Schoenberg;Arnold Moses Und Ar

On the music performance: This is a sweeping performance. The conductor Daniele Gatti is well versed in verismo, and it shows. The orchestra of Wiener Staatsoper is most responsive to the demanding score. Both Grundheber as Moses and Moser as Aron seize every possibility for lyrical expression. The double choruses carry out the mission impossible by singing almost all notes in pitch. (If you have ever sung a 12-tone music, then you'd understand what I mean.) Overall, it is quite satisfying.

There are only minor reservations I have on the musical performance. The orchestral playing emphasizes the emotional sweep rather than the clarity of the polyphony linear structure. It's therefore not as easy to hear every note as in Pierre Boulez's CD set, a much cooler (and leaner) performance with razor-sharp precision. Thomas Moser's Aron is quite good, but there are more than one passage where his voice shows strain.

On the stage production: If you are reading this, you probably already know that Schoenberg's stage directions are absurdly unrealizable. (And the late composer admitted as such!) For example, the biblical miracles are to be performed on stage, so are the Four Naked Virgins copulating with the Golden Calf. The stage director Nickler takes a practical approach. TV monitors show the miracles in the first act, while presenting a backdrop for the Orgy Scene from the second act. The Golden Calf is presented as 3 Golden Words "ICH BIN GOTT" (I am God.)

Personally, I like the production of the first act, but find the second act not as satisfactory. The "consumer materialism" presentation did not capture my imagination too well, and it seems to depart from Schoenberg's stage direction a little too far for my taste.

There is a bonus pre-performance interview for about 24 minutes in Disc 2, which is recommended to watch PRIOR to the performance.

Overall, I don't think this will be a landmark performance. It is, however, a worthy production of an important masterpiece.

Update: There are now 2 new DVDs available of this opera: Ruhrtriennale 2009 production and Straub and Huillet's 1973 film.

Arnold Schoenberg composed Moses und Aron when he was at the most high compositional maturity . He began a new compositional technique more than ten years before . And really I think that this opera is one of the principal works he composed and the most fascinating dodecaphonic music. Moses und Aron is in the top of the operas of the twentieth century, with Pelleas et Melisande by Debussy, the last operas of Janácek ,Salomé and Elektra by Strauss and Woozeck and Lulu by Berg. I believe that the time of Moses und Aron arrived, and the first DVD of this magnificent score must be commemorate .Fortunately the performance recorded here is very good. I hoped that the versions of the Metropolitan opera from New York and the production of the Amsterdam opera could be the first DVD of this opera . But the surprise is that this version is by far superior: like Georg Solti, the conductor here is not one specialist of Schoenberg, and this gave more impact in the dramatic sense .I believe that Boulez , in his two recordings , made one mistake conducting this opera without drama. Gatti make this opera sound with all we can expect from one dramatic music.
Grundheber ,that was a fantastic Wozzeck with Abbado , is superb here. Thomas Moser sings Aron like a beautiful music. Thomas Moser is comparable with Langridge ,one interpreter fantastic in the famous recording conducted by Solti . The orchestra, the two chorus and all the soloists play this music with the same fluidity of Mozart , Brahms and Mahler. The mise en scene is too very good . The costumes , the sets and the scenic idea work very well. I'm very happy with this DVD. Finally we can see this opera and hear the music played with a masterful performance .

This was an amazing production of Schönberg's masterpiece Moses und Aron. During the first act the color scheme of the stage is black with the word "ich" written all over in white chalk. During the second act gold dominates the stage. Everyone is wearing gold and a huge television screen shows pictures of bullfighting and surgery to go along with the ballets. The second act was really strange but cool! I do wish though that they would show more of the orchestra and the conductor. Great production of the best opera ever!

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 7 reviews  4.0 out of 5 stars