DVD Videos

“It was this staging that conclusively restored the work to the repertory when directed with such utter conviction in Alix Stone's and Colin Graham's evocative sets, and Stone's proud costumes. Many fine singers graced the title-part over the years. Sarah Walker is among the foremost of them. Barstow is, of course, unforgettable, but Walker's portrayal stands up to the comparison and, though a mezzo, she has no trouble with high-line passages.
At the time ENO still boasted fine ensembles.
Every other member of the cast surpasses its Opera North counterpart: Rolfe Johnson's manly, hot-headed and finely sung Essex, Richard Van Allan's menacing Raleigh, Jean Rigby's moving Frances Essex, Alan Opie's sly Cecil.
Over all presides Mark Elder, projecting a grandly conceived yet subtle account of the whole score, played with acumen by the ENO orchestra. This is an experience of a great company in full flight and should not be missed; it gives the score in its entirety, allowing us to hear what a dramatically varied and superbly crafted piece of work Britten's opera has proved to be.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Walker sings and acts powerfully, with her final signing of Essex's death warrant at once vehement yet regretful. Even the small roles are splendidly taken.” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition ***

“An arresting portrayal, which is supported by a number of outstanding performances, notably Anthony Rolfe Johnson’s ardent and beautifully sung Essex.” Sunday Times

“Although visually showing its age, the stereo sound on this broadcast of the American premiere of the War Requiem sounds remarkably fresh and vivid, and Leinsdorf is authoritative.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2008 ****

“A relative once told me of being in Israel for the national premiere of Britten’s War Requiem. There was a hush at the end, nobody seeming quite sure how to react to such an original, startling work. Then, as they say, the roof came off. Some of that same sense of amazement can be felt in this thrilling film of its US debut. It doesn’t hurt that the performance itself is electrifying.” Gramophone Magazine

“'It makes criticism impertinent,' thought Peter Shaffer of the War Requiem, and for all Stravinsky's grousing that any such criticism would be 'as if one had failed to stand up for God Save theQueen' the piece still carries as much sense of occasion as it evidently did at this, its American premiere in 1963, a year after its fraught first performance. What a contrast. The al fresco acoustic of the Tanglewood Music Shed may have been no more favourable in its way than that of Coventry Cathedral, though, you might think miraculously, there is no trace of indistinctness or inadequacy about the stereo sound preserved by WGBH Boston to accompany its telecast.
Nor is there about the performance, which was evidently prepared with all the care that such an occasion merited. The hero of the hour is preeminently Leinsdorf, who picked the work as the centrepiece of his first season as Tanglewood's music director. Whatever else the WarRequiem stands for, its performance here serves as a conducting masterclass. Leinsdorf stands ramrod-straight, no baton, and his timing and pacing are equally impeccable, honed by his years in the pit at the Met. When he raises his left hand, infrequently, it is either to conduct the chamber ensemble to his left or to indicate 'too loud'. When both arms are aloft and the eyes blaze at the climax of the Sanctus, on the upbeat to the 'Hosanna', the response is electrifying, as though all heaven's angels had joined the already excellent Chorus Pro Musica.
It would be easy but misleading to equate the unyielding body language with the interpretation: a strict, dry-eyed tempo for the 'Lacrymosa' makes all the more sense when it eventually contrasts so poignantly with the tenor's desperate cry of 'Was it for this the clay grew tall', as though the ancient liturgy was cracking under the strain of expressive necessity.
The booklet-note accurately summarises Nicholas Di Virgilio's contribution as having 'a robust and honest American style', though he rises to the challenge in the brief but crucial Agnus Dei and is less troubled by the passaggio between D and F than many Britten tenors past and present. As Di Virgilio does elsewhere, the Finnish baritone Tom Krause perhaps responds more to Britten's setting than to Owen's poetry in 'Be slowly lifted up', though the trumpet obbligato is something of a highlight, and the singer ratchets up the tension for the apocalyptic recapitulation of the Dies irae. Phyllis Curtin's soprano matches Leinsdorf for unobtrusive clarity – and she never scoops, despite every Verdian invitation to do so. A one-off event invites excuses for slips of all kinds, but there are none, and the breathless hush from the 11,000-strong audience suggests that the stoic power latent in Britten's testament affected them as it might anyone watching 44 years hence.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Basil Coleman… created massive, painstakingly authentic settings on a 1770s man-o'-war. …its fluency and shifting viewpoints are still striking today.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2008 *****

“Peter Pears's patrician features, with the high forehead and aquiline nose, so perfectly suit Edward Fairfax Vere that this, of all roles, is the one with which is most inseparably identified. Opposite him are the burly Billy of Peter Glossop and the black-toned Claggart of Michael Langdon, heading a devoted and well cast company…” Gramophone Magazine, September 2008

“...immediately this black and white film starts there is a compelling intensity to this performance which is almost unsettling. Peter Pears was a definitive Edward Fairfax Vere, a role to which he is inextricably linked...The performance crackles with intensity with superb direction and an excellent production” Penguin Guide, 2010 ***