Anna Netrebko shines in MET Puritani DVD

I Puritani. Metropolitan Opera 2007. DVD release of the HD telecast. Production: Sequi from 1976. Anna Netrebko (Elvira), Eric Cutler (Arturo), John Relyea (Giorgio), Franco Vassallo (Riccardo). Cond: Patrick Sumners. Further details here.

Imagine being one of those potential Metropolitan Opera audience members intrigued by opera via the HD telecasts and outreach marketing strategies initiated by new MET manager Peter Gelb. Curious to know more about opera one then decides to buy an opera DVD and choses this Puritani since the only singer one has heard of is Anna Netrebko, thus imagining this to be a good introduction to opera as the contemporary art form, one repeatedly is being told that it is....

Even those unfamiliar with this Puritani production may have guessed the point I am slowly trying to make here: This is a production truly worthy of an opera museum. Opera as a contemporary art form? Not here. Even Anna Netrebko has publicly stated this to be a very dull production.

Anna Netrebko´s engaging Elvira is the only real reason to watch this as she shines in a truly engaging performance. She literally kicks the dusty sets alive. At this point bel canto afficionados tend to compare her with Beverly Sills and Joan Sutherland as well as critizing her lack of true bel canto style. Just a quick glance at the more than 100 comments accompanying the video of Anna Netrebkos Mad Scene ensures that this is not a subject to be taken lightly. I´ll refrain from commenting, as my knowledge on the subject is even less than my interest in it...

The remainder of the cast tends to stand still and deliver their lines, no doubt as intended by the director:
John Relyea´s appearance however, deceives. He looks good and is a fine actor. These two points seem to overshadow the fact that his voice indeed is rather unappealing. Of the others, Eric Cutler is as fine as any in the thankless role of Arturo.

May this be recommended? For fans of Anna Netrebko, yes.

Anna Netrebko in the Mad Scene - first part (second part may be seen here):

Barcelona DVD: Otello with Cura and Stoyanova

Otello. Barcelona Liceu, 2006. Director: Willy Decker. Cast: José Cura (Otello), Krassimira Stoyanova (Desdemona), Lado Ataneli (Iago), Vittorio Grigolo (Cassio). Conductor: Antoni Ros-Marbá. Further information here.
Willy Decker has a tendency of picking one major symbol around which to center his productions. In La Traviata it was a clock, in Boris Godunov a chair, in Don Carlo a mausoleum. In this Otello it is a cross as religion is the main theme of Decker´s staging.

Otello is both weak, insecure and touching. A Christian by convenience, a Muslim by conviction. The drama is about the cross-cultural and religious identity of Venice. Otello, the warrior is no hero as Venice is not his native city. On the contrary, he is simply a mercenary and traitor, hired to kill his fellow-Muslim compatriots. He has adopted the Christian faith to further his career in Venice. Towards the end, Otello symbolically breaks the cross. Having returned to his roots, he feels no guilt in killing Desdemona. Desdemona, on the other hand, who is Christian by belief, treats the cross with reverence.

The modern, minimalistic sets could have been considerably more aesthetic in the execution. However, I must admit to being rather impressed with this characterization by Decker, which for once provides new insights into the characters their motivations in one of the major repertoire operas.

Jose Cura's voice is sometimes quite strained, but his acting and commitment is captivating and he looks the part as well. The competition on DVD is however rather towering, as most will know. Lado Ataneli is not a Machiavellian Iago, but rather Otello´s jealous friend.
The major problem with Krassimira Stoyanova´s Desdemona is that she is off-pitch for most of the part and doesn´t quite seem to achieve that floating quality essential to lift off the part. Otherwise she is fine. Antoni Ros-Marbá and the orchestra play well, though not riveting.

As a modern Otello it works rather well, though I find the Flimm/Barenboim Otello (also modern) more captivating.

José Cura with Krassimira Stoyanova - Il fazzoletto- duet:

The bottom line(scale of 1-5, 3=average):

José Cura: 3-4
Krassimira Stoyanova: 3
Lado Ataneli: 3

Willy Decker´s staging: 4

Antonio Ros-Marbá: 3

Overall impression: 3

Rolando Villazón and Marina Domashenko in Berlin Carmen

Carmen. Berlin State Opera 2006. Production: Martin Kusej. Cast: Marina Domashenko (Carmen), Rolando Villazon (Don José), Norah Amsellem (Micaëla), Alexander Vinogradov (Escamillo), Christof Fischesser (Zuniga). Conductor: Daniel Barenboim.

