Hamlet suspects his uncle has murdered his father to claim the throne of Denmark and the hand of Hamlet's mother, but the prince cannot decide whether or not he should take vengeance.
Director: Toni Bargalló
Conductor: Bertrand de Billy
Stars: Simon Keenlyside, Natalie Dessay, Béatrice Uria-Monzon, Alain Vernhes, Daniil Shtoda.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1512840/
Premiere 1868
Place: Denmark at Elsinore Castle.
Time: ?
Filmed at Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona
I know the 2 principals now from my time at Met on Demand, and they're both very good and well-suited for the roles.
The set is stark and mostly bare. The costumes post-date Shakespeare's time, and seem inconsistent between men and women: large skirts kept wide by some system, while at least one man wore a fedora. But it's not very distracting.
Lots of stage blood used. Not sure where Ophelie's came from. Dessay does "mad" well.
The ghost was obvious from the makeup/"costume" (mostly a sheet wrapped loosely).
When I want to really study this opera, I suspect this is a good performance to have. On IMDb, 6 people give it 9.7 average. Can't imagine my appreciation ever getting that high.
LiceuOpera, cond. de Billy; 8
