Les Troyens

Hector Berlioz's monumental five-act lyric tragedy based on Virgil's Aeneid, composed in 1856-58 but not performed in full form until 1890, depicts the fall of Troy to the Greek forces and refugee Aeneas' dalliance with Queen Dido at Carthage before a divine injunction compels him to abandon her and sail to Italy, where his descendants would eventually found Rome. While there have been two previous DVD issues—the most recent a Salzburg Festival performance conducted by Sylvain Cambreling (see VL-7/03)—this 2003 production, mounted at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in connection with the 200th anniversary of Berlioz's birth, is superlative in every respect. Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts with passion and precision, ever sensitive to the score's varied moods, and his original-instrument band is wonderfully clear and incisive. The staging by Yannis Kokkos is elegant, with a large reflective screen to the rear of the stage that not only allows images to be projected but also offers the illusion of expanded space in crowd scenes while still preserving intimacy for solos and duets. The leads—Susan Graham (Dido), Gregory Kunde (Aeneas), and Anna Caterina Antonacci (Cassandra)—are uniformly superb, with the supporting roles equally well sung, and the prominent chorus simply wonderful. Video director Peter Maniura has done the performance proud with his unfussy, careful camerawork, and the sound—with DTS 5.1 and LCPM stereo options—is thrillingly real. Some might find the modern costumes off-putting, and others may object to Gardiner's decision to use a truncated version of an earlier, quieter conclusion to the last scene which omits Dido's dying recognition of Rome's coming glory—but those are minor complaints about a staggeringly fine achievement, not only the best Les Troyens on DVD but one of the best of all opera DVDs, period. DVD extras include an hour-long documentary in which the conductor, director, and singers discuss the work. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)