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Martin Kusej´s Carmen is a co-production between the Berlin State Opera and the Paris Châtelet (shown in 2007).

In short: This is not a Carmen for traditionalists.

The entire opera is a flash-back starting with Don José´s on-stage execution. Don José is unstable from the beginning and doomed to destruction. Carmen does not play an essential part in this.

The production emphasizes sex, death and violence. Basically everyone is killed: Micaëla by a stray shot. Carmen in front of a white-clad and white-painted audience in front of which also the dead Escamillo (killed in the arena) is carried. And finally Don José in the first scene. Unfortunately, Kusej couldn´t help throw in some predictable symbols such as a red skarf as well.

Kusej´s minimalist, grey concrete staging with a quadrangle-turning-execution-pad-turning-whorehouse provides an austere background for this updated dark interpretation. Carmen is obviously a prostitute, dancing away in the basement with her underwear-clad colleagues surrounded by the soldiers. The rest of the story basically tells itself.

As engaging theater it works 100% , most importantly because Rolando Villazón and Marina Domashenko are superb.

Marina Domashenko is simply a superb Carmen, a beautiful dark mezzo as well as a compelling stage presence. It makes complete sense that José would fall in love with her and it´s equally obvious why she tires of him. Domashenko is deservedly gaining world-wide recognition with this Carmen and I do not think I have heard a current Carmen superior to hers.

Rolando Villazón´s Don José (the first of his career) is a desperate maniac verging on mental instability from the start. As always, he identifies 100% with his character, which also suits his hyperenergetic, neurotic acting well.

Alexander Vinogradov´s Escamillo is the only rather weak point in the cast - he simply looks like a teenager and it doesn´t quite make sense why this Carmen would be fascinated by him. Norah Amsellem is dramatically a convincing Micaëla. She has a clear soprano, though the vibrato is much too heavy for my taste, making her sound out of tune.

The orchestra under Daniel Barenboim is engaging throughout.

The London Carmen with Jonas Kaufmann and Anna Caterina Antonacci seems upcoming as well. Which to prefer must surely be a matter of taste. Though the London Zambello production does not appeal to me, the singers very much do. Though I´d suppose this to have the slight edge. Lovers of Carmen most probably will want both.

Rolando Villazón and Marina Domashenko in the final scene:

Carmen persuading Don José to free her (Villazon/Domashenko):

Highlights from the production:

The bottom line (scale 1-5, 3=average):

Rolando Villazón: 5
Marina Domashenko: 5
Norah Amsellem: 3
Alexander Vinogradov: 2

Martin Kusej´s production: 4-5
Daniel Barenboim: 4-5

Overall impression: 4-5

Photos: www.staatsoper-berlin.de

Trapped in the dark middle ages with no escape: Vienna Lohengrin with Claudio Abbado and Placido Domingo on DVD

Lohengrin. Vienna State Opera 1990. Director: Wolfgang Weber. Cast: Plácido Domingo (Lohengrin), Cheryl Studer (Elsa), Dunja Vejzovic (Ortrud), Hartmut Welker (Telramund), Robert Lloyd (Heinrich). Conductor: Claudio Abbado. Further details here.

Traditionalists may initially be uplifted by the though that director Wolfgang Weber takes all Wagner´s so-called intentions including the 10th century Lohengrin setting very serious. Beware, the optimism may be short-lived, though: The dark middle ages have never been more genuinely dark and medieval than in this Vienna staging...

The staging "allows the singers plenty of room to develop" - indeed, as stage direction seems absent from this production. Though the director may disagree, dressing Ortrud in red is not enough to create compelling drama...

In brief: This staging is unbearably boring and tedious. Trapped in the dark middle ages with no escape indeed...

Once and for all: I do not care about Plácido Domingo´s German diction when he sings and acts like he does here. Though, technically speaking, his diction is excellent. His German is not. I´ll spare readers a lenghty explanation of just why Plácido Domingo is the best tenor in this repertoire for as long time back as I can remember, but keywords include: Legato singing, dramatic presence, beautiful barytonal glow, convincing interpretation.

