DVD: John Adams

Anybody can play the president, Paul Giamatti noted when he picked up an Emmy Award for his portrayal of the title character in the series John Adams. That observation gets one to thinking about the casting decisions reached for earlier presidential biopics -- quickly now, which presidents did Anthony Hopkins and Kenneth Branagh play? -- as well as how well or poorly our Founding Fathers and their successors would fare under the unforgiving glare of television. Can you imagine the mayhem?

And speaking of mayhem, I have been to the cinema and have now seen the trailer for Oliver Stone's W. Between that and Curtis Sittenfeld's roman a clef American Wife, it's shaping up to be some year for the Bush administration, artistically speaking.

For a more overtly patriotic activity, albeit one laced with harrowing historical details, do check out the DVD of the HBO series John Adams. Bibliophiles will appreciate that the inspiration for the program was David McCullough's best-selling biography. Sharp-eyed Virginians will recognize some of the filming locations. And everyone will enjoy the performances, particularly those from the film's trio of Emmy-winning actors: Tom Wilkinson as Benjamin Franklin, Laura Linney as Abigail Adams, and of course Giamatti as the second president.

For all its sumptuous period detail and soaring rhetoric, John Adams won't let you forget that the Founders were utterly human, or that they wrestled with issues that bedevil our country to this day.

And if the series is the story of a country, it's also the tale of a marriage -- an often long-distance marriage, politically and intellectually charged, but emotionally stirring. That too is contemporary enough, for all the passage of centuries.

Linney is, not surprisingly, magnificent as Abigail Adams, and her scenes are affecting as anything you'll see this year in film, TV, or theater. She joins fellow Emmy winner Eileen Atkins (Cranford, from my September 7th post) and an array of strong female performers -- Glenn Close's Sisterhood of the TV Drama Divas, if you will -- that give me hope, culturally speaking.

And now the answer to trivia question above: Hopkins played Richard Nixon in Oliver Stone's Nixon, and Branagh was Franklin Delano Roosevelt in HBO's Warm Springs.

May you have hope and resilience this week and always.

CD: Joshua Bell with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields: Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

Test your memory: Name every violinist you can think of who's made his or her own recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It's a long, healthy, and varied list: Sarah Chang, Fabio Biondi, Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, Gil Shaham. There was even a four-for-one effort on Deutsche Grammophon, featuring Itzhak Perlman -- who has also recorded his own album of the famous concerti -- along with colleagues Pinchas Zukerman, Shlomo Mintz, and Isaac Stern.

Can you believe that Joshua Bell is only now joining this particular fellowship of fiddlers?

Yes, Joshua Bell, American violinist, proud owner of a fabled Stradivarius, sometime Metro busker, and newly minted forty-something, has just released his own version of the Four Seasons.

If you don't associate Joshua Bell with the baroque repertoire, that's precisely as it should be. You're no doubt used to his interpretations of Tchaikovsky and Sibelius, or of American composers ranging from Gershwin to Corigliano. Perhaps you've got one of his crowd-pleasing compilation discs, or some of his crossover work with Edgar Meyer or Josh Groban. Maybe you are anticipating his Strathmore concert this coming winter, despite having absolutely no clue what the program will be. And all the arthouse movie fans reading this surely enjoy Bell's performances in film soundtracks (The Red Violin, Iris, Ladies in Lavender, and the upcoming Defiance).

That is not to say that this new all-baroque CD is somehow wrong-headed or ill-suited to a musician of Bell's talents, nor has he gone running off into the realm of period ensembles. This is an assertive recording, with Bell taking the conducting duties himself and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields doing yeoman's service.

We all know what a gorgeous tone Bell produces, what passion and energy he brings to his performances. Those qualities serve the material here well; the concerti remain appealing but also brisk and fresh. Listen for the movement when Bell chooses to take the tempo up a notch.

An added bonus on the disc is the Devil's Trill, from Tartini -- yes, more spark and fire from the baroque. It's all very much worth missing your train over.

DVD: Cranford



Oh, what fortuitous timing in the release of the DVD of Cranford, the wonderfully watchable, witty BBC miniseries adapted from several novels by Elizabeth Gaskell.

If you pick up a newspaper these days -- okay, open a website -- you'll encounter discussion of change, uncertainty, and anxiety about where we're going as a society. So you might ask why I'd be recommending tales from a charming 19th century English village with a distinctly feminine energy.

But Cranford depicts that very town in the midst of numerous societal shifts: medical advances, the arrival of mass transit, immigration, even the stirrings of feminism and other social reforms that will change things forever. Does that sound familiar?

Which is not to say that visiting Cranford is going to be a dull, didactic exercise, not in the least, even if the village is ruled by strict decorum. It's the sort of place where every last parishioner makes a mental note of your late arrival at church, and lovers convey their passion via a musical duet or a gift of fresh cherries, as well as in the more traditional ways.

But don't worry. No one can be good all of the time. There are also parties, festivals, quarrels, gossip, secret assignations, and touches of scandal as a year unfolds in the life of Cranford. There's the long-running conflict between Lady Ludlow (Francesca Annis) and her reform-minded estate manager, Mr. Carter (Philip Glenister). There's excitement aplenty when handsome young Dr. Harrison (Simon Woods) arrives to join the practice of the village physician, Dr. Morgan (John Bowe).

And I should also mention the Case of the Missing Cow.

