DVD : Strauss - Arabella [1984]

Rating: - Magnificent Fleming
This may not be the definitive Arabella but it has more than enough going for it. Reservations I had when I bought it were unfounded. After an overly-schmaltzy Capriccio and indications, from her Met Opera interview stint, that Fleming had taken on the mannerisms of a talk-show host, I was not expecting great things from her. But here she is at her formidable best. The voice is in peak condition, burnished but not lacking characterization. Her acting is not quite at today's top level but very accomplished nevertheless. This time she does not overdo the toothpaste smile and gives us the many facets of a character who, let's face it, stands alone in this ship of fools. Despite her age she manages to convince as a young woman in love with the idea of love. Maybe performing on Della Casa's home turf gave her extra inspiration but whatever, this is a great performance.

She is almost matched by Julia Kleiter in the difficult role of Zdenka, coming closer than most to convincing us that a good-looking woman can pass as a man for the first twenty years of her life. She has a very fine voice, totally different in timbre from Fleming's.

After that we go downhill. As the Waldners, Muff and Kallisch cannot hold a candle to McIntyre and Dernesch in the Met performance, likewise for Sen Guo as Die Fiakermilli compared to the young Dessay. But the biggest disappointment is Morten Frank Larsen as Mandryka. The part is such a caricature it's difficult to conceive of any competent actor being unable to bring it to life, but Larsen manages. Plus, his singing is variable at best, with an obtrusive wobble in Act 1. The various suitors are OK without adding or subtracting from the overall performance. Johan Weigel's Matteo is in some ways more acceptable, visually, than the bug-eyed David Kuebler at the Met. It is a two-dimensional effort but you could argue that that's appropriate for this part.

I watched this dvd after immersing myself in the 1953 Covent Garden performance. As difficult as the sound is on those cds, far more of Strauss's luxurious orchestration comes across than it does here. It may be unfair to compare Wesler-Most to Kempe, perhaps the greatest all-time Strauss conductor, but he is so wooden, so insensitive, he almost spoils Fleming's magnificent "Aber der Richtige" and where even Larsen cannot fail to respond to her spellbinding "Und du wirst men Gebieter sein", Wesler-Most goes forging ahead as if he has a skat game on hold. This conductor is no Straussian.

Stage direction is excellent, certainly a step or two better than the rather wooden Met show, and the production is interesting, sort of minimalist without being threadbare. I love the gauze curtain effect in Act 2, symbolizing Arabella and Mandryka's contact with or seclusion from the world around them. Sound and picture are up to today's high standards.

For my money Fleming gives us the best Arabella on dvd or cd and Kleiter the best Zdenka. For those two alone I treasure this dvd. Shortcomings elsewhere may rule it out for some people. I'll certainly return to the Met performance for Brendel's Mandryka and keep playing the 1953 Kempe to remind myself of how the music should sound. But that's opera. You seldom get it all, and when the main part is as superbly executed as here, you have something very worthwhile.