Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Fleming, Vargas, Hvorostovsky, Gergiev, Carsen [Metropolitan Opera 2007]

Anyone who likes Tchaikovsky's music, excellent singing and beautiful opera productions will greatly enjoy this DVD. Renée Fleming and Dmitri Hvorostovsky are a beautiful couple, both singing and visually, They sing marvelously.I personally loved the set and costume design. Unfortunately, there is a defect on disc n° 2, Act 3, scene 1, between chapters 8-10; therefore I cannot say anything on the performance of Prince Gremin and the initial Polonaise. But I must say regarding the other parts: this is a magnificent stage production and also that Ramon Vargas (who, for me, looks like Schubert) is a high class tenor. People should have this production in their musical collection. Valery Gergiev, by the way, is super, as usual. With best wishes.

I saw this cast at the Met last year and loved it so much that I went see it streaming into a movie theater a week later. I am thrilled with the DVD! Unlike some other reviewers, I think the sets are very effective in giving the viewer a sense of place, scope, and class distinction without getting in the way of the music and drama.
The filming takes nothing away from the opera, but enchances the emotions of the drama because one can see the faces of these fine singers/ actors. I don't give out great praise unless it is greatly deserved - Hurrah! to the singers, orchestra, set and costume designers, etc. and the Met for making opera at the movies and this film available to the masses who cannot get to N.Y.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Stunning Performances by the principals., Jan 3 2008
By Hazel Smith (Sudbury, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

I saw the HD presentation in 2007 and was so impressed that I went back for the encore two weeks later. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that the Met would get a dvd of the production out so fast. I pre-ordered 2 copies the minute it was advertised. I am a devoted fan of Renee Fleming and she didn't disappoint; nor did Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Ramon Vargas was in excellent voice. The setting(for me) emphacized the isolation of the Russian steppe-vast landscape with few people. The ballroom scenes, with chairs hemming everyone in, seemed to symbolize the constrictions of conventional society. I know some people objected to the minimalist nature of the sets, but they worked for me and underlined some important facets of the opera. Aside from the glorious singing and acting, I loved watching Valery Gergiev conduct. The bonus features backstage were great. Thanks to Robert Carsen for another fabulous production. I've watched my dvd twice already. I just can't get enough of the "letter scene", the "polonaise", or the final duet. Enjoy!!!!!

Great, great performance - singing, acting, conducting - marred and denigrated by an absolutely unforgivable production and set design. Reminds one of a high school low budget production - at the Met! "Minimalist" it might be - but since was this something for Pushkin's Russia? It's painful to watch, and the performance breaks your heart in more ways than one.

My wife and I watched this performance from the Grand Tier. At the time, we agreed that the staging and performance were superb, and the cameras were unobtrusive, but thought that some of the performances, notably that of Dmitri Hvorostovsky, were a tad 'wooden'.

A few months later, we saw the broadcast performance, and were very pleasantly surprised. Hvorostovsky's performance was far from wooden: with the benefits of the TV camera, we could see every subtle nuance, every expression, every gesture. His was a performance of the highest standard. Bravo!

And here we find one of the differences between televised and live performances - the camera can pick up subtleties which just aren't visible from the back of the theatre (and exaggerate 'operatic acting'as it happens). True, watching a live performance has other advantages - the ambience, the freedom to choose what you want to look at, people-watching, the champagne during the intervals....

In the past, there have been other differences - poor direction, inadequate sound, extraneous noise, but this is no longer an issue. This Brian Large production is basically superb! Picture quality is excellent, reflecting the clever lighting effects on stage. Sound is crystal clear, with enough resolution to distinguish individual applause (ours must have been in there somewhere, I suppose). This recording, in many respects, is even better than the 'real thing'.

Putting technicalities to one side, the production itself was of the highest calibre. All the singers, without exception, were at the top of their form. Aria after aria ended in thunderous applause. Gergiev was amazing, extracting every ounce of emotion from Tchaikowsky's music.

The minimalist sets were, I thought, very clever. I particularly liked the first ballroom scene, where the dancers were crowded together in a slightly too small dance floor flanked by mis-matched chairs. The effect was of an impromptu ball run by a family who were comfortably off, but a little down-at-heel. The leaves, as a symbol of time passing, were very effective, particularly during the overture.

And now, I think, enough time has passed.

This is a superb recording in every way; one to be treasured.