This Glyndebourne production of Pique Dame ("The Queen of Spades") received rave reviews when it appeared in 1992 due to its claustrophobic intensity and powerful acting, and these qualities help it to transfer to DVD with great success. Graham Vick's direction ensures that the story is told clearly and simply but includes a wealth of telling details: the pastoral scene from Act 2, for example, uses the boys from the opening chorus as comical sheep and the effect is enchanting. But there are much darker undertones too: Richard Hudson's slanting, angular designs produce a disorientating atmosphere which mirrors Herman's increasing mental deterioration with uncanny precision. There is a brilliant stroke of visual assonance when the Countess returns to haunt Herman and all the furniture from her death scene appears on the roof. The singing is generally good, though Yuri Marusin's voice may not be to everyone's taste; sometimes he sounds like he's shouting, and his frequent lack of vibrato produces a piercing, uncomfortable effect. Nancy Gustafson is a fine Lisa, however, and Dimitri Kharitonov (Yeletsky) is heartbreaking in the famous "Ya vas lyublyu" ("I love you") aria. For overall better singing but a more plodding production, try the 1992 Kirov recording, but for spine-tingling drama this is the one to go for. On the DVD: Pique Dame on disc has subtitles in English, German, French and Spanish. The camerawork captures the odd angularity of the designs and gives an excellent account of a fast-paced, powerful production.--Warwick Thomson
In Pride Grand Prix 2004 the world's best heavyweight fighters gathered in Japan for this exclusive elimination tournament which was held over three shows. With sixteen heavyweights participating this was definitely a tournament of epic proportions! But who would take home the championship belt? This boxset contains all the fights from Total Elimination Critical Countdown and Final Conflict 2004.
The Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo Japan played host to the 29th edition of the Pride Fighting Championships on February 20 2005. Bout List: 1. Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic vs. Mark Coleman 2. Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson vs. Murilo 'Ninja' Rua 3. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Alistair Overeem 4. Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Aliev Makhmud 5. Sergei Kharitonov vs. Mu Bae Choi 6. Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Stefan Leko 7. Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Yoshiki Takahashi 8. Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara 9. Fabricio Werdum vs. Tom Erikson 10. Mario Sperry vs. Hirotaka Yokoi
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