Editorial Review

In English-speaking countries, we tend to look at Verdi'sRead more

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Reviews (8)

Sinopoli is a magician!
Giuseppe Sinopoli's untimely death was a great loss to the music world. A tremendous, sensitive interpreter of Italian opera, this video DVD is a valuable document of his art and should be so treasured. We are fortunate that it shows a great deal of his conducting, his careful attention to detail, emotional involvement and communicating power. Notice for example the finale of the first act, the breathtaking `a capella' ensemble with the heartbeat- liketympani accompaniment later joined by the orchestra with a beautiful melody that seems to descend straight from heaven.
Union of Verdi and Shakespeare proves fruitful
Verdi's 'Macbeth' premiered in Florence's Teatro della Pergola in 1847 is the first of his operas to show his genius n full flight. even the musically less satisfying original version stands head and shoulders above the previous operas and had Verdi only lived the same lifespan as Mozart it would have gone down to posterity as his masterpiece. The deutsche Oper Berlin does justice not only to Verdi but to Shakespeare. In Florence the composer urged the singers to 'better serve the Maestro's poet@ i.e Shakespeare, an injunctioned the present cast have followed to the letter. Renato Bruson and Mara Zampieri portray a guilty couple haunted by the consequences of their actions and darken their tone accordingly.Zampieri in particular invites comparison with Shakespearean actresses in the role rather than her soprano colleagues (compliment intended) and in terms of vocal colouring far outshines the grossly overrated and (in this role) pedestrian Maria Callas. Only Shirley Verrett in the DG CD recording of the opera and Josephine Barstow on the Glyndebourne DVD comes within a roar of her in this role. Renato Bruson as her consort sings and acts magnificently. Only Capuccilli on the DG CD proves any sort of a rival. Dennis O' Neill and James Morris as Macduff and Banco prove far more than mere comprimari and make one wish their roles were more substantial. The chorus is equal to the herculean task allotted it by Verdi and the staging is solid if old fashioned. The late Giuseppe Sinopoli finds new things to say about the score. All in all, this is a 'Macbeth' worthy of both Verdi and Shakespeare.

Buy another version!
This is a very boring version of 'Macbeth'. Only Renato Bruson sings really well. Mara Zampieri is a good actress, but her voice wasn't in her best day. Neill Schicoff is really horrible here and James Morris isn't very well too.Read more

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Editorial Review

Like the finest of film scores with its fluid beauty and succession of intensely romantic tunes, Puccini's opera Read more

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Reviews (41)

A Fitfully Effective Attempt to Cinematize the Classic, Familiar Puccini Opera
Filming an opera, especially one as globally well known as Puccini's, is a daunting challenge because so much of what has been composed and dramatized has been designed specifically for the stage of an opera hall. On one end, there have been superb video recordings of great stage performances, such as the 2005 Salzburg Festival production of Verdi's "La Traviata" with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón. On the other end are adaptations that try to cinematize operas with real locations, though most often with some deficiencies, for example, Barbara Willis Sweete's 2002 production of Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" with Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu frankly too old to play the young lovers. In the latter camp, this 1995 French-financed film shows director Frédéric Mitterand making a valid attempt toward authenticity, but he misses a key opportunity to open up the visual and sensory possibilities beyond the obvious. Despite the creative use of Tunisian locations to replicate early 1900's Japan, the result still feels oddly stage-bound and dramatically inert despite some bravura musical moments.
Beautiful
This is a movie version of the opera, performed on a set on location, rather on a stage. It has a few quirks, as other reviewers have noted, but it is beautifully cast, beautifully acted, and beautifully performed. It is refreshing to see Asian singers cast in the Asian roles, even a Eurasian boy! It is also technically superb, in widescreen and with great sound. Overall, a gorgeous production.

