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Britten - Peter Grimes (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series)
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Sales Rank: 12280
Emi Classics
Released: 2008-09-16 |
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Few modern operas can match Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes for harrowing intensity wedded to brilliant music. Grimes is a fisherman whose young apprentices meet with unfortunate accidents, making him suspected of murder by his mean-spirited neighbors. At the end, Grimes' psyche snaps and, suicidal, he rows out to sea to find oblivion under the waves. For a generation of opera-goers, the role of Grimes was defined by Jon Vickers, whose huge voice and overwhelming intensity embodied the loner struggling for self-preservation in a bigoted, conformist environment. In this new MET production, Grimes is the sterling American tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, who approaches the role from a very different, but also effective, angle. He's a light-voiced lyric tenor, at the opposite end of the tonal spectrum from Vicker's heroic voice. But so was the originator of the role, Peter Pears, and like Pears, Griffey projects an antihero enmeshed in self-doubt, confusion and bewilderment. He also sings and acts well; the voice easily encompassing Britten's writing, the stage demeanor effective. Soprano Patricia Racette is a terrific Ellen Orford, the widow who tries to understand and help the hapless Grimes. Her bright-voiced portrayal makes her a profoundly sympathetic character. The entire cast is excellent in what is essentially an ensemble opera, though some manage to stand out: Felicity Palmer as the malevolent Mrs. Sedley, whose "Murder most foul" drips with venom; mezzo Jill Grove as "Auntie," John Del Carlo as a Swallow to remember, and Teddy Tahu Rhodes who brings welcome nuance to the role of Ned Keene, are just a few of the many worthy of mention. Donald Runiccles conducts brilliantly; the responsive MET orchestra and chorus wonderful in an opera where they are of crucial importance. Unfortunately, in an opera whose orchestral interludes and depictions of the ever-present sea this production gives no hint of fishing boats, sea spray or the other aspects of the seaside village. Instead, producer John Doyle and set designer Scott Pask have built a full-stage wall of dark houses, through whose doors and windows different characters sing or watch. This enhances the claustrophobic nature of the narrative; a physical analogue to the way Grimes psyche is hemmed in by a stifling environment. But it also removes the realism of Britten's conception and its sense of place while enforcing a static stage picture. Some of this is mitigated by TV director Gary Halvorson's fluid camera work and closer observations of the singers, making the DVD more involving than the production was in the theatre. Dan Davis Peter Grimes is an all-regions disc in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround. Sung in English, subtitles include English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Extras include Backstage at the Met with the singers and production team involved in the opera.
Product Description
The Metropolitan Opera's acclaimed Live in High-Definition series, which projects live performances into theaters across the globe, has met with unprecedented critical and commercial success and has made opera convenient and affordable to millions of viewers worldwide. Now, EMI Classics is proud to collaborate with The Met to release 6 new DVDs made from these broadcast performances.
"The more vicious the society, the more vicious the individual." (Benjamin Britten) Anthony Dean Griffey and Patricia Racette captivate in John Doyle's new production of
Britten's tortured masterpiece. Donald Runnicles leads the Met Orchestra in what the Boston Globe called "an inspired performance . . . full of passion and commitment yet free of bombast."
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Britten - Peter Grimes (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series)
- DVD: 0 pages (2008-09-16)
- Publisher: Emi Classics
- Label: Emi Classics
- Encoding: Region 0
- Format: Classical, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1,
- Rated: NR (Not Rated)
- Studio: Emi Classics
- DVD Release Date: 2008-09-16
- Run Time: 168
- Average Customer Review: based on 4 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #12280
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Met's Peter Grimes is awesome! 2008-10-24
Comment: I first saw this production of Peter Grimes when the Met broadcast it to movie theatres in March and vowed I would purchase the DVD when it became available. From the stark set of the poor fishing village to the wonderful performance by Anthony Dean Griffey in the lead role to the great sound of the orchestra under Donald Runnicles, bringing to life Britten's evocative score, the entire performace was mesmerizing. I highly recommend this DVD.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Runnicles leads an impressive reading of Grimes 2008-10-22
Comment: The Met's HD production of "Peter Grimes" packs a lot of power and brings the brooding musicality of Benjamin Britten's 1945 operatic masterwork to life. The cast is uniformly fine vocally and dramatically, though people who remember Jon Vickers in his full-voiced portrayal of the titular anti-hero may find Anthony Dean Griffey's tenor light and reedy by comparison. Nonetheless, he is compelling in his portrayal of Grime's anguished internal pre-occupations, and the rest of the cast brings theatrical and vocal specificity to their roles as inhabitants of The Borough. Patricia Racette gives a heart-wrenching performance as Ellen Orford, the widowed school mistress who tries to befriend the embattled Peter. John Doyle's stage direction is strong in developing the characters, and in maximizing the dramatic impact of the choruses, but is often rendered static by the constraints of the uniwall black on black set. The real heroes, though, are conductor Donald Runnicles and the incomparable Met orchestra, who capture Britten's miraculous sonic evocation of the sea and its parallel storms in the minds of those who, like the fisherman Grimes, try to eke out a precarious livelihood from it.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: incredible 2008-09-28
Comment: This is the most brilliant operatic production I have ever seen, and it firmly established Benjamin Britten's well-deserved reputation in my mind. The set and costumes were perfect, the music direction was stunning, and the performers blew it out of the water, and I say these things with the addition that I am not an easy sell. Ever since the Met introduced me to Benjamin Britten, I have been enjoying his other works, notably his war requiem. If more composers focused on the virtue of relevance, opera would enjoy an upsurge of interest in the fine arts community.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Very good production 2008-09-22
Comment: I saw this performance at the MET and it was my first "Grimes" but probably not my last. I had owned a copy of the Jon Vickers CD for many years before really taking the time to listen to it. The CD recording grabbed me with the first interlude (which is very haunting and makes a perfect ending to the opera). I liked the MET's "advent calender" wall set, a little claustrophobic at times but certainly a different way to go. Anthony Dean Griffey, Patricia Racette and the supporting cast are excellent.
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