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Strauss: Arabella | 
 enlarge | Director: Gotz Friedrich
Actors: Renee Fleming, Morten Frank Larsen, Julia Kleiter, Johan Weigel, Zurich Opera House Chorus & Orchestra
Studio: Decca U.S.
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $19.96
You Save: $10.02 (33%)
New (28) Used (9) from $17.50
Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 34410
Format: Ac-3, Classical, Color, Dolby, Dts Surround Sound, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Subtitled, Surround Sound, Widescreen
Languages: Chinese (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), German (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 0
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 180 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 001138009
UPC: 044007432631
EAN: 0044007432631
ASIN: B0012L0TG6
Theatrical Release Date: 2008
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW Factory Sealed - Ready to be shipped within 24 hrs from California - Average 5 workdays delivery time - Excellent customer service - Buy with confidence!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The first DVD of Renee Fleming The definitive Strauss interpreter of our time (Chicago Sun-Times) in one of her greatest roles. Filmed in HD (High Definition) Widescreen. Production by the venerable opera director Goetz Friedrich Among the most powerful creative influences on opera in recent times (Telegraph, London). Subtitles available: English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese
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| Customer Reviews:
 Three "BEST" Arabellas" August 26, 2008
Santa Barbara reader (California)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Fleming seems born to be Arabella. Her conversational style here suits Strauss.She illuminats this opera on a par with two others, Te Kanawa at the Met and Janowitz in Vienna. All three of these dvds are equally good and bring insights into this opera.
Amazed by other reviewers who criticized the singing, I would not want any one fond of Arabella to miss this performance . The singing is better than 5 star. (except Sen Guo's Faikermilli who understandably is not up to that of Guberova or Dessay on the other dvds).
As an compelling inducement to watch this dvd, the Mandryka of Morten Frank Larson reaches beyond the best ever to extraordinary. If you have come to think that good male voices are in short supply these days, the singing and superb acting of Morten Frank Larson will be a new star to blaze into your sky.
The loss of one star is for the set, although is improves considerably during the opera is remains a boring gray-purple box for much of the time--Zurich seems often to have poor sets.
 FLEMING AT HER BEST! August 14, 2008
Wesendonck (New York, New York)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is an absolutely wonderful display of vocal and dramatic sensitive by Renee. The production is not my favorite and I do not really care for the costume concept but Renee's singing is so glorious that one is caught in this stunning vocal spectatcle.She captures all the nuances and intricacies of the role.Fleming has proven to be one of the best middle voice Strauss interpreters of our time.
Fabulous August 4, 2008
Jean M. Jaris (Wesley Chapel, FL)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
This version of Arabella is fabulous. If you love Renee you must add this to your collection. Her singing is unbelievable and her tone is spellbinding
 Sisters are doin' it for themselves... July 17, 2008
Charles G. Johnson (San Francisco, CA)
13 out of 17 found this review helpful
As a young music major, my initial attraction to Strauss and to opera in general was through the Solti "Elektra," which thrilled me and stirred my imagination like no other vocal work. I must have worn out the LP copy in the music library at Carson-Newman College, overachieving in drop-the-needle test preparation. My other revelations were the Ormandy-Bach 'St. John Passion' and the incidental music from Hindemith's "Mathis der Maler."
In the following years I've jonesed on countless Salomes and Ariadnes and stretches of the Kleiber "Rosenkavalier," as well as the Hockney "FroSch" from L.A. But, now in my September years, I've come to treasure the sentiments in the final collaboration of Strauss and von Hofmannsthal, the opera "Arabella." Although a flawed dramatic work (the librettist died before he could refine his draft), this return to the city of 'Rosenkavalier' with a financially-challenged heroine embodying all of the sympathetic traits of the Marschallin, and then some, deeply appeals to me. Arabella is an outsider in the social scene of fin-de-siecle Vienna: a sensitive, kind girl seeking the calm assurance of the "right one" above the financial security of the local nobility. She is besieged by four suitors, none of which interests her, and tries to maintain a demeanor of kindness and generosity, but knows that she must make a romantic decision soon in order to rescue her debt-ridden family. She is willing to make the sacrifice, but lives in eternal hope for 'der Richtige.'
