This month sees the appearance of one of the finest classical DVDs you'll ever encounter. Popular music has its accompanying videos almost as a matter of course, but the classics are only just getting into the act. And music videos are in essence what Vincent Paterson has created in his sensational DVD featuring the young Russian opera soprano Anna Netrebko. Using
clever camera-work and troupes of dancers and singers, he has made a film that is enormously funny and indeed thrilling, and a superb tribute to an exceptional talent.
The striking visuals might not be so important if Netrobko's voice was less wonderful. But it's superb -- clear, strong and vibrant in every register. This isn't all. It so happens that Netrobko's on-screen personality is playful and sexy in a way that couldn't be more appropriate to what Paterson has elected to do with the music. The result is perfection of a kind -- a zestful cocktail of hot color, fast-cut images and witty choices for the settings. To top it all, the music itself is in all cases almost perfectly served.
The Jewel Song from Gounod's Faust may not seem like a strong starter but it's made sensationally ebullient, even funny. Switching from historical to neo-punk and back again within seconds, and with the charismatic Netrobko veritably drunk on the effects of her new accessories, the result is a joyous rehabilitation of an old vocal number.
Next, Musetta from La Boheme is shown as a lonely rich girl drawing the looks of every man she passes, plus her taxi-driver and soberly-attired companion. Gorgeously edited, this is another palpable hit. But it can't compare with what follows, Donna Anna's Crudele? Non mi dir from Don Giovanni, with the dancers as trees in a wintry forest turning to snow. This item is a genuine masterpiece, with the performers all- but-permanent impulse to camp for once held in check.
By contrast, a positive riot is permitted, indeed encouraged, in Care compagne from La Sonambula, a feast of provocative posturing and gaudy color. Never before was Bellini like this! The film concludes with the Song to the Moon from Rusalka, done in a variety of watery locations, starting with Netrebko adrift in a swimming-pool on an pink-and- blue inflatable and ending with a quasi-erotic sequence in a shower.
Whatever you do, don't miss this DVD. Between the five musical items are interludes where Netrebko talks about her life, her fantasies, how she enjoys pop music but never wants to sing it, and so on. The DVD also contains behind-the-scenes footage and three Netrebko on-stage items -- two from La Traviata and one from Glinka's Ruslan and Lyudmila. The CD that the video items are presumably mimed to is Opera Arias (DGM 474 240-2) with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. Chinese subtitles are included, along with English, Spanish, German and French. This product is sensational and highly recommended.
The other two DVDs are much less unusual and indeed in part of historic interest. The first is the release in DVD format of the 1977 production of Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. It stars the 36-year-old Placido Domingo as the Duke, Ileana Cotrubas as Gilda, and the veteran Cornell MacNeil in the title role. The production is traditional but eye-catching, and very strong on conviction. The orchestral sound under Levine is especially fine. With the added eminence of the soloists, this is a DVD well worth having.
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