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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Binding: DVD
EAN: 4006680101729
Format: PAL
Number Of Discs: 1
Theatrical Release Date: 1973
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Benjamin Britten was one of the 20th century's greatest opera composers and one of the most productive, with more than a dozen operas to his credit. Death in Venice, his last, is based on a moody, introspective novella by Thomas Mann about a German writer in a dry spell who takes a vacation in Venice hoping to revive his inspiration but instead plunges into a terminal identity crisis. The enigmatic plot is a series of confrontations--with his sense of failure, with intimations of mortality (a plague that terrifies the city), with the creative and destructive powers of love, and with tantalizing glimpses of unattainable, alien beauty, embodied in a vacationing boy whom the writer admires timidly from a distance.
Death in Venice distills themes found throughout Britten's work: the loss of innocence; the relation between illusion and reality; tensions between society and the alienated individual; mysterious encounters that defy rational explanation. This carefully organized production offers virtuoso performances by Robert Tear as the writer and Alan Opie as a sort of doppelganger in a half-dozen cameo roles. It will delight hard-core Britten enthusiasts, but is not the most suitable way to begin an acquaintance. Those approaching Britten's operas for the first time are advised to start with the witty Albert Herring, the spooky Turn of the Screw or the tragic Peter Grimes, all of which exist in good video recordings. --Joe McLellan
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - a voice teacher and early music fan
GO FOR THE CD BEFORE THE DVD
'Death in Venice' was Britten's final opera, and it is really not the best way to become acquainted with it, for the filming is 'drab'and lackluster, but I'm wondering if it COULD actually be portrayed any differently. After all, the story centers around one character: Aschenbach (sung very well indeed by Robert Tear).
I found myself following the libretto that came with the Chandos WONDERFUL 2005 recording directed by Richard Hickox with ... Read More
Rating:  - Some OK features, but not the best production
I broke down and bought this video because I had seen the original Metropolitan Opera production of this work back in 1974 and was mesmerized by the integral use of stage space, acting, dance and miming that made up the production. I had been warned that this production was on a smaller scale because the Glyndebourne stage is not very large, but I was unprepared for the very amateurish sets, costumes and direction, especially in the opening scenes.
Director Stephen Lawless did not use ... Read More
Rating: - Excellent production but problem with story
Other viewers may respond more positively than me to Britten's "Death in Venice." The searching and inward qualities of the writer Aschenbach are certainly noble, but, while I am far from a prude, there is a repulsive quality here which loses me. Nonetheless, Britten is a terrific opera composer, his last opera has magnificent music and the performance is superb. Robert Tear is very moving as Aschenbach. He is in excellent voice and his superb, plangent tenor is matched by eloquent acting. Alan Opie, ... Read More
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