Massenet - Thais - Eva Mei & Michele PertusiDVD9 - NTSC - 4:3 - All Regions - French - PCM, Dolby Digital 2.0, DTS - 137min.
Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French, Spanish
Dynamic 33427 - rel. 2004
Thaïs … Eva Mei (soprano), Athanaël … Michele Pertusi (bass-baritone), Nicias … William Joyner (tenor), Palémon … Christoph Fel (bass), Crobyle … Christine Buffle (soprano), Myrtale … Elodie Méchaine (soprano), Albine … Tiziane Carraro (mezzo), La Charmeuse … Anna Smiech (soprano), A servant … Enrico Masiero (tenor)
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro La Fenice di Venezia/Marcello Viotti
rec. Teatro La Fenice, Venezia, November 2002
Pier Luigi Pizzo's production for La Fenice production is absolutely gorgeous with incredible care shown down to the smallest detail, yet always fresh and never fussy. Roses seem to be a central theme in this production and Pizzi gives us have tons of them, a virtual moving wall of roses. Thais (and later, Athanael's) bed is made of huge ropey vines of roses (which transforms during the meditation - as Thais lies on it, the roses all fall off at once leaving only a bed of giant thorny vines!).
Eva Mei is a moving Thais and while the voice lacks some "plushness" her piano and sustained high register singing is pure and lovely. An affecting actress her transformation from courtesan to saint is not only believable but poignant, she actually seems to radiate. The Mirror Aria is well sung, but it is in her duets with Pertusi, especially the opening and closing ones of Act III where she shines. Her death scene is absolutely beautiful.
