newbury_comics from MA, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $24.89 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Amazon.com offers this stuff with condition New, new for:

Price : $27.97 Usually ships in 24 hours

thebookgrove from AR, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $29.19 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

moviemars from NC, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $33.15 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

newtownvideos from PA, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $33.16 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

beaches_entertainment offers this stuff with condition New, new for:

Price : $37.38 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

--caiman-- from FL, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $44.71 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

thetangotienda offers this stuff with condition New, new for:

Price : $125.46 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

What our customer's say!

"Still the Best Tannhauser on DVD", I will quickly say that this is still my favorite in my opinion the best Tannhauser on DVD. The production is lush and beautiful and the performers act excellently...Levine does a wonderful job conducting as well!

5 stars

"Outstanding traditional performance", This Tannhauser sets a high standard and is a must for any Wagner collection. The staging and production are traditional and follow the intended production, versus a modern or abstract interpretation. While some of my favorite singers are not in this opera, such as Siegfried Jerusalem, James Levine and the performers bring out the intense emotions of the characters - particularly Tannhauser - and give great life and energy to this opera.

"Good production marred by a poor performance by the lead role", Tannhauser is a Wagnerian opera that suffers from some undeserved snobbery. It was written during the phase when Wagner hadn't perfected the idea of a pure music drama. Tannhauser is unusual in that it blends some facets of French grand opera (that Wagner would so harshly criticize only a few years later) -- it has a ballet and set pieces and arias. I find this reputation undeserved -- Tannhauser is one of Wagner's more accessible operas to newcomers, and it is rich with beautiful melodies. But perhaps the biggest reason it's not performed as often as Wagner's other works is the extremely punishing, voice-killing title role. It's a rare tenor who is equipped to handle the demands of Tannhauser, especially the Rome narrative that comes at the end of 3 hours of singing.
Otto Schenk's sets are unabashedly traditional, which is part of its appeal. With all the vague and obscure symbolism that directors love to clutter into Wagnerian operas, it's nice to see Tannhauser presented as it was meant to be -- a medieval morality play. Although Venusburg looks like a weird caricature of scantily clad dancers gyrating for no particular reason, the direction has a nice touch of realism. The sets for the Wartburg castle is very pretty. Tannhauser has a well-deserved reputation as a voice killer. From the very opening notes, I knew Richard Cassily's Tannhauser would be more workmanlike than inspiring. His voice has an unpleasant, pinched, nasal quality, and his stage presence is portly and uninspiring. He gets through the part, but the sounds he makes are not always pretty. To be fair it's a rare tenor who can even tackle Tannhauser, but opera is an auditory as well as visual experience, and Cassilly fails on both counts.
Fortunately, he is surrounded by much stronger singers. Tatiana Troyanos is a thrilling Venus -- sexy, with a beautiful blooming voice. Venus's part is relatively brief but Troyanos makes her mark. Eva Marton is in her relatively brief prime vocally. Never the most compelling stage presence, hers is mostly a stand and sing performance, although close-ups reveal that she's shedding real tears in Act 2. Her voice can turn shrill under pressure, but it's a major league dramatic soprano. Her voice lacks a bit of delicacy and vulnerability for Elisabeth (listen to Victoria de los Angeles or Kirsten Flagstad), but it's a strong performance. "Allmacht-ge Jungfrau, hor mein Flehen" is very well-sung. Bernard Weikl's voice is disappointingly hollow, but he pulls it together (somewhat) for the famous "Ode to the Evening Star."
I am deducting two stars because of Cassilly's vocally and physically unappealing Tannhauser, but I still recommend this video as a great introduction to one of Wagner's most underrated works.
By the way, the production uses the *Paris* edition of the opera. Long story short: the premier of the opera n 1846 was not a success, and in 1861 Wagner made several changes, including writing a ballet in the Venusburg scene. The Paris premiere was not a success either, and Wagner remained unsatisfied with the opera up until his death in 1883.

"Wagner, Tannhauser", Not much stage craft here, this is a older version of the opera,the performers were true to the script, but not the most attractive that I have seen with the exception of the final scene, this did not hold up to current theatre

"Wonderful", Wagner the way he would have wanted it done. Great singing, fantastic stagecraft and Levine is in top form.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"Great for Wagnerites, but...", Tannhauser, to me is a somewhat bizarre story from the motivation/emotion point of view. Of course it has some totally splendid music, like so much else in Wagner - the Liebestod is unforgettable and soul-wrenching, the Prize Song is glorious, even the Sailors' Chorus in the "Dutchman" is a joy. And there's the Valkyries..and more, and more... So yes, I enjoyed this performance a lot But I couldn't help wondering how the tale might be retold from a more contemporary angle. Let's see.....

So this Mr. T is playing house with this hottie in her "magic mountain." It's not really clear if this Venus really exists or if she's just some kind of mystic fantasy. But whatever, she's real enough that Mr. T is truly knackered and beginning to want OUT.