Cheryl Studer is a vocally a very fine and moving Elsa, though rather monodimensional on stage. However, the Queen of monodimensionalism is Dunja Vejzovic´s very passive Ortrud, who constantly looks bored more than anything else. Matched by the slightly more energetic, though wooden Hartmut Welker. Robert Lloyd´s nasal singing frankly irritates me as Heinrich, and overshadows whatever additional qualities he may have.

Claudio Abbado conducts with transparent beauty and myriad of details. In the perfect world he would have added more energy and intensity as well. And chosen another stage director..

In short: Not recommended despite excellent performances from Domingo, Studer and Abbado.

Plácido Domingo and Cheryl Studer, 3rd act confrontation (the highlight of the DVD):

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Plácido Domingo: 5
Cheryl Studer: 4
Dunja Vejzovic: 2
Hartmut Welker: 2-3
Robert Lloyd: 2

Wolfgang Weber´s production: 1
Claudio Abbado: 4-5

Overall impression: 2

Outstanding Prokofiev Oranges DVD

L´amour des trois Oranges (The love for three oranges). Paris Bastille Opera 2005. Director: Gilbert Deflo. Cast includes: Charles Workman, José Van Dam, Béatrice Uria-Monzon. Conductor: Sylvain Cambreling. Further information here.

A true fairy tale for adults: A hypochondriac prince, only to be cured by laughter, is bewitched by Fata Morgana to fall in love with three oranges held by a mighty sorcerer...

Gilbert Deflo has created an exceptionally successful staging mixing elements of circus with commedia dell´arte. Groups of spectators (the tragic, the comic, the ridiculous) comment on the action and occasionally intervenes jumping in from the sidelines at crucial points. Such as to save the life of the last princess after the two previous princesses have died from thirst.

The melancholic and hypochondriac prince is Pierrot. The last orange princess turns out to be Columbine. The King of Clubs is a clown with a fairy-tale crown, chinese beard and Harlequin staff...And so on. Outstandingly stylish, inventive and entertaining.

On top, the music of Prokofiev has an immense theatrical quality and energy, though probably not widely known apart from the famous march.

Charles Workman is the melancholic prince, Béatrice Uria-Monzon is Fata Morgana. In the other leads José Van Dam, Phillippe Rouillon and Barry Banks are to be seen. All outstanding.

Clip from the start of the opera where the plot is introduced (David Bizic sings):

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Everyone: 5 as this production clearly is a team effort

General impression: 5

Lohengrin Bayreuth 1982 DVD

Lohengrin. Director: Götz Friedrich. Bayreuth Festival 1982 (production from 1979). Cast: Peter Hofmann (Lohengrin), Karan Armstrong (Elsa), Elizabeth Connell (Ortrud), Leif Roar (Telramund), Siegfried Vogel (Heinrich). Conductor: Woldemar Nelsson. More information here.

Götz Friedrich´s vision of Lohengrin is dark and static shifting between reality and Utopia - reality being the power-obsessed people of Brabant, Utopia being the land of Elsa´s dreams where Lohengrin lives. A golden disc mediates between these two worlds, reality and fantasy, thus replacing the traditional swan.

That Elsa is a sensitive, but not overly naive woman dreaming of an alternative to her power-obsessed compatriots is obvious from the moment she appears in misty light during the prelude. She conjures up the imaginary Lohengrin, appropriately dressed in white. However, when he returns in Act 3 as a black knight returning a miniature warrior brother to Elsa, we realize that there really is no hope.

The staging is simple, square, dark and unfortunately very static as well. While it may offend no-one, I doubt many will find it exciting. What however works well, austere surroundings apart, is the core romantic drama, mainly thanks to Peter Hofmann.

Peter Hofmann is the ideal romantic Lohengrin. He looks the part. He is the real romantic hero. He sings well. He is very moving. What more can anyone want? That Peter Hofmann in the last part of his career (end-80s) may have performed less well, may quite possibly be attributed to the well-known incipient onset of the invalidating Parkinson disease he officially was diagnosed with in 1994, and which has resulted in him apparently struggling economically as well being virtually crippled today. But in 1982 he was on top of his game.

