Tan Dun - The First Emperor (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series)

Tan Dun - The First Emperor (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series) | Placido Domingo, Elizabeth Futral | What a Mess!

DVDs:

Tan Dun - The Firs...

	Tan Dun - The First Emperor (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series) Placido Domingo, Elizabeth Futral EMI Classics, 2008 average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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The Metropolitan Opera's acclaimed Live in High-Definition series, which projects live performances into theaters across the globe, has met with unprecedented critical and commercial success and has made opera convenient and affordable to millions of viewers worldwide. Now, EMI Classics is proud to collaborate with The Met to release 6 new DVDs made from these broadcast performances.

Legendary tenor Plácido Domingo leads an all-star cast in this visually stunning opera by Academy Award-winning composer Tan Dun (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). Commissioned by The Met in the mid-1990s, this spectacular new production was one of the most highly-anticipated cultural events of the 2006-07 Metropolitan Opera season, combining the expressive power of traditional ancient Chinese singing with the long musical lines of Italian Opera. Conducted by Tan Dun himself, with revered Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Hero, Raise the Red Lantern) directing and Oscar-winner Emi Wada designing the costumes. A remarkable performance!

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Don't listen to the critics

Critics have been very harsh on this new opera. This has happened before; composers have been misunderstood or not-understood at all by critics, while the public loved them. Seems too early to dismiss "The First Emperor". I have seen it many times and every time I discover something new. The DVD is much better than the live broadcast I saw in the theater, the image is much brighter.

The opera is full of symbols. I am sure I don't even understand them all yet. Although the obvious theme is about the anthem, seems that the suffering of the builders of the Great Wall is a much more profound one. The wall is built to protect against the barbarians, while behaving in a barbaric way. Is this opera a critic to Mao (and/or others)?

The music is different, interesting and enjoyable. The singers are first quality and the Chinese performers very interesting. This production is the first one. May be it is not perfect, or it could have been done differently. I will leave that judgment for the future, when new performances are produced. Seems to me that a film production could be interesting, (like Chaudet's film of Stravinsky's "Le Rossignol").

I strongly recommend this DVD to those interested in the new world, not only of Opera, but the global village and China's cultural integration with the world in particular.

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What a Mess!

This project sounded promising when it was first announced. I had high hopes. I was looking forward to an interesting collaboration between Placido Domingo, Tan Dun and the Metroplitan Opera but the result is a disaster! The music is a strange combo of east and west that just doesn't work. The story is too broad and all over the place. It would have been better to focus on the relationships and forget the nonsense about the anthem.

What's up with this guy that he is so obsessed with a song. Why? With all the intrigue and crushing of enemies, he focuses on music? This is the guy who united China? A ruthless leader? Give me a break. In this opera he is a wreak! I understand wanting an anthem for a united China but it doesn't work with everything else going on. Focus on either the people in the palace or the uniting of China but not both.

I gave this dvd 3 stars because of the performers; especially those from Beijing. Given the disasterous music and story I think the performers mostly are ok. The main singers are adequate, not outstanding. They rise to the occasion and make the best of what they are given to work with. My biggest criticism of the leads is saved for my great hero Placido Domingo. I am a huge admirer of his amazing talent but this effort was less than stellar. He looks and sounds as uncomfortable as anyone. There are also times his voice sounds really strained. He makes it work but like the others his performance is only adequate. A real disappointment. He also has the unenviable task of trying to sing convoluted music in English which we know is not his first language. It has to be difficult. His Spanish accent, which I find charming when he speaks, makes it almost impossible to understand what he is singing. It is another problem in this already troubled production. In all fairness I have occasional trouble understanding some of the others as well. Subtitles are definitely needed.

The best things about this performance are the costumes which are beautiful and the performers from China. They are amazing and wonderful to hear and see. This dvd is worth it for their performance alone. They deserve all the credit for making this bearable. I only wish the entire production could have been from Beijing. It may have been better.

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