January '22 Digital Week I

Blu-ray Releases of the Week 

The Many Saints of Newark 

(Warner Bros)

Lambasted by reviewers and ignored by theater audiences—although it was by all accounts a streaming success on HBO Max—Alan Taylor’s Sopranos prequel chronicles the origins of Tony Soprano in a convoluted plot that tries too hard to be social commentary (it’s set partly during the 1967 riots in Newark) as well as a straightforward story of how Tony Soprano became Tony Soprano. It’s certainly arresting to look at—and excessively violent, of course—and well-acted by Alessandro Nivola, Ray Liotta, Vera Farmiga and Michela De Rossi, although Michael Gandolfini, who plays young Tony, is a bit stiff in the role his father made famous. There’s a first-rate hi-def transfer; extras comprise two featurettes and deleted scenes.

The Vampire Lovers 

(Shout/Scream Factory)

Based on the oft-adapted novel Camilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, this 1971 flick is in many ways the quintessential Hammer Horror film, with no less than Peter Cushing starring alongside Ingrid Pitt, who plays a lesbian vampire who seduces willing young women (played by Madeline Smith, Kate O’Mara and Pippa Steel). Director Roy Ward Baker conjures an eerie atmosphere in this  fine, even distinguished “undead” entry. The film looks great on Blu-ray, while extras include three audio commentaries; audio essay on Carmilla read by Smith; Smith introduction and interview; interviews with film historians Kim Newman and Jonathan Rigby; featurette Feminine Fantastique–Resurrecting ‘The Vampire Lovers’; Pitt reads Carmilla; deleted opening segment; and featurette “New Blood: Hammer Enters The ’70s.”

Zaza 

Rusalka 

(Unitel)

These early 20th century operas were big hits after their premieres, but only one has remained in the repertory in the 100-plus years since. Italian Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Zaza has pretty much disappeared, but as this beautifully sung 2020 Vienna production shows, it has enough romance, drama and memorable melodies to score; Svetlana Askenova is wonderful in the title role. Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s greatest stage work, Rusalka, is adored for its lustrous music, especially “Song of the Moon,” sung luminously by soprano Asmik Grigorian, who, along with a superb supporting cast and orchestra, nearly makes one forget the silly staging by director Christof Loy. Both operas have superior hi-def video and audio.

DVD Release of the Week

Dvořák’s Prophecy—A New Narrative for American Classical Music 

(Naxos)

This fascinating series of films by music scholar Joseph Horowitz uses Czech composer Antonin Dvořák (see above review of his opera Rusalka) as a jumping-off point for an exploration of several avenues of American music, beginning with Dvořák’s own wondrous Ninth Symphony, which was built on themes from various American musical strains. The other films delve into music as varied as iconoclast Charles Ives, film composer Bernard Herrmann, and mainstream master Aaron Copland. Alternating his own analysis with commentary from other eminent music figures like writer Alex Ross and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra conductor JoAnn Falletta, Horowitz’ series is often illuminating and always entertaining.

CD Release of the Week 

Lord Berners—A Wedding Bouquet 

(Naxos)

British composer Lord Berners (1883-1950), who wrote music that was the last word in stylishness and wit, created several dazzling ballet scores—like The Triumph of Neptune, a sophisticated work that was released on Naxos last summer—but A Wedding Bouquet may be his most audacious, especially as heard in this thrilling 1996 recording by the RTE Sinfonietta and Chamber Choir under conductor Kenneth Alwyn. Set to a typically dense text by Gertrude Stein and originally choreographed by Frederick Ashton in 1936, Bouquet is Berners at his considerable best. As a bonus, another fresh, tuneful Berners ballet, Luna Park, makes this an enticing, must-have disc, whether or not you’re already on the composer’s charming wavelength.