| Wagner - Lohengrin (remastered) | 
| Director: August Everding
Actors: Peter Hofmann, Eva Marton, Leonie Rysanek, Leif Roar, John Macurdy
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.98
Buy New: $24.99
You Save: $14.99 (37%)
Buy New/Used from $24.99
Avg. Customer Rating:   (10 reviews)
Sales Rank: 61445
Format: Color, Dolby, Dts Surround Sound, Ntsc, Subtitled
Languages: German (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), German (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 220 minutes
Number Of Items: 2
Discs: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 000672709
UPC: 044007341766
EAN: 0044007341766
ASIN: B000F3TAO4
Release Date: August 8, 2006
Theatrical Release Date: 1986
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Similar Items:
| • | Wagner - Tannhauser (remastered) | | • | Wagner - Der Fliegende Hollaender | | • | Wagner - Parsifal / Levine, Weikl, Mazura, Metropolitan Opera | | • | Wagner - Tristan und Isolde | | • | Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg / Heppner, Mattila, Morris, Pape, Allen, Polenzani, Levine, Metropolitan Opera |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
Remastered? August 15, 2008
I own the first incarnation of this DVD from Pioneer and agree with the more favorable reviews of the production. Has anyone seen both that older issue and this remastered re-issue? Is there a significant difference/improvement worth investing in? The original suffered from defects of early video technology: for example Levine's baton would leave ghost traces in the air as he waved it. If anyone could comment on whether distractions like that were cleared up it would constitute a helpful review for me.
From the Wagner Neophyte January 13, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
With the only previous Wagner I had seen being Hollander {which, I still liked better} I decided to give "Mature" Wagner a shot with Lohengrin. I enjoyed this opera a great deal, though I could not watch it all in a single sitting. I watched the first two acts one day and the third the next. Some may scoff, but I think this is the way to go. I am not even sure that Wagner himself would think it was such a terrible idea...after all, be broke up the Ring, no?
I found the characters believable, and for once, the fact that a singer looked too "old" for the part (exactly how much older is Elsa than Gottfried?!) didn't bother me. Actually, I sort of liked her as a little past peak, made her virginal-fantasy desperation more sincere, as far as I was concerned.
I think I understand the complexity of Wagner now too...his music really does not lend itself to "highlight" albums of solo arias. As opposed to Verdi or Puccini though, I am not sure that I would enjoy listening to Wagner on CD without first having seen the opera to have associational memories with. Because it really is more continuous melody, I think it would lose a lot when not accompanied by staging and acting. From what I have read, that is probably what Wagner too would think. For him it certainly was not "all about the music".
Like other reviewers I was put off by Lohengin's cheesy costume (especially the silver platform boots and the big 70's hair), with that though, I found this to be an enjoyable version to watch. Next up, Tritsan.
 The most powerful 'Lohengrin' ever November 17, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This 1986 Met 'Lohengrin' proves why a beautiful sound is not everything.
I purchased the earlier 1982 Bayreauth production (which also features Hofmann and Leir Roar) and after watching both DVD's - the difference was an eye opener. In the earlier Bayreauth production, Peter Hofmann's voice is far more beautiful, his upper notes not as strained as they are 4 years later at the Met. Also, his Bayreauth costumes are far more beautiful and more fitting than the Met ones with their 'Grand ole Opry' rhinesteone gloves and silver boots (ugh!). In addition, the voices of the women (Karan Armstrong and Elizabeth Connell) in the earlier Bayreauth production are less forced, more smooth, more note perfect than the voices of the women (Eva Marton and Leonie Rysanek) in the Met performance which sound strained, almost screeching and even at times off-key.
Yet the Met production is awesome, stupendous! -- while the Bayreauth production almost makes you yawn. The Met production has power, feeling, it has grandeur - from the first moment you are swept up in it, you believe in the characters, you feel their rage, greed, weakness and grandeur. No matter how many times you watch the Met DVD, you still get the goose bumps, the tingle, the joy of experiencing 'Lohengrin' as it was meant to be felt. Hofmann's 'Lohengrin' in the Met is more regal, more pained, more magnificent in his desolation at the end by Elsa's betrayal. And in the Met production Hofmann's piety burns through more powerfully than in the Bayreauth. Marton's 'Elsa' is stunning - she hits her notes with power but it is her acting that blew me away. Indeed, her most powerful performance comes when she doesn't even sing a note but instead stands motionless on stage sobbing in grief and shame from the consequences of her betrayal of Lohengrin. It breaks your heart. In contrast, Karan Armstrong's 'Elsa' was irritating because I never connected enough to care what happened to her - as a result, frankly, my dear, I didn't give a damn when she died at the end. It was just a soprano hitting the floor. Leif Roar's 'Telramund' was the only person who wasn't different in either production - in both, he gave equal passion and fury - he was magnificent. But finally, it is Leonie Rysanek who proves the vital necessity of emotional power. Rysanek's 'Ortrud' reveals why Leonie was a legend - not just because she hit the notes but because she infused them with such power of emotion that it knocked you off your seat. You felt her rage, her arrogance, her power, her ruthlessness, etc. In comparison, Elizabeth Connell's 'Ortrud' is merely beautiful music. She sings the notes perfectly - but nothing else. You can see Connell make the face of an angry woman but if you close your eyes, you do not hear that anger - and you should because that is what operatic singing is all about.
The filming of both productions is also vastly different. The Met production is wonderful - it films precisely those parts of the stage which you need to see, which explain, which reveal the more powerful and necessary movement on stage at that moment. You are never lost, you know exactly what is going on, etc. In contrast, the film director of the Bayreauth production irritated the hell out of me by constantly doing closeups instead of showing the entire scene. Since I couldn't see what happening on stage, how on earth could I understand what the characters were reacting to? As a result, I was totally confused as to what was going on - it was maddening and robbed me of enjoyment. Finally, the design of the Bayreauth set was offsetting in many ways - for instance, when Hofmann stood at the back of the stage in front of a giant revolving disc, you almost had to hold on to your chair because the revolving disc made you dizzy to look at it. Yuck.
Still, in the end, it was the emotion of the voices that revealed to me how incredibly important emotion is. Yes, beautiful voices are pleasant - but in the end, if they are only beautiful and nothing more, they leave you empty. The Met was not empty in any sense of the word. The Met production was glorious, emotional, thrilling, etc. It proved that sound NEEDS fury in order to signify something.
Very satisfactory September 27, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
For the traditionally minded-this is preferable to the Abbado\Domingo Lohengrin, but maybe not to Peter Hofmann's earlier Bayreuth Lohengrin, despite the unbelievable staging-which is one of the finest I and most satisfactory I have seen in a Wagner opera. Hofmann does a fine job-both gentle and demanding when need be. Telramund and Ortrud are also fine, though Ortruds facial expressions are ridiculous despite the critical applause she received-her singing is fine-though neither is close to Ludwig and Dieskau on EMI.
For DVD versions this about as good as it gets, but compared to CD versions it is merely good. I would recommend either this or the earlier Bayreuth\Hofmann set.
Lohengrin January 4, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Vocally this is a most satisfying performance. All the voices are clear and the acting is good. I do miss the swan however.
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