Shostakovich Lady Macbeth new DVD

[Vatz Relham]

For those of you interested in Shostakovich or Opera don't miss this new DVD with the RCO of Amersterdam conducted by Marriss Jansons, I have always liked the Rostropovich recording and it's still the only one worth getting on CD, but this DVD has it all. Great playing from the orchestra, and 100% commited acting from the singers who can sing as well as they act.
This is a pull no punches production that Shostakovich would have been proud of, powerfull and raw, leaving very little to the imagination when it comes to the sex and violence.

See below links to reviews, the 2nd one has photos also.

Vatz

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Dec06/Shostakovich_Lady_Macbeth_OA0965d.htm


http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/reviews/review.asp?Index=5563&User=5648

[barry guerrero]

"Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is in many ways a symphony with narrative, singing and drama, rather than an opera in the traditional Italianate style".

No kidding?!?    .     .     .  who would have guessed it.


"Under Jansons, the orchestra produces some marvellous, spirited playing. Under Haitink, it was safe, albeit capable of mellow richness. Now they can do dangerous, electric and cutting-edge, too, and do it with conviction".

While I'm no bigger lover of Haitink in general, he actually did a fair amount of very modern stuff with the Concertgebouw. He and the orchestra did it quite well too.

Seriously, this looks to be quite good. I've never really warmed-up to "Lady MacBeth" before, so maybe this is the way to go. Also, I noticed that a DVD of the other version, Katerina Izmailova, also just came out. Any comments on that one? Isn't "Katerina" a heavily cut version of "Lady MacBeth"?

[Vatz Relham]

Yes Katerina Ismailova is the heavily cut version that Shostakovich published due to Stalin's outrage over the original version.
Even though the cut version on DVD has Galina Vishnevskaya's singing on it, I would not buy it, better to hear her sing on the Rostropovich CD.

The Janson's DVD is really very very good in all aspects, the only small complaint would be the camera only focuses on Jansons during the musical interludes between scenes. It would have been nice to see the orchestra play.

Vatz