It began when Mr. T lost out in the local German Idol song contest. A sore loser, that's when he took his trip to Adult Fantasyland. He breaks free by finding the magic mojo words that make Venus and her nymphos disappear! He finds himself in deepest rurality, in springtime. A little catamite-type sings a sweet tune about Nature etc. and scarpers before anything can happen to him. Now along come a bunch of the local Hare Krishnas and their attitude really strikes a chord with Mr. T. He is set to be all Goody Two-shoes from now on. No more nookie games!

Ahah: Here comes the local Don and his henchmen, Mr. T's former buddies. They are glad to see him back, but at first he doesn't want to join the gang again. But they tell him the Don's daughter Lizzie loved his song and really, really misses him, and being the basically horny type he is, he now follows them back to the Don's mansion.

So OK - at the Big House, Lizzie meets with Mr. T but it was not, you may say, successful. He won't give with any details of what he's been doing - no surprise there. Any-hoo, now we get a big setpiece where all the local made men, and minor capos, and their women and all, come parading in for - yes, yet another song contest! (These are very musical hoods). They are all pimped up to heavens above, bling and more bling. The song thing is actually an improv: the Don gives out the subject: "Love's Awakening."

First up is Mr. T's good buddy Wolfie. He sings a nicey-nicey-song about how love is oh-so-pure. We are wondering about possible deficiencies in his equipment - and so is Mr. T, whose basic nature asserts itself. Up he jumps and sings the praises of the ol' bedspring boogie. Everyone gets mad at this - you're not supposed to sing that out loud, especially not in front of the broads. The hoods draw blades on Mr. T. The women see a major rumble coming and leave hurriedly, except Lizzie. She believes there's good in Mt. T (somewhere) and calms down the ruckus. Overcome with gratitude. Mr. T reverts to holy mode and promises to make a big pilgrimage to get forgiveness for his naughtinesses.

But that means he leaves moonstruck Lizzie again....he is gone a LONG time, and in the final act, Lizzie is seen asking all the returning pilgrims for news of Mr. T - nothing. Being emotionally very fragile, she sinks into some kind of despair. Wolfie (who has secretly loved her all along) thinks she may even die from it, and how right he is. But being a musical hood, he sings a nice song about it.

Now who should Wolfie see but Mr. T, all worn and beat-up looking. The pilgrimage was a wipeout - no forgiveness for him! The Big Papa said that to forgive him would be as hard as for Mr. T's walking-stick to sprout leaves. (These are all seriously uptight people). So Mr. T is thinking of heading back to Hottie and her playmates. But Wolfie spoils that idea by pointing to Lizzie's funeral procession that happens to go by at just the right moment. Poor ol' Mr. T, overcome by guilt again, makes another 180 and gets all religious...and hey presto, his stick sprouts leaves! (There is an inconsistent metaphor there, but let it pass...)

Hmm....Well, OK, I'm sure I've offended lots of Wagner fans! So, to get serious for a moment, what is this performance like? Truly excellent. If you can manage the "suspension of disbelief" that I've been rather cynical about, you are in for an aural and visual treat - a full-scale transition to the glorious colors and textures of the Middle Ages. The otherwordly Venusberg and the huge gathering at the song contest are astonishing. Enjoy.

"The best Tannhauser Ever!!", First of all, for a Wagner opera you need Wagnerian singers not just any baroque chanter and I think Richard Cassilly is excellent. Secondly, this production is so fascinating with the details of the story such as the budding of the staff in the end symbolizing God's forgiveness. I guarantee that if you like Wagnerian opera this will satisfy you very much.

"Outstanding Visual Design", This is not my favorite Wagnerian opera by a long shot. But it is a must own, for the simple reason that these are absolutely the best set designs ever done. The Venusberg scene is dazzlingly Bosch-ish, the entry into Wartburg looks like it stepped out of an Italian Early Renaissance fresco. A must own.

"The Most Important Thing You Need To Know About This DVD...", ...is that there are voices heard mumbling throughout the second half...as if the sound engineers accidentally put a live microphone next to the snack bar in the lobby. I'm not kidding. The first few times you hear it, you'll think "Hmmm...that's strange." But after it's been going on for 20 minutes, then 30, you'll realize that you wasted your money.

I've noticed that, in general, sound engineers in orchestral music are SADLY lacking in comparision to pop music producers. I've become inured with these ridiculous flaws in my own Wagner collection, what with the frequent mysterious noises and sloppy edits in even the best renditions of his operas. Where's George Martin when we need him?!?

It's an incredible shame too, because the performances in this particular version are great.

"From a Wagnerite", This was the most passionate opera I've ever seen. Also, it was my first. I wrote a thesis on Richard Wagner and studied the synopsis of the opera. It was up to the tee. Marton does and excellent job playing Elizabeth that the tears in her eyes led me to tear up also. The guy who played Wolfram looked as though he didn't fully study out his lines, because of the bewildering look on his face when the camera did a close up. Cassily was wonderful despite in Act I his hair was sticking out. The most famous Pilgrims' Chorus was good, but I would have wanted it to be slowed down and appreciated...maybe it was a difficult piece to sing that is why the orhcestra sped it up so they could get it done and over with. The Entry of the Guest scene was great. Overall, I strongly recommend this. Enjoy!