Karan Armstrong (wife of the director) is a touching Elsa. Her high notes are somewhat fluttering. But her overall portrayal is rather moving. And while Elizabeth Connell vocally can sing the part of Ortrud, dramatically she is too placid. Leif Roar makes slightly more impact as Telramund without being overly impressive. Siegfried Vogel is a static King Heinrich, but in fine voice

The Bayreuth Festival Orchestra under Woldemar Nelsson is solid, but ultimately unspectacular.

The production is probably too static for many to fully appreciate it. However, for those wanting a traditional production, the recently released Herzog Bayreuth Lohengrin may be worthwhile.

For those not opposed to Regietheater, Lehnhoff´s Baden-Baden staging as well as Konwitschny´s class-room Lohengrin may be worth checking out.

Peter Hofmann and Karan Armstrong in Act 1 final scene:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Peter Hofmann: 5
Karan Armstrong: 3-4
Elizabeth Connell: 3-4
Leif Roar: 3-4
Siegfried Vogel: 3-4

Götz Friedrich´s staging: 3
Woldmar Nelsson: 3-4

Overall impression: 3-4

Les Troyens DVD from Paris with superb Anna Caterina Antonacci

Les Troyens. Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. Production: Yannis Kokkos. Recorded 2003. Cast: Anna Caterina Antonacci (Cassandre), Susan Graham (Didon), Gregory Kunde (Enée), Ludovic Tézier (Chorebe). Conductor: Sir John Eliot Gardiner. More details here.


These performance of Les Troyens were staged in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Berlioz birth at the Paris Châtelet Opera 2003.

Yannis Kokkos created a much-celebrated aesthetic as well as eclectic production mixing elements from several centuries such as 20th century raincoats with synthetic fibre made breastplates, antique gowns and the like.

The sets were classic and simple: In Troy, the war state, the colours were brown/gray with a flight of steps in the background beneath projected images of a city amongst which the white head of the Trojan horse appears. Eventually Troy is invaded by army-clad machinegun soldiers. I sill haven´t figured out exactly how they managed to create the reflected images of the steps at the back of the stage, at times showing us the back of the authors, at other times showing us the actual action.

In Carthage, the female pacifist state, the colours were bright blue and white. Images of the sea were projected in the background.
Anna Caterina Antonacci is a superb Cassandra, a powerful actress with a gloriously rich, though not large voice. She is well-matched with Ludovic Tézier´s fine Chorebe in a cast with virtually no weak links.

Perhaps the greatest achievement is that Gregory Kunde managesto survive the devlishly difficult part of Enée.

I have never found Susan Graham to be a particularly interesting singer, however many have found her Didon moving - I simply did not. I lack intensity and drama in both acting and voice. I much preferred Anna Pokupic as her sister Anna (who according to the ancient Greek legend follows Enée to Rome and commits suicide caused by jealousy of Enée´s wife).

John Eliot Gardener conducts the period instrument Orchestra Révolutionnaire et Romantique, using Berlioz's original orchestration including saxhorns in a rather light reading. For admirers of period performances I imagine this to approximate the ideal. Personally I´d much prefer the sumptuous orchestral sound of modern-day instruments.

If Les Troyens was a symphony for orchestra and tenor (Plácido Domingo as Enée), I´d recommend the Levine-conducted version available on DVD from the Metropolitan Opera. However, for the rest of the MET DVD I find the staging dark and dull with no chemistry between the protagonists and with seemingly unending ballet sequences.

A BBC documentary with plenty interviews is included as bonus material.

Anna Caterina Antonacci and Ludovic Tézier in the Act 1 duet:

The bottom line (scale from 1-5, 3=average):

Anna Caterina Antonacci: 5
Gregory Kunde: 4
Susan Graham: 3
Ludovic Tézier: 4

Kokkos production: 4

John Eliot Gardiner: 3

Overall impression: 4

Pique Dame on DVD in Dodin´s Paris production

Pique Dame. Bastille Opera, Paris 2005. Director: Lev Dodin. Cast: Vladimir Galouzine (Hermann), Hasmik Papin (Lisa), Ludovic Tezier (Jeletski), Christianne Stotijn (Pauline), Nikolai Putilin (Tomskij), Irina Bogatcheva (Countess). Cond: Gennadi Rozdestvensky.