A mediocre performance of an excellent opera
First, you should realize that this is not Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly. It is, as the titles say, a Mitterrand movie based on the Puccini opera. Unfortunately, the opera is much better than the movie.
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Editorial Review

This powerful production originated on the stage of the GlyndebourneFestival. It was restaged and filmed on location for the BBC telecast preservedin this video recording. Director Trevor Nunn takes full advantage of therealism, fluidity of movement, and precision of small details that are difficultto achieve when televising a staged performance but easy and natural in a movietreatment.Read more

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Reviews (113)

Preminger's version is NOT the "original"!
Several other users have said everything I'm going to, but their opinions may get lost amongst the overwhelming majority of comments lamenting the unavailability of the 1959 film version of "Porgy & Bess".Let's just get some of the basic facts straight again.
Buy it!
The large number of reviews of this DVD, with overwhelmingly positive ratings, should in itself be enough to inspire you click "buy now".I held back one star due to what I consider to be an inexcusable flaw, but I still highly recommend it.
Comparison
Although this operatic version of Porgy and Bess is excellent, I really preferred the film version. ... Read more

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Reviews (2)

A very "down to earth" superstar
This movie tells the story of a humble, honest and unassuming man with tremendous success around the world. It is actually an interview with Carreras where we are shown clips from his adventurous life; clips from opera performances as well as concerts and recitals, all the way from the very start and up till the point where this video was made - around 1992.
A great voice as well as a great man
I have been an admirer of Jose Carreras for many years and this is a wonderful portrait of the master's life and art. It covers the early triumphs at Covent Garden and the New York City Opera to his struggle withLeukemia and to the courageous comeback concerts in Barcelona andSaltzburg. I recommend this video to any aspiring singer, music lover andadmirer of Mr Carreras. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classical    2. Documentary    3. Opera / Operetta / Oratorio   

Editorial Review

After an overture played on baroque period instruments, this operaabout the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire opens witha televised press conference by the business-suited Roman governorof Antioch. This paradox epitomizes a bold and spectacularlysuccessful interpretation that merges modern visuals with18th-century music performed in period style. Read more

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Reviews (21)

The late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
I have nothing to add to the reviews of those who have found this a superlative, moving 'gesamtkunstwerk'.All four soloists are excellent, as is the orchestra and dramatic interpretation of what is, after all, an oratorio.
Brilliant singing and playing, idiotic direction
The singers and orchestra in this production are absolutely first-rate. I can't imagine a more brilliant cast, and Richard Croft and Lorraine Hunt are particulary fine.But once again Peter Sellars is so far over his head that it is laughable.Updating or modern dress in opera and theater can work.But it has to MEAN something.It can't just be a gimmick, and all Sellars can do--all he has ever done--is use gimmicks.He wants all the attention himself: "Look at me and how very clever I am!" His hand gestures are meaningless and distracting.The singers lift their heads to the sky when singing about heaven and look down when when singing about death.How original can you get???The "wunderkind" Sellars is one of the biggest theatrical phonies ever.How he has continued to dupe the public (and the critics and the producers) for all these years is remarkable, but one should never underestimate people's ability to be duped.

Astounding Theodora
Those who have provided some very negative critiques,based solely on the staging might do well to remember that this English oratorio, performed three or so times during Handel's lifetime, was never intended for staged performance. So, Peter Sellars has created a brilliant analogy with issues that we all currently face. Tolerance in the face of differing beliefs, more than proselytism, seems to fuel Sellar's powerful take on martyrdom. The choreographed gestures, not so dreadfully unrelated to the codified gestures that made up 17th and 18th century theater and oratory technique are riveting. The minimalist set, five Roman tear bottles (human-sized, of course) are wonderfully lit.
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Reviews (31)

I was there that night and Sutherland was in great form...
pushing the music and the melodrama for all it was worth. And with Alfredo Kraus on hand (the most consistently splendid and underrated of the great dark tenors of his generation), and with Bonynge in the pit this was a grand and moving event. There wasexcitement too, because it was not clear where the next generation of leading divas was coming from at the time, and the Met audience savored the evenings when true representatives of the age of great singers were on the boards, in good health and good voice. Sutherland was always in spendid voice, but she did not often immerse herself in a character like Freni, or Price or Tebaldi were able to rise to the great moments.Here she did, and it is a transcendent memory.I am going to buy this. I will let you know how it holds up. I saw the Pavoratti version (in his prime) and he also could milk this opera for all it was worth, despite his curious inability to really inhabit the character.

