Massenet - Thais (Metropolitan Opera)

From the Editors

Renée Fleming triumphs as the glamorous courtesan Thaïs in Massenet's romantic tragedy set in fourth century Alexandria and the Egyptian desert. The timeless struggle between earthly desire and spiritual redemption finally destroys the resolve of the monk Athanaël (Thomas Hampson), just as the newly penitent Thaïs ascends heavenward. BONUS FEATURE: Interviews by Plácido Domingo
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Customer Response

Story a little too heavy for me
Not my kind of story. The entire cast is excellent, but the opera is not to my liking.

Thais - a not well known opera
I guess if I ask ten random people on street about if they know this opera, there would be 9.5 people said no. In fact, only the solo violin melody made to the 'popular' classical circles.

For modern audiences, the first two acts are perhaps a little too heavy on its religious point of aspect. But the third acts is the real drama and it is interesting. Otherwise, it would become a opera written by 'Handel' if you cut the third acts.

The music is fascinating and the orchestra played very well. The concertmaster who played the famous tune are very solid and confident. Though, I wish he could not be too 'strong' in tone quality at the beginning, to fits the scenario of 'meditation'. But ain't we all sometimes trying so hard to impress the audience and forget about what was the truth within the music? Don't give me wrong, it was a beautiful playing.

Ms Fleming was obviously a star. She was very confident (just like all the superstars and celebrities) and secure in her voice. Let's have a small talk ;) I think she had something inject into her face, especially on her forehead, almost look like Nicole Kidman. I noticed this immediately when I watched the bonus video. Well, ain't all the stars are dying to keep young?

The costumes are fabulous which I imagine turns on desires of all the divas on the market.

Good show.

Amazing
This role could have been written for Fleming, it is an absolutely perfect fit vocally, and it doesn't hurt that she looks gorgeous in this production. I have always enjoyed Thais for its musical exociticism, but I had never seen it on stage before, and I was not sure that I wanted to. It is not one of the great operas, but this production shows the opera can hold the stage very well indeed. The simple sets and the mixed period work well--except for a rather silly staging for the final scene, but that can be forgiven. Hampson makes a convincingly conflicted monk. One of the problems of the opera is that it doesn't explain the motivations of the characters very well. It helps to read the original book--although the opera does not follow the book very closely, you do begin to understand some things, such as why Thais was so quick to convert to Christianity. However, this production does sucessfully hint at some of the motivations behind the action. So far this and Eugene Onegin have been my favorite Met HD productions.

World Class Opera
It just doesn't get better than this..I have seen this opera many times since 1941 and this is the best of all..Renee is the soprano of the last century and probably this one too..

Warmed Over Repertory
What a difference seven years make. When I saw this production in Chicago with Fleming and Hampson, I was impressed by both singers. The opera is a clunker but when the production was fresh, the opera came off as believable and sounded gorgeous. Revisiting their roles together seven years later was a bad idea. She sounds vocally stretched and the beautiful tone is thick and leaden. She's never been a great actress and this performance accentuates that short coming. Why she doesn't embrace the music of Mozart or Strauss exclusively is a mystery to me. Hampson's voice sounds dry and the old fashioned silent movie acting renders the plot unbelievable and ridiculous.

The production is a complete bore and lacks any freshness it had in Chicago. There are several other HD transmission from the Met that would have been more satisfying in a DVD format. The hit productions of "Barber of Seville" and "Madama Butterfly" would have been choices. Of course this release is star driven but that's not always the best reason to buy a copy of a performance. Certainly this DVD is a perfect example. I gave it one star only because Amazon requires a rating. The one star is for Massenet alone.

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