MovieChat Forums > Plays > Opera Adapted to the Screen

Opera Adapted to the Screen

posted 15 years ago by scharnbergmax-se
2 replies | jump to latest

We all know that it is very difficult to transform an opera into a movie. But I shall not now discuss the general problems.

"The Rose Cavalier" by Richard Straus was adapted for the screen (or actually first for TV). This version was conducted by Herbert von Karajan, and directed by Hugo Käch.

Now, in the printed leaflet it was stated that the director had invented A NEW METHOD for transforming opera to movies - a method that was supposed to avoid such movies from being boring.

I watched this movie very carefully. But I could not perceive any unusual or innovation techniques. At most I think that the orchestra was playing less loud in comparison with the singers, than what will happen in live performances. But since much of the beauty is in the orchestration, I thought that, if anything, the opera was made MORE boring.

But perhaps something very different was Käch's new method?

Anyone who can explain this to me?

[–] sean1234 15 years ago

I don't understand how film would be as good as seeing it live. It is an art that was written to be performed live for hundreds of years. Thats the magic of it. I'll be interested to see if anyone comes out with a really good film adaptation. Maybe someone will figure it out.

A homosexual with power... that's scary.

[–] Aulic Exclusiva 15 years ago

The famous film of Der Rosenkavalier involving Herbert von Karajan was the 1962 classic directed by Paul Czinner. I wonder if you've seen that one. It has Elizabeth Schwarzkopf as the Feldmarschallin.

Opera films are boring because there is no stage tension on the singing. As the screen has more and more effect on how opera is staged, that fundamental fact is ignored: opera theatre is essentially different from television and films.

...his aptitude did not come up to my desire