SITE RATING: 4/10
SITE REVIEW:
One of the few Mozart arrangements of Messiah
to be filmed, this 1991 performance by Jean-Jacques Kantorow, the
Auvergne Orchestra and National Choir of Lyon, and sung in English, is
just middling in its presentation, lacking a professional touch in the
filming, and suffering from a dull, pedestrian reading. The
orchestra, playing modern instruments, are competent, but unable to
bring any fire or distinction to their playing; the National Choir of
Lyon is likewise, well-blended and possessing a good tone and
pronunciation, but reigned in by the staid tempos and unimaginative,
straight-forward reading. Among the soloists, Alexander
Laiter is
pleasing, although his English is stilted, bass Thomas Thomaschke sings
with a hollow, throaty tone, and appears to have his collar loosened
during the performance. Mezzo-soprano Eliane Tantcheff clearly has no
interest in what she's singing, rarely looking out of the score, so
that the director chooses to focus on the orchestra during her
performances, instead of her. Soprano Veronique Dietschy
fares
best, with a sparkling, clear tone and some emotional investment in her
expression. The camera work here is sloppy, with other
cameras
present in the shots, and occasional editing snafus (in an early
chorus, the choir is clearly singing different words to what
we
are hearing), but being a live performance, some errors can be forgiven
- what's most disappointing about this Messiah
is the lackadaisical performance, a bland and flavorless concoction
which left me hungering for something more potent and engaging.
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