DVD Videos

“The greatest opera ever written about the practice of magic cries out for sumptuous medievalism and CGA, but is usually lucky if it ends up with a statuesque mishmash like this 2006 Zurich Opera House production. But there have been worse attempts, and the musical values here are high. Philippe Jordan directs his superb orchestra with a real sense of the score's uncanny atmospheres, its aching lyricism and sombre rapture. Thomas Hampson, though often wooden in his acting, sings with immense feeling.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2008 ****

“Presented here is Philipp Jarnach's version (completed for the premiere, unaware of the composer's notes for its unfinished sections, realised only by Antony Beaumont 60 years later) which Philippe Jordan prefers on musical grounds, 'whether it really fits with the rest of the work or not'. He approves of Jarnach's use of Wagnerian leitmotif and darker conclusion, finding it 'simply overwhelming' and Beaumont's more positive finale 'drier'. Jarnach's version is – unavoidably – a misrepresentation of Busoni's vision and stylistically jars the moment it starts. Beaumont's may be a musicologist's rather than composer's edition but it gives us more of Busoni's intentions.
That aside, this production has many strengths. Hampson, after seeming ill-at-ease in the first Prelude, audibly grows into the role.
Trattnigg is beguiling as the Duchess and Macias shines as the Soldier (Gretchen's griefstricken brother) and pompous Duke. The show is stolen, however, by Gregory Kunde's Mephistopheles, a portrayal vocally superb throughout and brilliantly acted. The Zurich Opera House Chorus are excellent. Some of Jordan's tempi are a tad measured but the orchestra's playing is assured.
There are minor annoyances: for instance in Prelude 1, why do the Students not bring Faust the book, key and paper they sing about? A major omission is the Students' serenade to Wagner (Faust's former familius) at the start of the final scene. Wagner's replacement of Faust as Rector is included in the sung text and meaningless without its representation onstage.
Musically, the cut section provides vital contrast between the defiance of the second scene's close and the denouement. Felix Breisach's video direction is commendably unfussy, catching both the scale of the production's biggest moments as well as Kunde's mischievous expressions.
The Devil is truly in the detail.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“…this production has many strengths, Hampson, after seeming ill-at-ease in the first Prelde… audibly grows into the role. Trattnigg is beguiling as the Duchess and Macias shines as the Soldier (Gretchen's grief-stricken brother) and pompous Duke. The show is stolen, however, by Gregory Kunde's Mephistopheles, a portrayal vocally superb throughout and brilliantly acted. Felix Breisach's video direction is commendably unfussy, catching both the scale of the production's biggest moments as well as Kunde's mischievous expressions.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2008

“[Thomas Hampson possesses] all the physical and vocal energy one could wish for…..flourishes and ornaments leap out of his melodic lines….the gestures [are] also natural, his phrasing and pitch sure. Mr. Hampson, as his career justifiably grows, has preserved an unmannered charm.” New York Times

“In 2002 The Tallis Scholars recorded an audio-visual Byrd-fest in three parts: a concert- format sequence of some of his sacred music in the atmospheric setting of Tewkesbury Abbey; a documentary of his life and his relationship to his powerful patroness, Queen Elizabeth I; and, as an 'audio bonus', another outing for the Scholars' outstanding version of the three Byrd Masses, recorded in Merton College Chapel.
Charles Hazlewood fronts the documentary; xasually attired and casually unshaven, he has a degree of ease, if not exactly charm, in front of the camera. He traces adeptly and fluently the different phases of Byrd's career, with stunning visuals of Lincoln Cathedral, the Chapel Royal and Ingatestone Hall as impressive backdrops.
The whole is lent authority through the erudite but accessible contributions of experts on Reformation England (Christopher Haigh) and Byrd's music (David Skinner). Hazlewood sums up by talking about the hidden depths of passion in Byrd's music, and its range, though given that the documentary is slanted towards his development as a composer of church music, we get only background snippets of his keyboard and consort music. Nevertheless, the tale is well told, not least with added visual elements such as shots of 16th-century documentation, the original printed editions of Byrd's music and his own beautifully penned autograph.
As to the performances, it's interesting to hear Peter Phillips emphasize the passionate nature of Byrd's sacred music, when this aspect is fairly understated in The Tallis Scholars' performances. This isn't to say that they don't have a high degree of intensity at times: on the whole: they capture the ebb and flow of the music well, but there's a sense of distance. Phillips talks of getting right inside, of 'ticking along with the music', and that's what he does above all. This may not be the only way to perform Byrd's music but it's still very impressive in the ethereal clarity of the overall sound, and in the total commitment and rare understanding resulting from these musicians' years of experience.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“In 2002 The Tallis Scholars recorded an audio-visual Byrd-fest in three parts: a concert- format sequence of some of his sacred music in the atmospheric setting of Tewkesbury Abbey; a documentary of his life and his relationship to his powerful patroness, Queen Elizabeth I; and, as an 'audio bonus', another outing for the Scholars' outstanding version of the three Byrd Masses, recorded in Merton College Chapel.
Charles Hazlewood fronts the documentary; xasually attired and casually unshaven, he has a degree of ease, if not exactly charm, in front of the camera. He traces adeptly and fluently the different phases of Byrd's career, with stunning visuals of Lincoln Cathedral, the Chapel Royal and Ingatestone Hall as impressive backdrops.
The whole is lent authority through the erudite but accessible contributions of experts on Reformation England (Christopher Haigh) and Byrd's music (David Skinner). Hazlewood sums up by talking about the hidden depths of passion in Byrd's music, and its range, though given that the documentary is slanted towards his development as a composer of church music, we get only background snippets of his keyboard and consort music. Nevertheless, the tale is well told, not least with added visual elements such as shots of 16th-century documentation, the original printed editions of Byrd's music and his own beautifully penned autograph.
As to the performances, it's interesting to hear Peter Phillips emphasize the passionate nature of Byrd's sacred music, when this aspect is fairly understated in The Tallis Scholars' performances. This isn't to say that they don't have a high degree of intensity at times: on the whole: they capture the ebb and flow of the music well, but there's a sense of distance. Phillips talks of getting right inside, of 'ticking along with the music', and that's what he does above all. This may not be the only way to perform Byrd's music but it's still very impressive in the ethereal clarity of the overall sound, and in the total commitment and rare understanding resulting from these musicians' years of experience.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010