"My sister does not care for the expression 'suck.'" Miss Matty Jenkyns

All this takes place under the watchful eyes of the women of Cranford, ably led by the formidable Deborah Jenkyns (Eileen Atkins), and her sweet sister, Miss Matty (Judi Dench), along with village gossip Miss Pole (Imelda Staunton, having an absolute field day) . In fact the series offers a number of juicy roles for women, not that the men have anything to complain about, and if you are any sort of a fan of British film and television, you'll recognize lots of faces.

"Father, I would sooner fight for his life than pray for his soul." Sophy Hutton

Bear in mind that this series is set in the 19th century, when an accident or illness could lay you up for weeks or send you to the churchyard. I'd warn the squeamish and tenderhearted to brace themselves for graphic and sometimes heartbreaking images in sickrooms and impromptu operating theaters.

"Speculation is the enemy of calm." Miss Deborah Jenkyns

I've got you worried already, haven't I, that Cranford is going to leave you clutching a box of tissues. But when it's not busy frightening you with Victorian medicine, there's a lot of humor, some of it sly, some of it surprisingly earthy. I can even promise you a sight gag.

You'll also be absorbed by the multiple love stories. Above all else, Cranford celebrates the pervasive, fluid, and unconfined nature of love, and it's not just about the handsome couple courting in a bluebell wood, though we have that as well. No, Cranford delves into the villagers' hidden lives, the unspoken alliances and acts of loyalty, generosity, and tenderness. Forget labels, forget appearances as the citizens of Cranford give fate a helping hand, for you never know where a friend, a mentor, a lover, or a matchmaker may be found.

"I'm afraid of neither change nor progress. I cannot afford to be!" Captain Brown.

Appropriately enough for the current season, there is a wonderful political generosity in the series, in that both the advocates of change and the keepers of tradition are given their due. The traditionalist doctor is as devoted to his patients as the young and innovative newcomer. And while both the progressive Mr. Carter and conservative Lady Ludlow prove adept at sly subversion, there's a decided core of altruism beneath their actions. I defy you to watch their stories unfold without shedding tears.

The set includes five episodes on two discs. Stick around for the featurette, The Making of Cranford, on disc two, to find out what the series has in common with Pulp Fiction, how the cast feels about going Victorian, and whether we've heard the last of Matty Jenkyns, Dr. Harrison, and all the rest.

I love this series, from the wistful theme music -- is it melancholy, gently comforting, or both? -- to the English countryside to the period details to the characters, every last gossipy one of them.

I hope you fall in love with it too.

CDs:

• Georg Solti/Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with Angela Gheorghiu and Frank Lopardo: Verdi: La Traviata


• Carlos Kleiber/Bayerisches Staatsorchester with Ileana Cotrubas and Placido Domingo: Verdi: La Traviata

Back in the days before surtitles, when the thing to do before the matinee was take out Mom's LP and acquaint yourself with the material, I went to see my first opera at the Met, and it wasn't Amahl and the Night Visitors or The Magic Flute or anything else the culture police might have recommended for an 11-year-old. No, the work that afternoon was La Traviata, Verdi's heart-wrenching account of La Dame aux Camelias (i.e., Camille). I can't remember how much I understood about this tale of self-sacrifice or just what it was the lovely but ailing Violetta Valery (soprano) was doing with her life. But of course "Libiamo ne'lieti calici" from the first act caught my ear, and that was that.

Nowadays I get my opera fixes through WETA FM, CDs, YouTube, Classic Arts Showcase, and of course those happy discoveries on PBS's Great Performances. But I should also note that it is time again for the Washington National Opera season, and here comes their very first selection.

Yes, Violetta's back in town to break Alfredo's heart, or her own, or perhaps yours.

But if their love story is to remain with you forever, aside from memories of past performances, which recording(s) should you choose? Well, for all that it's a heartbreaking opera, you have some happy options.

Of the complete versions available, my preference is for the Deutsche Grammophon recording with Ileana Cotrubas as Violetta, Placido Domingo as Alfredo, and Sherrill Milnes as the elder Germont. It's an extremely moving performance, and Cotrubas in particular is quite emotionally affecting.

Domingo sounds very dashing here, and as usual I find that voice, with its darker hues, irresistible.

With such pleasing leads, it's good to report that the conductor and orchestra are an added delight. There's no room for slacking off with Kleiber and the BSO. Their commitment is total in a performance of energy, power, and excitement.

You'll also find a great sense of drama in the London recording of a live version of La Traviata conducted by Solti and featuring Angela Gheorghiu. This was an early triumph for the young Romanian soprano, an indication of her vocal and dramatic range, and she makes a remarkable Violetta. She's pleasingly teamed with Frank Lopardo, as Alfredo, and our old friend Leo Nucci, as Germont. And I must make mention of the Chorus of the Royal Opera House, which seems to be having serious fun.

Now there are those of you who may wonder how it is that I wound up featuring two Romanian sopranos in one blog entry. Better you should ask why Romanian sopranos are so good at portraying Violetta Valery.

But if you are determined to branch out, I can report we do have that late '70s Sutherland-Pavarotti recording of La Traviata, with -- who else? -- Richard Bonynge conducting. Sutherland is quite poignant, Pavarotti sounds convincingly ardent, and Matteo Manuguerra is a courtly, mellow Germont.

Sweet dreams, Violetta.