A perfect opera perfectly performed
I think Donizetti's little masterpiece is a perfect opera, everything fits, it's self-contained, events follow naturally, logically and psychologically from each other in a perfectly self-sufficient universe to the end, and the end and what Edgardo is thinking are natural and perfect too.The music's good too.It's too good.It reminds me of Rigoletto (these are in fact my 2 favorite operas, Tosca used to be a third but I've begun to find too many empty places in it, too many periods of musical blank).Like Lucia, every tune in Rigoletto is a winner, and the opera follows it's own evolution to its, well, as in Lucia, I'm tempted to say natural or logical conclusion.I love both operas.But this one.Sutherland was wonderful.Her singing was stunning.Everyone was marvelous, but she was "la stupenda," and she certainly earned her sobriquet in this performance.She was so involved in the drama and the music of the mad scene that she was singing that she had difficulty coming out of it during her curtain call afterward.In fact, it wasn't until the end of the endless ovation that she was able to come to herself and smile.I love her.Note:how do the members of the chorus and singers of minor roles feel sharing the stage with greatness such as this, a greatness that they themselves will never achieve.It's sad.Surely they're jealous and unhappy.Oh well.This was a wonderful production of a wonderful opera.One last note:I could imagine Sutherland back stage laughing and messing up her hair and dipping her hands in "blood" preparatory to the mad scene.

Alfredo Kraus saves the performance
Lucia di Lammermoor is a bel canto masterpiece that requires both vocal agility and a good sense of dramatic skill.By the time this DVD was recorded, Dame Joan no longer had the beautiful high notes she once possessed.Her voice is now droopy, her Italian slurred by some strange force of nature.In other words, her Lucia is a maddening disaster.Callas and Sills and Moffo at least brought some justice to the role, and throughout their career, the good Lucias were preserved on record.Sutherland was a vocally good Lucia, but she lacked drama, an essential component to the bel canto school of singing.Thank goodness Alfredo Kraus was there to save the performance.
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Editorial Review

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Reviews (4)

Viva Stiffelio!
There has already been said a lot about this dvd and I can only second those reviewers who praise this opera; both the composer and the singers have done a wonderful job. This opera doesn't contain any show-stopping arias, but the music throughout the entire opera is really beautiful.
Stiffelio
Now that the score to Verdi's Stiffelio has been rediscovered, the opera should be recognized as a great dramatic work and performances should be frequent, but unfortunately this is not the case. Verdi's mature career did not begin with Rigoletto, and operas such as Luisa Miller and this one prove that point. In fact, the only weak aspect of this opera is the overture, which, despite being a fairly enjoyable piece of music with some moments of Verdian brilliance, is overlong, and seems a little facile, relying too much on standard uninspired Donizettian conventions. In addition, it seems incongruous to the dark themes and music of the actual opera as a whole. Stiffelio would probably be a superior work without the overture, but that is a minor quibble because this is a great piece of music drama that breaks some of the conventions of the time, being perhaps less reliant on the aria-cabaletta structure than even Rigoletto, Il Trovatore and La Traviata! A Splendid and Satisfying Performance
Stiffelio is considered "early Verdi" to musiclogists who classify things, but, in reality, it is a final transition between the maestro's earlier (but most enjoyable) works, and the mature craftsmanship of Rigoletto. Preceded by Luisa Miller (q.v.), there is more dramatic intensity and story line than in the earlier works. The plot centers around Stiffelio, a minister, who discoversthat his wife, Mina, has been unfaithful. While the 19th century approach to dishonoring father and husband may be dated to some, the fact is that in watching this opera, the viewer will inevitably be caught up in the story and characters. The singers are generally fine. Catherine Malfitano is not only an exceptional soprano, but an accomplished actress as well. The facial expressions, the use of her hands and all the body mechanics are simply wonderful. I am unsure as to whether Jose Carreras was about to be diagnosed with lieukemia, or had gone into remission when he made this recording. In either case, his portrayal of the title character, in my opinion, would be hard to beat. He is fully in command of his instrument and brings life and dramatic intensity to his role. Particularly good is Gregory Yurisch in the role of Stankar, Mina's father. Here we have the third in Verdi's moving father-daughter duets (Giovanna D'Arco and Luisa Miller were earlier),the emotionally charged qualities of which many trace to the loss of the composer's first wife and baby daughters in 1840. The rest of the cast are equally fine. A surprise to me was the quality of the conducting. I never considered Sir Edward Downes to be a leading interpreter of Verdi's music. Well, he is in this performance, and as such, presents the music very well indeed. The tape to disc transfer is very good, as is the quality of the sound. As I have noted in other reviews, DVD performances of opera are really the next best thing to a live performance. Stiffelio is not performed often, so whether you live near a performing arts center or not, this DVD may be the only chance to experience it. If you are, as I am, a fan of Verdi, this is a must buy. If you want to see how good opera is on DVD or are new to Verdi, buy it. It's a fine effort. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

