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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