Are Opera DVD’s Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Anthony Tomnasini views the flood of new opera DVD’s with alarm. “With the DVD boom, will the labels start issuing operas based primarily on the production’s visual elements? The market is already flooded with routine musical performances of well-known works that just happened to have been taped for DVD. Also, as dramatic as opera may be, it’s refreshing to hear just the music on a fine recording without the powerful distraction, in a sense, of a production. There are recordings that I never tire of because the visceral impact of the music-making allows my dramatic imagination such fancy. But I do tire of seeing the same sets and costumes, the same camera angles, the same close-ups.”