Offenbach's melodious extravaganza is essentially a celebration of Parisas a tourist trap, a background for attempted seductions, and a fertile sourceof routine flim-flams. This 1991 Opera National de Lyon production, emanatingfrom one of Paris's chief rivals among French cities, focuses gleefully on thesordid aspects of the City of Lights, but its strongest appeal is in the qualityof the singing and dancing.Read more

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Reviews (4)

Wonderfuland delightful musical entertainment.
Fully agree with the previous reviewer. Myself being quite partial to Offenbach who singlehandedly created "operetta", a forerunner of Suppe and a whole generation of Austrian-German-Hungarian operetta composers, including Johann Strauss, Zeller, Millocker, Ziehrer, Lehar and Kalman, I'd like to emphasize certain very positive aspects of this production.
Flawed but still delightful
"La vie parisienne," a paean to Second Empire Paris and its voluptuous delights, may be Offenbach's most tuneful score.The irresistible melodies and rhythms never stop-except, naturally, to allow for spoken dialogue (and if that bothers you you aren't cut out to be an operetta fan :o).The best-known tunes appear in the popular ballet, "Gaite parisienne," arranged by French conductor Manuel Rosenthal; and anyone who loves that piece will be captivated to hear and see the originals and their lyrics come to life dramatically in the complete operetta, the words as witty and sophisticated as the music.This production, somewhere between traditional and modernistic, tells the story and captures the satire very well.
Nothing to write home about....
I owe 2 other Offenbach productions-"La Belle Helene" staged by theZurich Opera and "Orphee aux Enfers" staged by Lyon National Opera(available in Zone 0 format from Amazon.co.uk)which are much better than this one.Read more

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Reviews (14)

Use your imagination.
I like this opera very much, but while I found it musically as good as the cast and conductor would lead one to expect, it is visually so disappointing that I gave my copy to the public library.If this performance is on CD, listen to that with your eyes closed and watch the performance you create in your own head.It can only be better.

For Die-Hard Fans or the Very Curious
First off, I have to admit that "Les Troyens" is just not a favorite opera of mine.Despite all the sturm und drang (French translation, please) on display -- and there's plenty of it -- I just don't find the piece involving, either dramatically or musically.That said, it's obviously a significant work of Art and worthy of any opera fan's attention.And this DVD, recorded at the Met in 1983, offers a starry cast, all of whom do themselves proud.Norman has to be one of the most intense and idiosyncratic sopranos of the past 30 years, and she's riveting here; the sound is glorious, the acting remarkable for its power.Domingo is hardly less effective, his bright, clarion sound superbly matched by the mellowness of Troyanos, herself a superb actress.So why only 2 stars?Because the production is a disaster.It's ill-conceived and lumbering, with sets that match the auditorium's garish gold theme to ill effect.(Can this look really have been considered stylish in the 70s?) The costumes in particular are a joke; literally, they're laugh inducing.The identical braids for the female chorus and the Chewbacca boots for the Trojan soldiers may have seemed chic on paper, but when seen on the frumpy, geriatric singers, they're nothing short of ridiculous.(It may sound as if I'm being unduly harsh, but they have to be seen to be believed.) At one point, poor Mr. Domingo must don an enormous helmet that all but swallows his head -- and you can palpably sense his embarassment and discomfort.Troyanos' gold lame outfits are equally absurd.One can only watch in amazement and think that for their fashion sense alone, the Trojans deserved to lose the war.All this tackiness does nothing short of undermining the entire enterprise, which is a shame, as the sound that the singers and Levine's orchestra are producing is magnificent.If you're a die-hard fan or very, very curious, by all means buy this version of "Les Troyens."But prepare to watch it...with your eyes closed.