Lev Dodin´s Pique Dame takes place in Hermann´s mind while he is confined to a psychiatric ward. The stage is horizontally split in two, where much of the action takes place on the upper level as imaginations of Hermann´s twisted brain. The characters parade back and forth overlooking the ward, some looking like fellow psychiatric inmates or nurses.
This concept is well in accordance with Pusjkin´s novel, where Hermann is also confined to a psychiatric institution, while Lisa marries another man. The point, however is not whether this is in accordance with either Pusjkin or Tchaikovsky, but rather: Is it entertaining? enlightening? Does it add something to the score? In this case, no. The sets are grim and the sense of the eerie and supernatural, often very strong in this opera, is lost.

However, Vladimir Galouzine is quite convincing as the genuinely mad Hermann and in fine voice as well. Unfortunately Hasmik Papian is not a particularly interesting Lisa. Among the others Ludovic Tézier stood out as a fine Jeletski.

Rozdestvensky is not a bad conductor, but seems slightly pale.

The bottom line:

Vladimir Galouzine: 4
Hasmik Papian: 3
Ludovic Tezier: 4

Lev Dodin´s production: 2
Rozdestvenstky: 3

Overall impression: 2

Ortrud on DVD: Waltraud Meier in Lehnhoff´s Baden-Baden production (also featuring Klaus Florian Vogt as Lohengrin)

Lohengrin. Baden-Baden Festival 2006. Director: Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Cast: Klaus Florian Vogt (Lohengrin), Solveig Kringelborn (Elsa), Waltraud Meier (Ortrud), Tom Fox (Telramund), Hans Peter König (Heinrich). Conductor: Kent Nagano with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Further details here.

Nikolaus Lehnhoff seems not to have forgotten his old boss and mentor Wieland Wagner as there is a certain New Bayreuth timelessness as well as an air of ancient Greek tragedy to this Lohengrin recorded live in Baden-Baden in 2006, also seen at La Scala last season.

Lehnhoff sees Lohengrin as a psychological drama centered around Elsa, who is virtually present on stage during the entire opera. This is a drama of contrasts: Good vs. evil, white vs. black, hate vs. love, white spots on the good guys, dark on the bad guys etc. It takes place in a non-specified modern time period. The main stage elements are a concrete circular Greek amphitheatre (Act 1 and 3) and a flight of Freudian steps going nowhere (Act 2).

Lohengrin stands out from the rest: He wears a silver suit. He appears through a vertical door of light. He plays on an inverted piano in Act 3, which disturbed Kent Nagano so much during the rehearsals that he asked Lehnhoff to exchange it with an ordinary piano (which he refused). This Lohengrin is clearly more interesting in his art (and ultimately in himself?) than in pursuing a relationhip with Elsa, a directory approach excellently suited to Klaus Florian Vogt´s strenghts as a performer. Everything ends in chaos when Elsa lies dead on the floor at the end of the opera.

There are virtually no weak elements in a cast chosen as much for dramatic as vocal abilities.

Solveig Kringelborn interprets Elsa (unless she simply plays herself) as a slightly naive/irritating woman. Vocally her upper-register vibrato may not be to my taste, but otherwise she is actually rather good.

Ortrud is one of my favourite characters in any opera, and I still regret never having seen the Harry Kupfer Lohengrin production at the Berlin State Opera in which Ortrud and Telramund allegedly were the good guys and Elsa indeed did kill her brother. As a new Lohengrin will be staged next season in Berlin, it seems a production of the past.

Waltraud Meier´s mesmerizing Ortrud, finally available on DVD, is vastly better than any of the competition on (or off) DVD and whatever one may think of Lehnhoff´s staging, this DVD is well worth owning for her Ortrud alone. Furthermore, Waltraud Meier is in superb vocal shape. In fact, I have never heard her less sharp in her high register than here, cutting through the orchestra like a razor-blade. And she has never looked better on stage than here in Act 2. Indeed, the Ortrud-Telramund scene from this production may be one of the very best opera scenes to ever be released on DVD (video clip below).

Telramund, basically a whimp, is a thankless part, but Tom Fox manages to infuse some dignity into him, vocally as well. Hans Peter König furthermore is excellent as the good-natured King Heinrich.

Finally, Klaus Florian Vogt is a curiously fascinating as well as vocally superb Lohengrin - his voice is powerful and clear with an effortless top virtually unheard of today. Furthermore he sings with plenty of nuance and dignity. He looks fine on stage as well. But a romantic hero he is simply not, with a strangely inexpressive face and an air more remniscent of a psychopathic serial killer than a swan knight. Either Klaus Florian Vogt, Lohengrin or both are in love with themselves (to be fair: Klaus Florian Vogt seemed a very pleasant guy in the bonus documentary)...

