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List Price: $29.99Amazon.com's Price: $26.99 You Save: $3.00 (10%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0807280001990
Format: Anamorphic, Classical, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Label: Arthaus Musik
Manufacturer: Arthaus Musik
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Arthaus Musik
Release Date: November 14, 2000
Running Time: 149 minutes
Sales Rank: 54708
Studio: Arthaus Musik
Theatrical Release Date: 1999
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
French composer Francis Poulenc was both an ardent Catholic and a free-loving homosexual, making the achievement of his intensely personal opera, Dialogues des Carmélites, even more remarkable. Although widely known as a mere purveyor of endlessly charming and witty music (including some of the most perfectly constructed songs of the entire 20th century), Poulenc also wrote many substantial compositions, of which the three-act Carmélites ranks highest. Based on Georges Bernanos's story about young Blanche, a selfless nun martyred along with the rest of her convent during the French Revolution, Carmélites, thanks to its composer's considerable musical and dramatic skills, is one of the most emotionally direct and unapologetically moral of all modern operas.
For this 1999 production at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg, France, actress-turned-director Marthe Keller does a superlative job of conveying Poulenc's intentions. Her spare staging effectively evokes the austere world of the cloistered nuns, and there are many striking images, notably the opera's final tragic moments when the women literally drop, one by one, to the musical sound of the guillotine's blade. In a first-rate cast, Anne Sophie Schmidt is an especially touching Blanche, and conductor Jan Latham-Koenig has masterly control over the emotional ebb and flow of Poulenc's score. The DVD sound is full and rich, the subtitles are adequate, and Don Kent's video direction includes visual felicities--like slow-motion, still images, and black and white--that underscore the preordained doom without overdoing it. --Kevin Filipski
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - This is the one to have
Unlike some reviewers, I have found no fault with the technical aspects of this recording. It is in stereo only, but despite this the sound is first rate.
I have written at length praising this production as distinct from the TDK production from La Scala. Here is a copy of my review of that production:
" Get the Arthaus production, September 30, 2007
By Archie (Ottawa ON Canada) - See all my reviews
I usually tend to agree with Scott Morrison's reviews. However, ... Read More
Rating: - Very moving performance, effectively adapted to video
I was given this DVD by someone who knows I'm a Carmelite-ophile (see my review of the Chandos CD Poulenc: The Carmelites). As is often the case, the stage production yielding this video succeeds by being visually minimalistic. Better yet, director Marthe Keller -- yes, the elegant European actress who's been working steadily for four decades now -- gives us something way better to look at than scenery: Opera singers who really act! For brevity I'll only cite two scenes, Madame Lidoine's (the New Prioress's) ... Read More
Rating:  - a great performance in very mediocre sound
I read the existing reviews after viewing this DVD on a first class audio-visual system. Firstly, what we have here is a magnificent performance of the opera. All parts are well sung and well acted and, much to the point, the singers look their parts. Secondly, the staging is quite good as is the video direction. One is brought into the action. The sound, however, was a problem. On many newer DVDs I have found audio equal or better than the best CDs. The sound on this DVD was not in this league. All was recorded ... Read More
Rating: - A Different Opinion About Video and Audio Quality
I haven't purchased this DVD yet, but I will do so. I was alarmed by the review that complains about the audio and video quality, and so I checked the Gramophone review because Gramophone is a stickler about technical quality. Here's what the Gramophone review written by Alan Blyth says about this issue: "Video direction, sound and picture quality are all admirable. This is one of the most worthwhile opera performances yet to appear in the new format."
Rating: - Do better, ArtHaus!
This is one of the most powerful opera productions I've ever seen, hindered by poor quality video and audio. the audio isn't as bad as on their DVD of Salieri's _Falstaff_, where the speakers sound constantly overloaded, though it's still a problem. The digital artifacting is even worse. It's a great opera, powerfully staged and filmed, but it looks like a budget DVD that ought to sell for $3.99. They're taking advantage of opera fans on the assumption that they are rich, and putting out shoddily authored DVDs of ... Read More
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