good music, bad theatre
I love the opera's of Hector Berlioz, who is one of the most important opera composers of the 19th century. His stature is comparable with that Richard Wagner who had been greatly influenced by the older French composer who - like Wagner - preferred to write music to his own words. In fact, I believe "Les Troyens" is one of the greatest opera's ever written and its music has been with me as long as I can remember.
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Reviews (1)

Finally, on DVD!
A good, solid, fun production (I have it on VHS, which no longer seems to be available).Finally, on DVD!Here the as-yet-undiscovered Cecilia Bartoli was at 95% of her future vocal powers (pretty darn good already!) but 100% participating in this joyous romp.Read more

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Editorial Review

This full-blooded 1982 performance of Puccini's most-loved operademonstrates just how much drive and powerful emotion can make up for a certain lack of subtlety. Ileana Cotrubas's Mimi is entirely moving in both joy and death, while never quite feeling as thoroughly frail as some of her quieterrivals; stronger tenor voices than Neil Shicoff's have recorded the role, andyet he has a romantic passion and a dignity that many of his rivals lack.Underrated singer Gwynne Howell is especially moving in Colline's farewell to his cloak--one of those perfect little showcase sections Puccini sometimes givesto minor parts. Marilyn Zschau's Musetta is broad and comic and yet somehowincludes the audience in the glorious joke that her sexuality is for her; whenThomas Allen sings, to her famous waltz theme, of youth that is not yet dead,his ardor transcends realism. Conductor Lamberto Gardelli knew this score in his bones--the production bounces along from comedy to tears to eroticism to tragedy, and neither cast nor orchestra misses a single one of Puccini'swonderful touches of emotional exploitation. Read more

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Reviews (3)

OF THE HIGHEST ARTISTIC ORDER
Superlatives tumble forth from one's thoughts when attempting to describe this magnificent production of the Puccini masterwork, filmed at Covent Garden before an enthusiastic audience, distinguished as it is by remarkable direction and singing with splendid staging and costume design made even more vital by effective and oft amusing business.Stage director John Copley's celebrated production for LA
Excellent performance and beautiful singing.
This video is so enjoyable and excellent to watch and to listen, while giving credit to the beautiful music of Puccini. The colors and the sound are very good, and the singers are so brilliant, it emphasized the tragic story of the poor but happy Bohemians. I have seen Neil Shicoff in other operas, but in this video he is singing in his top condition, acting the character Rodolfo so beautifully and naturally,with such perfection and brilliance, that we can feel the sad and tragic situation of Rodolfo's fate as Poet. Also Illeana Cotrubas, who acts as the little poor seamstress Mimi sings with such excellence,which move our hearts by the tragic situation of Mimi who was suffering from a deathly illness. The other singers gave also their excellent contribution, including Marilyn Zschau, acting as the character of Musetta. In short this video give us such pleasant enjoyment. Only one minor imperfection, as it has no English subtitles, which makes the video difficult to be understandable. There is an English explanation in the booklet that comes in the package, but it is bothering to read it while what we want is only to watch and listen to the beautiful music, not bothered by reading the verses in English.

