Richard Strauss - Capriccio / Runnicles, Te Kanawa, Hagegard, Troyanos, San Francisco Opera |...

Richard Strauss - Capriccio / Runnicles, Te Kanawa, Hagegard, Troyanos, San Francisco Opera | Kiri Te Kanawa, Håkan Hagegård | Exceptional!

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Richard Strauss - ...

	Richard Strauss - Capriccio / Runnicles, Te Kanawa, Hagegard, Troyanos, San Francisco Opera Kiri Te Kanawa, Håkan Hagegård Kultur Video, 2003 average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Richard Strauss's last opera, includes some of the composer's most elegant and sumptuous music. The deftly woven vocal ensembles, detailed orchestral writing and light-handed parodies of eighteenth century music show the hand of the master. Stars Kiri Te Kanawa, Hakan Hagegard, Tatiana Troyanos, and Victor Braun.

Capriccio's beauty and subtle music in a masterful performance!

Capriccio is a difficult nut to crack as some critic commented somewhere but in a performance like this, the opera becomes a delight and worthy of all our attention. Te Kanawa is in radiant voice becoming Madeleine in voice, drama and acting. Troyanos, already seriously ill at the time, is a masterpiece of vocal wit and charm as the actress Clairon. Kuebler and (Flamand) Keenlyside (Olivier) bring purpose to their endless discussion about music vs. words and their importance in opera with their faithful and engaging voices and acting. Hagegard is an excellent La Roche bringing life and passion to his looooong monologue. All the beautiful singing and living characterizations almost prepare us for the orchestral intermezzo and radiant final scene. The music is wrapped in moonlight and velvet violins as Madeleine appears gowned regally for the evening supper. Accompanying herself on the harp she sings of her dilemma with an unwitting charm and love of words and music. Strauss waited a long time for the performance of his dreams

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Exceptional!

This an impressive performance of an opera that can be hard to get right. The ensemble cast is extraordinary, with nary a weak link. As expected, Te Kanawa (as the Countess) is radiant and beautiful in voice and appearance. Keenlyside (as Olivier) has a handsome baritone voice and it's unfortunate that he hasn't made more recordings. Braun (as La Roche) is exceptional too, with a stage presence that is properly suggestive of his character's vast experience. I've never been a fan of Troyanos's voice and I'd prefer von Otter in this role (whose diction is remarkable; see the Opera Paris production on TDK DVD) but she has the technique and the dramatic presence to pull it off.

The sound is excellent overall but there are a couple audio issues that are minor annoyances. When Kiri hits her high notes, there is some distortion as if the levels were set a bit high (I've played it on a couple systems just to be sure it wasn't my own hardware). And because it is a live performance and people are scattered all over the stage, some voices are too far back in the mix in the large ensemble pieces.

The staging is traditional and in line with Strauss's wishes. All things considered, this is one of the best opera DVDs I have and it remains to be one of my favorite.

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Gorgeous Production

This is a beautiful production and musically very satisfying. Highly recommended for anyone who loves Richard Strauss.

Made in Heaven

Every once in a lifetime comes a performance so rich and so sublime that one shouts yes ..there is a God!!. A deft hand that created such wonderous music and this Capriccio is one of them. A real gem in every aspect from great performances to production value. A great ensemble cast in an opera that is most often considered a 'connoisseur's piece'. The real hero behind this, besides Strauss the composer, is Te Kanawa- giving us what is perhaps her most quintessential performance esp. in the Monologue scene. The way she interprets the work and handles the music puts even the great Renee Fleming to shame- not that Fleming is a lesser artist but comparing Te Kanawa's and Fleming's performances highlights a world of difference of what is tasteful and what is arched. There is something very mannered about Fleming's singing that distracts and her acting is below par- she parades around not knowing what she is singing about and sounds exasperated. Te Kanawa on the other hand is nothing less than spectacular-beautiful stage presence, exquisite voice (without a note out of place), clear diction, deep characterisation and floating legatos- this is a desert island performance and the totality of the performance comes from a singer who has managed to put the philosophies of music and opera of a lifetime across in about 25 minutes. This is truly God-sent!!!

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What a wonderful find!

I didn't know this existed until a little while ago. Dame Kiri is in fabulous voice here, and Tatiana Troyanos shows no sign of her illness. I believe this was Ms. Troyanos' final opera before her death. The whole opera is very, very well done here.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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