Mr. Right actually shows up just in time in the guise of Mandryka, the nephew of a former military colleague of Arabella's father. Mandryka is a sinfully rich landowner in the endless forests of eastern Europe. It's love at first sight for both; he from a photo of her and she from a distant glimpse of him. Of course, Waldner, Arabella's father, immediately approves the union.
Arabella unwittingly snags the richest catch of all, and it's obviously due to karma. The 'in dem wie' of the Marschallin becomes the 'wie ich bin' of Arabella. The love and forgiveness she shows to her sister, who nearly ruins all plans of the arranged marriage, and the final act of kindness Arabella shows toward Mandryka make the spectator's heart swell. The general design of her character as a source of understanding and compassion makes the outcome of this opera unusually satisfying. It just might be my favorite opera at this point in my life.
Now, how has Zurich presented this wonderful stage work? Well, the production is definitely minimalist, with bare, spacious sets, white furniture, and sheer curtains to separate spaces. Fin-de-siecle imagery is traded for a stylized modern look, but the production's costumes reach a fine balance of the modern and traditional. Renee Fleming's costumes are especially lovely; she has seldom been presented in a more flattering light. Her face and figure are absolutely gorgeous, and she compensates for her middle age by playing Arabella in a more coquettish manner than is usual or even logical. However, vocally, she is DEFINITELY the star of the show. There must have been a strict vocal coach on board requiring her to purge most of the vocal mannerisms she has lately brought to her roles...She is great!
I don't like the miking of this production....all performers must have been wearing personal mikes, resulting in a sound without any sense of hall space or resonance. This makes the singers sound more shrill than they would in the house.
As for the rest of the cast, the only other singer to be praised is Julia Kleiter as Zdenka, Arabella's younger sister. With a bit of gel, she creates a male look (for her masquerade as Arabella's brother) that is more believable than you're likely to see in most trouser roles. In the third act, sans gel, the female look is pleasing and natural. Vocally and dramatically, Julia complements and supports Renee at every level and is fantastic just on her own.
Unfortunately, these talented sisters must play to a pathetically parochial cast of singers that exhibits neither top-notch voices nor passable acting abilities. The deal killer is Morten Frank Larsen as Arabella's betrothed, whose European Metrosexual Mandryka in no way embodies the 'halber Bauer' of the character. Nor does he possess the vocal resources to sing this extremely taxing role credibly. On top of that, his voice is disturbingly ugly. Feh!
Better is Alfred Muff, a stage veteran, who shows some polish as Waldner, but who is definitely on auto-pilot. Fiakermilli somehow absorbs the ennui of the production and fails to thrill.
Franz Welser-Moest is, in this case, an incredibly unfeeling conductor, so much so that the tenderest moments that we love to savor are perfunctorily swept through, making it difficult for the principals to effectively emote. The second act is a musical travesty.
So, look elsewhere for your DVD Arabella. The one I return to again and again is the Glyndebourne production under Haitink. Even though Ashley Putnam is not vocally ideal, she captures the inherent dignity and compassion of the character. John Brocheler is visually and dramatically the best Mandryka ever (Bernd Weikl is the best vocally) and baptizes himself at the end with the glass of water in a true stroke of genius.
Kiri Te Kanawa is actually my favorite exponent of the title role, but the Met DVD also sports an insufficient supporting cast and substandard conducting. If you're a fan of Janowitz and Weikl, then, despite a dull visual palette, the recently-released Solti DVD is the one for you.
This one is not.
 Dissaponiting Arabella July 12, 2008
Brooklyn GV (Brooklyn NY)
8 out of 18 found this review helpful
Julia Kleita is absolutely great in the role of Zdenka both for her acting and her singing/character. Flemming on the other hand brings nothing in the way of style to this great score. Where are the vocal colorings and that special Vienna style? And she's clumsy looking in that modern(!??) production. She (Flemming) is beautiful but for me it's all about the music. There's no better Arabella in the last 10 or 15 years than Kiri Te Kanawa.
You can see it on video with a superb cast in a super production. Here's a big production that never losses the essence of Strauss' intimate play. And if we're all lucky we will eventually see the Lisa Della Casa/Fischer-Dieskau from the 1950s, (While we wait you can catch a glimps on You Tube).
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