Mozart Die Zauberflöte
January 2008 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: HD DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Tickets to attend live opera go for well above $100 a seat. In the US, matinee performances from the Metropolitan Opera are broadcast in HD and surround sound at select movie theaters. The series has become immensely popular because the tickets are only $18 each. Many had hopes that home video could take the place of live opera for many who can’t afford to go to live performances. In the past the Dolby Digital sound and SD picture were at times very good, but they did not equal the live experience.

Enter BBC Opus Arte. The company has some of the best-filmed opera performances in its extensive catalog. I am told there are close to 60 masters ready to roll. These are all to be in high definition with uncompromised sound. The first releases are HD DVD with Dolby TrueHD soundtracks, but there will be Blu-ray editions later on. No word on the sound, but one would assume it would probably be the same as the HD DVDs.

The first release is of Mozart’s popular Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). Were hopes realized? Almost entirely. The picture is sharp and clear for the most part, with only some solid backgrounds and darker scenes revealing some noise. The camerawork is mostly up close and personal, so you can see every nuance of expression on the singers faces quite clearly. The Dolby TrueHD sound is very good indeed. There’s a lot of transparency coupled with solid placement. Generally the orchestra is spread out from left to right, with the singers coming mostly from the center channel. The multichannel tracks spread the audience out all around the viewer with placement so accurate that one can pick out specific audience members during the bravos and, unfortunately, during one coughing spate. But the singers and orchestra exhibit extremely good presence, so one’s main attention is focused to the front, except for some bone-rattling thunderclaps that accompany the entrance of the Queen of the Night. Those roll all around the room. Overall, yes, sitting in my viewing room with a 52" display and complete surround I was easily tricked into thinking I was in the theater. And getting close-up views that not even those in the $300 seats could achieve without opera glasses was a great bonus.

But what of the performance? There’s no need for great sound and picture if the performance isn’t worth saving. Thankfully this one is. Sir Colin Davis just gets better with age. This performance glows with authority, lyricism, and good nature. All of the singers seem entirely suited to their roles. The only possible weak link is Franz-Josef Selig’s Sarastro. His sonorous bass is glorious to hear, but his acting is wooden. The others sing and act brilliantly. Simon Keenlyside brings more sympathy and sense to Papageno than usual, and his scenes are all highpoints of the production. The artist who blew me away, however, was soprano Diana Damaru, who plays the Queen of the Night. She has two fiendishly difficult arias to sing. A good coloratura soprano can navigate them musically, but Damaru not only nails every note, she is an incredible actress as well. Looking part Bride of Frankenstein, part Morticia Addams, and part Cruella De Vil, she hurls each one of those difficult-to-sing notes out like a tiny bolt of lightning. It might be a cliché but, it's not out of order to call her electrifying.

This HD DVD disc is a good preview of what we can expect right in our own home theaters. For the price of a single opera seat, we can buy four operas on HD DVD or Blu-ray, and have a thoroughly satisfying experience. I remember the early laserdiscs of opera, welcomed ten or so years ago for their CX noise reduction and FM-quality sound. This Die Zauberflöte is light years beyond them. It might be reason enough for some readers to invest in HD equipment.

Note: We discovered that this disc will only play properly if you have the latest Toshiba shareware for your particular player installed. Then it should work with no problems.

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