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Purcell - The Fairy Queen / English National OperaRating:
Release Date: 26 December, 2000 Retail Price: $29.99 OUR Price: $26.99 You SAVE: $3.00! Cast: |
Purcell - The Fairy Queen / English National Opera Reviews
a voice teacher and early music fan
I recently purchased this DVD and watched it last evening and I'm still reacting to it in a very positive way! It was a glorious mixture of art and dance and singing and comedy. At first one attempts to be logical and follow the "story" which is really not obvious or important. It consists of 9 Masques portraying various scenarios interwoven with the beautiful songs of Purcell sometimes sung well sometimes not so well. But that really doesn't matter! I was delighted by Michael Chance's intermittant roles which fortunately included his uniquely lovely voice. The duet at the beginning of part two is hilarious. Having followed Chance's career for 20 years I was amazed to see him in a comedy role, and I liked it! I think the entire Opera is great!!!! BUT do not expect to enjoy it unless you have a well-developed sense of humor; for it is reflected in
the scenery, the costuming; even the dance itself; and the music of Purcell suits it very well.
Don't Buy This
The music and singing are beautiful (it's Purcell after all) but the production is a freak show, full of repulsive characters, ugly (as opposed to graceful) modern dancing and lots of silly and meaningless stage business. There is no attempt to recreate the beauty of the masques or relate the action to the musical themes. It is modern updating at its worst! See Minkowski's Platee for a successful update of a Rameau classic. If you like Purcell, get the CD and avoid this nightmare.
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