Per le porte del tormento - Inger Dam-Jensen and Christophe Dumaux

Handel: Partenope.
Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen, 2008

Concerto Copenhagen with Lars Ulrik Mortensen

Partenope: Inger Dam-Jensen
Arsace: Andreas Scholl
Rosmira: Tuva Semmingsen
Armindo: Christophe Dumaux
Emilio: Bo Kristian Jensen
Ormonte: Palle Knudsen

Stage director: Francisco Negrin

Buy the DVD, the sooner the better.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Handel
• Partenope
• Royal
• Danish
• Opera
• Concerto
• Copenhagen
• Lars
• Ulrik
• Mortensen
• Inger
• Dam-Jensen
• Andreas
• Scholl
• Tuva
• Semmingsen
• Christophe
• Dumaux
• Bo
• Kristian
• Jensen
• Palle
• Knudsen
• Francisco
• Negrin

[thebarroque]

Did they said why they include the duet in this performance? Originally that duet is from Sosarme, and was re-used in Imeneo :-/

[palcika1]

I don't think they said why they decided to do that. But it's ok with me, this thing is just beautiful :)

[fnegrin]

I think the editing is sublime! every intention and thought is visible and rythmic and renders the impact of the show in a way that normally a video cannot render..... Either you se ethe movement an dthe view is too far or you see the detail and miss the movement. Here it is both and you follow the story like a film.... or like only someone who saw the show several times can have seen!

[palcika1]

Yeah, it's like a movie, with those special shots you couldn't have seen even at the theatre.

[palcika1]

I almost forgot to mention that the directing and acting were all so superb that you really have something to look at!

[adamastorBassBar]

Just wonderful! I know this is the wrong piece in the wrong opera, but with sensitive singing, acting and direction as this, who cares! Good, too, that the maestro didn't rush the tempo, which happens so much of the time in modern, "historically informed" renditions.

[TFreckle]

@palcika1 well - I believe it was because the aria "Si, Scherza Si" which is the aria which really comes there didn't convey the feelling of an ending that they wanted.

[palcika1]

I secretly hoped to see and hear Trine's arias among the extras of the dvd - which would be completely nonexistent, btw, were it not for Andreas' splendid little documentary - but of course such things don' really happen...

I admire Tuva, but Trine's more feminine tone and character was nice for a change. Though on the whole, she wasn't strong enough as Rosmira, especially compared to Tuva, who was absolutely on fire!

[FuzzyCerts]

Oh, I agree on the annoying bits! But I was expecting it to be far, far worse - there wasn't one single night where both Tuva and Andreas were both up to their usual, high standards.

A tip for the nitpicker: if you look closely enough, Trine Bastrup Møller can be spotted several times throughout all three acts in 'Tuva's' costume - they've had to use footage of the one performance where Tuva wasn't even on stage.

[palcika1]

At least now I know when those close shots were made! At first I found the filming and the editing very annoying, but then I got used to it, and now appreciate it. Still, I think, the video editors' work is far from spotless. There are too many spotlights, shoes, singers' backsides, missing half (or entire) faces, while important gestures and moments were left out.

But you really can't tell on the basis of this dvd how sick they were all through. The magic of the performance is all there.