Search - Maazel: 1984 - Royal Opera House on DVD

As true today as it was back then

Richard | Minneapolis, Mongolia | 02/20/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One would think 1984 outdated. But watching this video I was uncomfortably aware that it is quite contemporary. There have been some stunning performances in new operas this year. First, Gerald Finley in Doctor Atomic, then John Tomlinson in Minotaur. But Simon Keenlyside in 1984 walks away with the prize. It's a brutal part and he is on stage almost all the time. This is a performance for history. He totally embodies Winston - the prol who dares to hate Big Brother. He moves from early subdued protest, to action against the state, then he is totally broken through torture so that he is left one sole human being in love with Big Brother's on screen image. His immersion in Winston is so total that the torture scenes are almost impossible to watch. Now if only the vehicle were worthy of him. 1984 like the other two operas above is one hell of a production. It is well sung, well acted; the production is arresting. But where it counts in an opera - the music - there is let down. Maazel's score while dissonant in listenable. But it seldom grabs our attention. It is mostly subservient to the drama. We can debate words over music all we want a la Strauss' Capriccio. But who are we kidding? We go for the music, not the words. Too often Maazel seems to be spinning notes. And the piece could certainly use some major cutting. Two and a half hours is at least half an hour too long - some scenes and especially the monologues go on and on. In the end I do recommend this if only for Keenlyside's searing portrayal: that is for the history books."