San Francisco Opera's A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE on DVD...

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 10:10pm

Has anyone else seen this sensational 1998 opera adaption by Andre' Previn of Tennessee Williams' masterpiece A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE by the San Francisco Opera?

For a trainwreck viewing tonight I borrowed this from a friend and I can't help being spellbound by this. Simply spectacular in every way -- and the production design is in one word: WOW! Not being a fan of opera at all, I was pulled in from the first note.

Opera diva Renee Fleming plays Blanche DuBois and is captivating beyond belief.

[Not Barker, Todd.]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 10:11pm

Looks cool.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 10:14pm

I started watching this...and then the library needed it back.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 10:20pm

I burned a copy of a VHS tape I had of it & honestly never watched it

I have to give it a look when we return from vacation next weekend

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/8/07 at 10:31pm

It's a dreadful opera. Renee Fleming is built too solidly to capture the required moth-like qualities of Blanche. Rod Gilfrey makes an exceptional Stanley, though. Physically and vocally he's right on target.

However, an opera depends on music and Previn's music is pretty tuneless.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 12:17am

Opera Australia are doing a production of this at the moment, tickets sold out weeks in advance. It looks like being one of the most popular productions they have ever done.

[GClef2]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 1:41am

elizabeth futral is insane and i know her

[sondhead]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 3:47am

"However, an opera depends on music and Previn's music is pretty tuneless."

Ya.. which is a shame because I think it could have been a wonderful opera.. but what a snooooze of a score

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 11:51am

I agree, the score is pretty bad. At least there's some eye-candy when Rod Gilfrey is on. The woman playing Stella does a great job.

But the scene when poor Renee/Blanche has to break the bottle to twist in Stanley's face hits bold new lows. All I could think of was Marge Simpson gently tapping the bottle against the table.

[BruceWayne5148]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 12:12pm

i was in the opera last fall in atlanta...i watched the video too. very interesting. all the people in the cast bashed it every single day. they said he ripped off music from a bunch of other composers. and the papers and reviews bashed the music. so sad because it had so much potential.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 12:13pm

Most of the "music" is really recitatives. I believe I head somewhere that Previn was forced to stick closely to Williams' dialogue. Had he been able to take a few liberties, we might have gotten some memorable arias. As it stands, the opera STREETCAR is merely sung dialogue. What's the point, actually?

[BruceWayne5148]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 12:27pm

ooohhh that would make sense. it is pretty much word for word like the play which makes it extremely awkward.

[brooklynbecca]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 1:51pm

I remember seeing this on PBS once. I am so happy someone brought it up! I agree that it's completely lacking in melody, but somehow or other I remember exactly how the line "I'm looking for my sister Stella Dubois. I mean, Mrs. Stanley Kowolski." goes, and I sing it at awkward moments with friends, because it's so devoid of tune.

[cheezedoodle]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 2:19pm

Truly one of the most excrutiating evenings I have ever spent at the opera. However - SF made up for it with their production of Dead Man Walking...but I don't think that one is on dvd.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 3:12pm

I wish I could find this DVD/VHS somewhere. I'd love to watch it, but no where around me has it, and lord knows I don't want to pay for it.

[AC126748]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 3:24pm

Dollypop, I had the exact opposite reaction. I like the score quite a lot (Blanche's breakdown aria, "He was a boy when I was a very young girl...", is captivating and chilling) and found Fleming to be a perfectly unhinged Blanche. I didn't care for Gilfry at all; he's boring beyond belief and barely forceful. I have a feeling he was only cast because of his looks and his rock-solid chest. Anthony Dean Griffey is brilliant as Mitch.

Previn's conducting is superb. I'd recommend it.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 8/9/07 at 4:10pm

Rod Gilfrey proved he's more than a pretty face and an impressive physique when he did NEW MOON at Encores! a few years ago. What a voice! What a presence!