Video reviews.(Video recording review)

This semiannual column presents reviews of significant video releases of interest to the field of music and to music libraries, as well as occasionally briefly noting other interesting titles. All genres of music in all video formats will be covered, with a preference given to those in DVD. All Web sites accessed 23 May 2008.

Jean-Philippe Rameau. Zoroastre. DVD. Christophe Rousset/ Orchestra and Chorus of the Drottningholm Theater. With Anders J. Dahlin, Evgueniy Alexiev, Sine Bundgaard, Anna Maria Panzarella. Heathfield, United Kingdom: Opus Arte, 2007, 2006. OA 0973 D. $45.98.

Francois-Andre Danican Philidor. Tom Jones. DVD. Jean-Claude Malgoire/Le Sinfonietta de Lausanne. With Sebastien Droy, Sophie Marin-Degor, Marc Barrard, Sibyl Zanganelli. Genoa, Italy: Dynamic, 2007, 2006. 33509. $33.98.

Paris in the mid-eighteenth century was torn apart by a great artistic debate over the relative merits of Italian versus French opera. Known as the querelle des bouffons, it Started when a touring Italian opera company introduced the French intelligentsia to the operas of Pergolesi, specifically his intermezzo La serve padrona. Much simpler and much more tuneful than the tragedie lyrique style of Rameau favored by the ancien regime, these new operas were championed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other figures of the Enlightenment as the future of opera. French operas in the new style began to emerge under the moniker of comedie melee d'ariettes, soon to be known as opera-comique.

We are fortunate to have two recent DVD releases of operas which represent both sides of the argument. Rameau's Zoroastre is a relatively late work and represents the composer at his finest. The libretto purports to be about the ancient Persian religious leader, also known as Zarathushtra or Sarastro, but like the latter in Mozart's Die Zauberflote, it uses him as the key figure in a battle of Light against Darkness. This production was staged at the Drottningholm palace theater in Sweden, which opened in 1766, ten years after the premiere of the final revision Rameau made of this score (used here), and which is one of the few theaters in the world with working stage machinery and scenery from that time. The costume designs are based on clothing from the period, and while the naturalistic acting style and martial arts-inspired choreography are firmly rooted in the twentieth century, the effect is as close to " authentic" as we are likely to see. The cast features no star names, but it is well versed in the unique stylistic demands of tragedie lyrique, with special mention going to Anna Maria Panzarella in the Medea-like role of Erenice, and is given expert support from Christophe Rousset and his Les Talens Lyriques ensemble. The two-disc DVD set includes many subtitle options, a choice of stereo or DTS Surround sound, and a short documentary about the work, including many fascinating shots of the 200-year old stage machinery in action and some comments from the artistic team behind this production.

Philidor was one of the most profilic and celebrated of the composers in the new Italian style, and his operatic version of Henry Fielding's Tom Jones, written a mere sixteen years after the novel was published, is considered one of his best. It is light years removed from the formal declamatory musical language of Rameau, and nearly half of the work is in spoken dialogue. The musical numbers are mostly simple, strophic ariettes, although the heroine Sophie has a full-fledged recitative and aria in the last act which could have been written by Haydn. Other than conductor Malgoire, there are no big star names here either, but all acquit themselves admirably in both music and dialogue, and the performance is highly satisfactory. Like the Rameau, this production uses eighteenth-century design as a point of departure, but the effect here is more colorfully cartoonish, with many anachronistic touches thrown in for comic effect: hardhats are worn on the construction site of the Squire Western's new home, where the women have forsaken their skirts in favor of trousers under their bodies and panniers; Western's hunting companions sport military camouflage; Tom Jones himself, looking like a romance novel cover model, appears in what seem to be cowboy buckskins; and the country inn in the final scene is identified by a neon motel sign. For all that, these comic touches are not intrusive, and actually do more to help us imagine what such an opera was like for audiences at the time. As is usual with DVD releases from the Dynamic label, there are no extras and the visual quality is acceptable if not state of the art, but any shortcomings are diminished by the chance to see such a work staged. Both DVDs are highly recommended for anyone with an interest in this period or wanting to see rare repertoire handled with skill and taste.

JOHN HOLLAND