Benjamin Britten
Published:
COMPOSERS: Benjamin Britten
LABELS: Opus Arte
ALBUM TITLE: Gloriana
WORKS: Gloriana
PERFORMER: Josephine Barstow, Tom Randle, Emer McGilloway, David Ellis, Susannah Glanville, Eric Roberts, Clive Bayley; Chorus of Opera North; English Northern Philharmonic/Paul Daniel; dir. Phyllida Lloyd (BBC TV, 1999)
CATALOGUE NO: OA 0955 D
PRESENTATION: *****
This is unquestionably among
the finest opera films ever made.
Phyllida Lloyd’s Opera North
staging vindicated this problematic
piece, but the film she also directed
– astonishingly, her first ever –
takes it to new heights of intensity.
Time constraints necessitated
swingeing cuts – the Norwich
masque with its famous dances, the
conspiracy scene – but comparing
this with the worthy ENO video
confirms that losing these propels
and intensifies the action, focusing
it closely on the protagonists. In an
interview at the time, Lloyd told
me that she’d become fascinated
by the parallels between the
opera and the grand show that
was the Elizabethan court, and
still more by Josephine Barstow’s
extraordinary identification with
the queen; her film merges both
worlds with emotional punch,
reinforced by the vivid recording.
Lloyd’s camera flows between
stage and backstage, identifying
stagehands with courtiers, on
stage among the singers, looking
down dizzyingly from the flies or
even out across pit and audience.
This is not gimmickry; it captures
the rhythm of the action and the
changing scenes with exciting
bartók
String Quartets Nos 2, 3 & 6
Takács Quartet
Decca 074 3141 (NTSC system; dts 5.1; 16:9
anamorphic) 92 mins
takács quartet
String Quartets by Beethoven,
Schubert & Haydn
Takács Quartet
Decca 074 3140 (NTSC system; dts 5.1;
16:9 anamorphic) 124 mins
These two sublime DVDs give us the
privilege of watching and hearing,
or it seems more like overhearing,
four great collaborating musicians
recreating six of the most magnificent
immediacy one moment, deep
intimacy the next, staring mirrorclose
into Barstow’s deeply expressive
features, or echoing a frequent stage
image showing Elizabeth caged by
her role, as when her dressing-room
walls turn translucent to betray the
court ladies gossiping.
The fine ensemble cast survives
such potentially cruel exposure
through sheer involvement, notably
Tom Randle, an ideally virile
Essex. Also outstanding are
Susanna Glanville’s Lady Rich, Eric
Roberts’ Cecil and Clive Bayley’s
sprightly Raleigh. Daniel conducts
a vividly theatrical performance
that banishes any hint of fustian or
pastiche pageantry about this score.