Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Netherlands Chamber Orchestra - Die Entführung aus dem Serail [BluRay Untouched, 1080i] {2008}

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Netherlands Chamber Orchestra - Die Entführung aus dem Serail [BluRay Untouched, 1080i] {2008}

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Die Entführung aus dem Serail [BluRay Untouched]
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra / Chorus of De Nedelandse Opera / Constantinos Carydis / Johan Simons
MPEG-4 AVC, 1080i, 1.78:1 | Dolby True-HD 5.1, Dolby True-HD 2.0 @ 24Bit/48kHz
Label/Cat#: Opus Arte # OA BD7017 D | Country/Year: Europe 2008 | Size: 44,30 GB | 5% Recovery Info
Genre: Classical | Style: Opera, Viennese School, HiDef

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Mozart: Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, March 23, 2009

ACT I

Belmonte (Edgaras Montvidas), a young Spanish aristocrat, is searching for his fiancée Konstanze (Laura Aikin), who together with his maid, Blonde (Mojca Erdmann), and servant, Pedrillo (Michael Smallwood), has been captured and sold as a slave to Bassa Selim (Steven Van Watermeulen), an important Turkish official.

Belmonte arrives at Bassa Selim's Palace. Osmin (Kurt Rydl) is the first official to meet the European; he is immediately turned off by Belmonte's wild temper. Pedrillo arrives and hugs Belmonte. He also announces that Bassa Selim has been desperately trying to earn Konstanze's heart. Filled with jealousy, Belmonte decides to introduce Pedrillo to the Turkish authorities as an architect in order to get him into the Palace.

Bassa Selim appears and Konstanze is immediately captivated by him. Nonetheless, she vows to remain faithful to Belmonte. In the meantime, the Spanish aristocrat and Pedrillo slip past Osmin and enter the Palace.

ACT II

Blonde has become Osmin's slave – she is enraged and determined to let her "owner" understand that European girls cannot be slaves. Konstanze appears and admits to Blonde that she is torn between keeping her vow and responding to Bassa Salim's feelings.

Pedrillo meets Blonde and announces that their escape has been prepared. Blonde is ecstatic but also concerned about Osmin. A few hours before their escape, Blonde and Pedrillo give Osmin a bottle of wine (which is forbidden by his religion); he gets drunk and falls asleep. Konstanze, Blonde, Pedrillo and Belmonte meet and decide to leave the Palace at midnight.

ACT III

Belmonte and Konstanze are the first to leave the Palace. Right before they pass through the gates, however, Osmin appears and captures them. He immediately announces that Konstanze, Blonde, Pedrillo and Belmonte will be beheaded.

Bassa Salim arrives and shocks everyone by announcing that he would let the Europeans return to their homeland. Everyone but Osmin begins celebrating.

Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, on a German libretto by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner (adapted by Johann Gottlieb Stephanie der Jungere), Die Entführung aus dem Serail a.k.a The Abduction from the Seraglio is a singspiel opera (a comic opera with portions of spoken dialog in German) in three acts. It was first performed on 16th July 1782, at Burgtheater, Vienna.

Blending elements that are typically associated with opera buffa and opera seria, Die Entführung aus dem Serail is believed to have been directly influenced by Mozart's intimate relationship with Constanze Weber. However, it was its tonal language, and particularly the use of oriental harmonies (traceable to Turkish Janissary band music), that piqued the interest of Viennese operagoers.

This Blu-ray disc contains a production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail that was recorded live on February 2, 19 & 26 at Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam in 2008. Led by Musical Director Constantinos Carydis, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera, together with a talented group of singers, offer a distinctively modern rendition of Mozart's opera. Indeed, from the dramatically spiced up clash of cultures, to the new delightfully perverse relationship between Blonde and Osmin, Die Entführung aus dem Serail will likely surprise a number of viewers.

The actual production is very impressive. For example, the period atmosphere Die Entführung aus dem Serail is typically known for has been effectively replaced with a fresh modern look – inspired by Set Designer Bert Neuman and Stage Director Johan Simons' preference for contemporary decors and clothing for some of the key protagonists - that allows for an entirely new read of the drama the European "slaves" and their Oriental masters are involved in.

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080i "live" transfer, Mozart - Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Opus Arte.

This 1080i transfer is very much up to the high standards we have come to expect from Opus Arte. It reveals an exceptionally strong contrast, terrific clarity and stunning detail. The color-scheme is convincing as well – red, blues, greens and blacks are at times simply piercing. This being said, I did notice a bit of the motion-judder we have come to expect from most of these live opera recordings but it wasn't overly distracting. As far as the actual production of Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail is concerned, I feel comfortable stating that the producers have done a good job of capturing the action on the scene as best as possible - a number of strategically positioned HD cameras allow us to view the singers and the orchestra from all sorts of different angles. Fortunately, the transfer does not suffer from any annoying shadow effects either. To sum it all up, this is a solid presentation that will surely impress even the most demanding amongst classical music aficionados. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc which you will be able to play on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: German Dolby TrueHD 5.0 and German Dolby TrueHD 2.0. I personally opted for the Dolby TrueHD 5.0 track and later on did random comparisons with the Dolby TrueHD 2.0 track. First of all, I am not overly impressed with the balance on the Dolby TrueHD 5.0 track; during the overture, the dynamics are rather weak and clarity lacks quite a bit. Things improve later on (ACT I and ACT II) when the singers appear, but the opening ten or so minutes are indeed somewhat underwhelming. This being said, it would appear that the lack of clarity is directly related to the manner in which the entire production was recorded.

I do like the balance between the singers and the orchestra on the Dolby TrueHD 2.0 better. Obviously, you won't notice any substantial improvements with the overture, but the rest of the opera is sounds much better. Therefore, I strongly encourage you to try both tracks and see which one you like better. For the record, there are optional English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch subtitles for the main feature. As expected, this Blu-ray disc arrives with a lovely 30-page booklet. In it you will find a terrific essay by Klaus Bertisch, titled "Inner Conflict", deconstructing Mozart's piece and highlighting some of its intricate overtones (the essay appears in English, German, and French). There are also a number of photos from the actual production.

On the actual Blu-ray disc, there is an illustrated synopsis, cast gallery, and "Behind the Scenes" featurette – Introduction to the Cast; Johan Simons: Deeply human motives; Acting and Singing; This is about forgiveness – and a gallery with interviews (Laura Aikin, Edgaras Montvidas, Mojica Erdmann, Michael Smallwood, and Kurt Rydl).

What a delightful surprise! I was most definitely not prepared for this bold but very entertaining take on Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. I particularly enjoyed Mojca Erdmann's sexy Blonde. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Opus Arte, is very easy to recommend, even if the audio could have been handled a bit better. Highly Recommended. blu-ray.com

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Netherlands Chamber Orchestra - Die Entführung aus dem Serail [BluRay Untouched, 1080i] {2008}

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