Search - Richard Strauss - Salome / Peter Hall · Edward Downes · Maria Ewing, · ROH Covent Garden on DVD

Superb technique

Andrew N. Lenz | Rural MA | 03/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many of the reviews complain about Ewing's vocality, but this is exactly what makes the performance so blood-chilling perfect. Rather than just blasting out all the notes as you average battle-axe soprano would, Ewing uses the German "sing-speak" technique that became so briefly popular in the 20th century among composers of dissonance. Much of her banter is spoken in melody with dramatic inflection, although to the musical notes, and is amazingly effective in portraying a fixated, spoiled, and nasty teeny-bopper. She has perfected operatic creepiness as it was intended for this work."

Bravo to all, especially Ewing

Robert P. Pherigo | Kansas City | 07/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Oh my God! I just finished watching this. Maria Ewing is amazing. Her intense focus is wonderful. I saw a live performance of Salome a few years ago in the midwest and wished the Salome and the whole production had been more intense and a little crazy. The whole thing was just too tame. I came away wondering if Salome could be done convincingly. I wonder no longer. This is a stellar performance. It's true that Ewing doesn't always sing the notes but who cares! She gets across the meaning beautifully. Keneth Riegel is also a standout. Kudos to the whole cast. Highly recommended!!!"

Boycott Kultur

Archie | Ottawa ON Canada | 07/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All right. I asked for it. Despite my previous resolution not to buy another Kultur DVD ever again I bought this. I had the video, which like almost all Kultur products was, from the technical aspect, second rate. However, the performances of all the major singer/actors, particularly Maria Ewing and Michael Devlin are outstanding; as is the staging. In preparation for the new Salomes about to be released (Teresa Stratas and Karita Matilla) I wanted to have another viewing of this landmark production. My hope was that the DVD would be better than the video.

Silly me!! I foolishly thought that Kultur would have cleaned it up the way responsible companies do before releasing a video as a DVD. But no. Just as with their "Turandot", they start with a shoddy video and rerelease it as a shoddy DVD. The sound (stereo only) and vision are muddy. The subtitles are in English only and cannot be turned off. There are no liner notes and no extras.

So why, you may ask, am I giving it 5 stars? It is for the same reason I would give the Caballe "Norma" five stars despite its flawed recording. This is a unique excellent production. Would that any other company than Kultur had produced this DVD!!

As I wrote in my review of their "Turandot": I wish Kultur would go bankrupt and get out of the way."