DVD Review: Dvorak - The Devil & Kate / Wexford Festival Opera: Anne-Marie Owens, Joseph Evans, Francesca Zambello: Movies & TV

May03

DVD Review: Dvorak - The Devil & Kate / Wexford Festival Opera: Anne-Marie Owens, Joseph Evans, Francesca Zambello: Movies & TV

Posted by admin | on 3 May, 11:24 PM

Review
A deliciously unbuttoned piece’ –Observer

Product Description
Wexford Festival Opera
Music: Antonín Dvo ák
Libretto: Adolf Wenig

Director: Francesca Zambello
Designer: Neil Peter Jampolis
Lighting: Paul Pyant
Choreography: Terry John Bates
Directed For Video By David Buckton

Kate: Anne-Marie Owens
Jirka: Joseph Evans
Marbuel: Peter Lightfoot
Princess: Kristine Ciesinski
Lucifer: Marko Putkonen
Kate’s Mother: Joan Davies
Hell Gatekeeper: Phillip Guy-Bromley
Chambermaid: Kathleen Tynan
The Marshall: Alan Fairs
Hell Guard: Geoffrey Davidson
Musician: Michael Forest
Solo Dancer: Julie Wong
Children: Gavin Clare, Rossa Dunphy

Wexford Festival Chorus
Radio Telefís Êireann Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Albert Rosen

The Devil and Kate was written in 1899, soon after Dvorák returned from America where he had composed his great symphony From The New World . Although known primarily for his symphonic works, Dvorák’s first real love was always opera. As with all his work, The Devil and Kate is rooted in the folk stories and music of his native Bohemia. It is a people’ s opera rather than a court opera, its brilliance lying in the successful integration of simple folk rhythms with sophisticated orchestral structures without compromising either, and conveying a racy irreverence for people who put on airs.

The Devil and Kate tells the story of a Bohemian girl who loves to dance and dances with the devil. An evil princess, the devil disguised as a handsome gamekeeper and a brave shepherd who volunteers to rescue Kate, are the protagonists in comic adventures which take them, literally, to Hell and back!

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Devilishly Delightful Dvorak,

By Richard Chilson DVD Review: Dvorak The Devil & Kate / Wexford Festival Opera: Anne Marie Owens, Joseph Evans, Francesca Zambello: Movies & TV 2009541158812577801 (Minneapolis, MN United States) -

If you love Dvorak and Rusalka you owe it to yourself to try the Devil and Kate. Dvorak wrote it right before Rusalka. He was at the height of his powers and he is one of the great melodists. Kate is filled with beauty. It is a comedy, basically Taming of the Shrew reversed. Kate tames the devil who can”t take her. The plot is not your standard opera plot - it is truly original. For one thing there is no love story. If you like the Slavonic Dances know that there are many dances and orchestral pieces here that will have you dancing.
The singers are all very good at singing and acting. The production is imaginative without directorial distortion. And the production is in English so it is even easier to enter into the drama. There are subtitles but the singers English is so good you really don’t need them. This is my first time seeing a Wexford opera. I do hope they will put many more on DVD.
Dvorak until recently was an unjustly neglected composer. When I was growing up he was known for the New World and the Slavonic Dances. I was amazed to discover he had written many operas. We were finally able to see Rusalka and now it is entering the standard repetoire. Hopefully Kate will join it soon. This performance should help convince other opera companies of its worth.
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