Massenet - Werther (concert version) - Hampson, Graham - Plasson 20042*DVD5 - NTSC - 16:9 - All Regions - PCM, Dolby Digital & DTS 5.0 - 74'40, 63'17
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian
Virgin 2006
Hampson, Graham, Piau, Degout, Schirrer, Piolino, Alvaro
Capitole de Toulouse
Cond. Plasson
Theate du Chatelet 2004
Currently the DVD catalog holds three WERTHERS--Dvorsky (1985), Hampson (2002) and Alvarez (2005)--with fine singers in the principal roles. The DVDs differ greatly in every way, however.
Dvorsky and Alvarez are tenors, while Hampson is baritone. The original score calls for tenor, but the composer himself lowered the title role ten years later for a performance in Saint Petersburg. So there is no reason to look down one's nose at Hampson's version, and his performance is so fine that it validates the alternative.
Dvorsky appears in an opera film, severely cut--His version is only 101 minutes, while Hampson clocks in at 145 and Alvarez at 132. The film happens to be very fine, but represents only 2/3 of the opera.
Hampson's is a concert version with no staging at all, although the cast interact in front of their microphones, sometimes at a disadvantage to the pickup. There is real drama to watching the singers, even the chorus, even in close-up, for they sing their hearts out. --Amazon customer
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