Kent Nagano is inspired throughout, keeping a relatively brisk tempo with plenty of energy.

A 60-minute bonus documentary is included, of which one may conclude that while watching Lehnhoff´s staging is both illuminating and entertaining, watching him talk about it is equally irritating. Furthermore a not negligible part of the documentary is spent inside Klaus Florian Vogt´s van, parked directly outside the Baden-Baden Festival House, and serving as his home away from home...

Which is the Lohengrin DVD to own? This one, in my opinion. For a traditional production, Claudio Abbado´s Vienna production (with Plácido Domingo and Cheryl Studer) is wonderfully conducted and sung (Ortrud apart), but gives the impression of being trapped in the dark medieval ages with no escape.

For an entirely deconstructive take on Lohengrin, Peter Konwitschny´s Barcelona production may be worth a look.

For various reasons, mainly related to casting issues, I cannot honestly recommend either the early Bayreuth or the Metropolitan Lohengrin DVD productions.

Waltraud Meier and Tom Fox, Act 2. This scene alone is worth twice the price of the entire DVD:

Waltraud Meier and Solveig Kringelborn - Church scene confrontation Act 2:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Klaus Florian Vogt: 4
Solveig Kringelborn: 4
Waltraud Meier: 5
Tom Fox: 4
Hans Peter König: 4-5

Kent Nagano: 4

Lehnhoff´s staging: 4

General impression: 4 (downgraded after some thought - see the comments)

Syberberg Parsifal on DVD

Originally Hans-Jürgen Syberberg intended to create a film about Richard Wagner. Gradually it developed into a film centered around Parsifal and with references to Wagner´s life and philosophy. Thus, this Parsifal DVD is not merely a video representation of Parsifal, but a film in its own right, though the opera Parsifal serves as the sound-track.

Syberberg originally intended a Bayreuth Festival performance of Parsifal (audio only) to accompany his new film, but after his 1976 film on Winifried Wagner (including her infamous comments on Adolf Hitler) he had hausverbot on the Green Hill, so he commssioned a new recording with Armin Jordan (father of Philippe Jordan) conducting the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra.

This is mainly a film paraphrasing on Parsifal exploring backward as well as forward associations of the work such as the Holy Grail and the Third Reich. Released in 1983 (the centenary of Richard Wagner´s death), this Parsifal is filmed entirely in a indoor studio in and around a replica of a giant death-mask of Richard Wagner serving as both the mountain from which the grail emerges and Klingsor´s Castle, as well as simply being the shape on and around which the characters move.

In the most controversial single aspect of the film Parsifal changes sex (from boy to girl) after being kissed by Kundry, for which no complete explanation is provided by Syberberg.

Syberberg originally saw the soundtrack as a seperate entity to the film and for practical (as he generally found actors more suitable than singers to convey the approprate emotions on film) as well as philosophical (he wished to separate body and voice) reasons, most parts were cast by actors. Only Aage Haugland (Klingsor) and Robert Lloyd (Gurnemanz) acted their part on screen as well as on the soundtrack. Not to speak of the most curious casting of the conductor Armin Jordan as Amfortas. Syberberg regarded Kundry as the center of Parsifal, played by the fabulously expressive German actress Edith Clever.

For the historically interested, well-educated and informed in all disciplines of the arts, the allusions and references in this film are enormous ranging from Ancient Greek to renaissance painters and architects, 19th century philosophists to individuals from Richard Wagner´s own circle of acquaintances (such as Mathilde Wesendonck as a flower maiden) as well as to Wagner´s other work. Just to identify half of them requires several viewings.

Musically, Armin Jordan´s Parsifal is well-conducted and the performances are strong, the singer-acted ones from Robert Lloyd (this early in his career almost without that irritating nasal sound) and Danish bass Aage Haugland in particular.

In short, this is a highly sophisticated film. Is it indispensable? For those seriously studying the various aspects of Richard Wagner and the related performance practices, yes. For most of those just generally interested in Richard Wagner this will be worthwhile watching at least once as well.

Transformation scene, Act 1: