no film artefacts.

    Optional subtitles are available in English in clear white font. All of the libretto is translated, and the subtitles are well-timed and easy to read.

    The disc is RSDL-formatted. I did not notice the layer break, and attempts to locate it have proved fruitless. The disc information indicates that it should be at 82:08, but my player passes by this point without a moment's pause.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Rather surprisingly there is no surround audio on this 2006 recording, the sole audio option being Linear PCM 2.0 in the original language of French.

    While the surround option might have given a greater illusion of being present in the theatre, the stereo recording is very good indeed. As mentioned earlier the recording is balanced in favour of the orchestra, and the period instruments can be picked out individually. There is plenty of dynamic range, so while a solo flute is is very quiet, a tutti is by comparison very loud. The rasping of the brass section is particularly impressive.

    The voices move across the soundstage in relation to the singers, but as the point of view is set back from the stage the movement is not exaggerated or distracting. Individual voices in the chorus can be picked out, just like the orchestra.

    The audio has plenty of bass when required, and fortunately there is not a lot of stage noise to create continual thumping. Audio sync is exemplary.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Booklet

    A booklet in several languages contains an essay on the background of the work, credits and several black and white photographs. There are also a few biographical notes, tellingly including biographies of the stage directors but not of the conductor.

    This seems to be the same disc that is being issued elsewhere in the world.

    A well played and sung performance of this opera, though the staging will be a turn-off for some.

    The video quality is good but has a few problems.

    The audio quality is excellent.

    The sole extra is a booklet.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall