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C MAJOR | 2009 | 89 min | Unrated | Sep 28, 2010
Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audio
Polish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Polish: LPCM 2.0
Polish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Polish: LPCM 2.0 (less)
Subtitles
English, French, Spanish, German, Polish English, French, Spanish, German, Polish (less)
Discs
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
(2009)
Music
Karol Szymanowski's masterpiece, from 1926, is slowly becoming recognized as one of the 20th century's finest operas.
For more details about Szymanovski: King Roger on Blu-ray, see the Szymanovski: King Roger Blu-ray Review
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, September 25, 2010
Anyone who has spent anytime along the largest city that hugs the Willamette River in the Pacific Northwest has probably seen the ubiquitous bumper sticker which reads "Keep Portland weird." This countercultural haven's iconoclastic tendencies don't just bubble up from the unwashed masses, they've actually penetrated up to its ostensible head, or at least did once. Years ago, Portland's then-Mayor Bud Clark, who had become famous with a somewhat provocative poster showing a flasher baring all to a statue, under which was proclaimed "Expose Yourself to Art!", made headlines again when during a campaign he described himself as a "born again pagan." As revolutionary as that phrase may have sounded, it's actually a fair summation of the gist of Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's infrequently performed early 20th century opera, King Roger. Szymanowski's achievement is all the more notable in that it doesn't really shirk from suggesting a certain anti-Christian, or at least anti-ecclesiastical, philosophy, positing the "simple rustic" pantheism of the opera's Shepherd as the antidote to the dead formalism of the Church. Anyone who's sat through too many Masses may well be inclined to agree, at least in "spirit" if not in actual fundamental beliefs.
Will King Roger, defender of the "official" state religion, give in to the mystic charms of the Shepherd?
It's interesting and perhaps instructive to contrast Szymanowski with another composer whom he often resembles, both musically and perhaps more importantly from a mystical standpoint, the Russian synesthesist, Alexander Scriabin. Scriabin was a sort of proto-hippie, indulging in fantasies of colored lightshows accompanying his massive, and frankly hallucinogenic sounding, orchestral works. Scriabin delighted in exploiting that most troublesome of intervals, the so called diablo de musica, the tritone, otherwise known as the augmented fourth or diminished fifth. This odd-sounding interval, redolent of European sirens, is usually cloaked within that most traditional of classical harmonies, the dominant seventh, where it is the distance between the third and seventh (or vice versa). This interval, which splits the octave neatly, if discordantly, in half, became the foundation for Scriabin's massive orchestral achievements, but perhaps more importantly, it seemed to signify his quest for an ineffable Divine, something he thought could ultimately be reached by a multimedia combination of all the Arts. If Szymanowski isn't quite that ambitious, there's still that same yearning quality to his music, an ancient cry to (to use a traditionalist church term) the Immortal Invisible.
Szymanowski based his title character on an actual Sicilian King, Roger II (1095-1154), who managed to simultaneously bridge and alienate the Eastern and Western worlds, with their attendant religions, working with a Muslim counselor while ultimately taking Pope Innocent captive until the Pope acknowledged his Kingship. Szymanowski doesn't get into these intrigues specifically; instead he paints a portrait of an "official" state religion coming smack up against a mysterious prophet. Szymanowski split his opera into three acts, each with their own religious and sociopolitical referents. Act I is Byzantine in nature, and offers some extremely evocative, more or less diatonic, choral music which aptly recreates a church setting. Act II moves to the royal palace and invokes a kind of Orientalism which some might associate more with the Russian composers of the late 19th century (Szymanowski, despite being of Polish heritage, actually grew up in the Ukraine). The third act harkens back to ancient Greece, though in this act Szymanowski chooses not to ape musically. While in "traditional" productions of King Roger (as few and far between as they actually have been) tend to feature a Greek amphitheater in only the third act, here director David Pountney stages the entire opera on and around the steps of one, letting some evocative lighting cues (including within the steps of the amphitheater itself) denote different places. It brings a ritualistic character to the opera which is perfectly in tune with King Roger.
This is a wonderfully spare and often extremely moving production, with a mostly superb cast offering both dramatic and musical excellence. Scott Hendricks' commanding baritone as King Roger anchors the opera in appropriate gravitas and spiritual questioning. Roger's wife Roxana is handled quite capably by soprano Olga Pasichnyk, who is able to stride Szymanowski's often huge intervallic leaps with ease. Will Hartmann's soaring tenor as the Shepherd is febrile and ecstatic. Only Sorin Coliban's Archbishop, plagued by some slightly muddy placement, didn't offer consistent clarity. The rest of the ensemble, as well as the sterling work of the Vienna Symphony under the direction of Sir Mark Eder, makes the most of Szymanowski's often striking writing, which, in its brass flourishes and massed discordant moments prefigures people like Edgard Var?se and even Roger Sessions.
For some reason King Roger, despite its monumental stature among cognoscenti and musicologists, has failed to establish itself as part of the repertory of frequently performed operas. That seems especially strange nowadays with the opera's emphasis on the meaning of religious faith and the "knowability" of the Divine. This is a passionate piece amply depicting the perhaps unanswerable questing of the spirit, and it deserves to be better known and more appreciated. Hopefully this new Blu-ray will help aid in that effort.
King Roger looks mostly stunning on this new Blu-ray, with a sharp and very colorful AVC encoded image in 1080i and a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. This extremely striking physical production takes place almost entirely on a set of amphitheater stairs, which over the course of the opera are imbued with a variety of really interesting lighting effects. Blues and reds pop off the screen with excellent vibrancy. Unfortunately due to some very dark stage lighting, things just approaching blooming a time or two, without ever actually tipping over into bleed-through. Contrast is generally excellent, though again at times during the darker sequences, I wish there had been just a tad more differentiation between lights and darks. On the whole, though, this is a very crisp and sharp looking Blu-ray, which excels in the close-ups, where the Shepherd's gold-gilt skin coloring sparkles enticingly. The final scene, which is blood drenched in an orgy of ritual sacrifice, offers some astoundingly well saturated reds.
Szymanowski's towering achievement receives both a solid interpretation as well as a robust recording on this Blu-ray, which offers two lossless options, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix and an LPCM 2.0 stereo fold down. While this is not an overtly directional recording, there is some nice use of surrounds, specifically with regard to Roger's "muse" Edrisi, whose evocative calls drift in from side channels. The orchestra is nicely placed here, offering excellent separation which help to delineate individual tones in Szymanowski's often dense orchestration. The choral work of the ensemble also sounds fantastic here, especially in the Act I chorales, which contain some nice ambient hall reverb ably recreating a large church feel. Fidelity is excellent throughout, and for the most part balance is exceptional. There were one or two times when I wished individual singers had been mixed just a little stronger against orchestral masses, but considering the complexity of this piece, there's really an amazing clarity that shines through the vast bulk of this presentation.
There are no supplements offered on the Blu-ray disc. The insert booklet has a short, though informative, essay.
King Roger is a fascinating and worthwhile enterprise from virtually every standpoint: musically, dramatically and philosophically. This bracing production hopefully will help elevate this underappreciated piece in opera lovers' conciousnesses, and it comes very highly recommended.
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