Marvelous!
This is an extremely well-sung and beautifully (and believably) acted Boheme. While the singers are not household names (this is a London Covent Garden Royal Opera House production), they give dazzling performances, and what's more, their youthful attractiveness and exhuberance permeate the opera, considered by most experts to be Puccini's finest and most melodic. Read more

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Reviews (8)

Great performance stop hating and Comparing to Heifetz
I have read these reviews and laughed at most of them. How can you compare Midori to Heifetz. You cant do that. It's not fair. If people do there research before they make reviews they wouldn't even say the things they do. Anyway besides using this site to compare whether Midori is better than Heifetz let's use this site to do what it was meant for. REVIEW MIDORI. I felt that as a young musician Midori did great. How many 18-19 year olds these days can play like that. Not many. Oh yeah and to all the Midori haters making there reviews. Dont forget, she didn't play small easy pieces of music. She played some of the hardest show pieces out the and did them well. To anyone that critisized her body movement, you are stupid. If a musician feels there music they feel there music bottom line. Even Heifetz was critisized about not showing enough emotion. Read his book. Bottom line is that Midori is a great violinist who shows expression and is one of the best. By the way I dont even like Midori. My favorites are Perlman, Shaham, Stern and Heifetz.

Colorful but unconvincing
Even from a videotaped live performance, Midori has a wonderful violin tone. I remember the first time I heard her caprices, how great the tone was and how lush and expressive a vibrato she had even then. An unforgetable performance
I had the CD of this performance for some time before I got the video, and now I am wondering what took me so long.Watching this 18 year old (at the time of the videotaping) phenomenon flawlessly playing an interesting mix of Mozart, Beethoven, Richard Strauss, Ravel, Chopin, and DeBussy topped off with a jaw dropping rendition of Ernst's "The Last Rose of Summer" left me spellbound.Read more

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Editorial Review

Andrew Lloyd Webber's first and only large-scale classical work was his 1985 Requiem, composed shortly before he dabbled in opera miniatures for Read more

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Reviews (11)

What a Requiem!
This film of the Requiem is highly exciting: wonderfully performed and in a majestic church. About the same time this film came out, Decca-London released a studio recording of the Requiem with the same artists (with the exceptions of the Orchestra, Chorus and Organist). Compared to the video, the recording is pallid. True, the sound quality on the CD is better, but so what? (I mean, why do opera buffs look for live pirate recordings from the 60s? For the performance itself!) The video performance is a little slower than the CD, but I believe that through "pulling" time, Maestro Maazel has intensified the music even more to the max. Some people complain about Sarah Brightman's shrill-canine sound, but what can we do?: One can speculate that she was chosen to be the soprano solo only because she was the composer's wife. Her high notes can sometimes give one a splitting headache, but that can be forgiven in this recording of the Pie Jesu: her duet with Paul Miles Kingston is just marvelous. As for the rest of the Requiem, it's a more hip version of shall we say...the Verdi's Requiem. Verdi's Requiem is a bedrock for all "sacred music." The intensity of the Dies Irae movement really scares one with the thought of hell. However, not to that level though, but Webber's Dies Irae is exciting too, opening with two short trumpet fanfares. The Hosannaand the Liber Scriptus sections are particularly upbeat. All in all, I could go on forever talking about this video: but why don't you find out for yourself? You'll wish like me, and many others that it was out on DVD as in not to wear your VCR out from playing this tape so much!

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Masterpiece
This music is exceptionally moving.I thought the soloist were well chosen.The Hosanna was thrilling.Maestro Domingo is at his very finest. His interpretation of this piece is awe-inspiring. The young boy soprano--Paul Miles-Kingston has a wonderful instrument and I hope that he kept up his quest for serious music.He has great talent. His youth is apparent in several places, but in a very positive way.His tonal quality is breath taking.His breath control and musicianship were outstanding.I was inspired by his performance and wish him well.An Oratorio is not an opera.I did not expect to see a stage play.Sarah's duet with Paul Miles-Kingston Pie Jesu is unbelievable.The effect is ethereal--truly not of this world.Sarah's voice is bell-clear and her renditions are captivating.I've listened to this video many times and am always inspired.There is a clarity in boys' choirs that is not found elsewhere.It is captured on this particular recording.The men's choir and the orchestral also inspire me.I highly recommend this video.Andrew Lloyd Webber in this work expresses a different side of his compositional abilities from other Andrew Lloyd Webber: Requiem
I saw this performance some years ago on PBS and purchased the CD. It has been one my favorite compositions for years. This work is an absolute beauty, but unfortunately the quality of the sound and picture of the video are not up to par. At least purchase the CD and enjoy this glorious mass for the dead. ... Read more

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