Editorial Review

Another Verdi triumph from the archives of La Scala, this 1984 production of one of the master's early popular successes showcases José Carreras's truly glorious instrument, a tenor voice of loveliness and delicacy that, in its abbreviated prime, was one of the true operatic glories. He sounds superb as the hero, Oronte, and, as his paramour Giselda, Ghena Dimitrova nearly matches Carreras's ringingly beautiful tone: their wonderful Act 4 duet is almost too much of a good thing. Read more

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Reviews (5)

La Scala comes up trumps with its 'Lombardi'
One of the most unjustly neglected operas in the Verdi canon is his fourth opera 'I Lombardi' premiered in 1843. After the success of 'Nabucco' another opera was commissioned by the La Scala impresario Bartolomeo Merelli. At this stage in his career Verdi was relatively insecure.Though 'Nabucco' was a furore the boos and hisses that had greeted 'Un Giorno di Regno' still rang in his ears. Consequently 'I Lombardi' largely rehashes the format of its predessor in the use of massive choral passages. The Act IV chorus 'O signore dal tetto natio' is clearly an attempt to repeat 'Va pensiero'. Critics have unjustly accused the composer of cynicism in sticking to a successful formula. I personally consider that insecurity played its part. The opera's premiere was more successful than that of 'Nabucco' largely because the Milanese identified more with the Lombards than with the Herbrews of 'Nabucco' but elsewhere 'Nabucco was the more appreciated opera.This DVD production comes from the theatre of its premiere and serves the opera very well. The La Scala chorus sing very movingly in the 2 big choruses 'Gerusalem' and the aforementioned 'O signore...'and thrillingly in the numerous battle hymns. The cast is not to be faulted. In the soprano role Ghena Dimitrova, a battleaxe as Abigaille shows her softer side and produces some lovely sounds. As Oronte Jose Carreras looks every inch the romantic hero and produces sounds to match. His death scene in the Act III trio 'Qual volutta trascorrere' (made famous from the 78 era by the 2 recordings Caruso/Alda/Journet and Gigli/Rethberg/Pinza) is not to be bettered. They are matched in dramatic ability and beautyof tone by Silvano Carroli a baritone Pagano rather than the usual bass. Carlo Bini is superb in the second tenor role of Arvino, a rather thankless part in some ways. (Imagine having to sing as much as he does and still end up as second fiddle!)Gianandrea Gavazzeni conducts superbly even if he does commit the (venial) sin of giving only one verse to the cabaletta della visione.The production captures nicely the period of the crusades

Only the music
This is yet another religious opera from Verdi's early years.The two sides, each calling the other infidels, kill for their respective gods.When Giselda cries (which she does several times) that god does not want blood, he wants peace, she is called sacrilegious (also several times) by the wise old holy man who carries a sword.The scenery was non-existent, just shieldlike symbols lowered and raised from the rafters.Carreras' voice was beautiful, though he didn't sing much.Dimitrova who sang lots was not right for the role.She had power and range and was soft a few times, but in the 4th act when she should have had facility, she didn't come through.My CD of this opera has June Anderson, and I had some misgivings about hearing Dimitrova fill her shoes.I did not like the choral music (Verdi hadn't reached his peak at this stage), but other than that the score (what I heard of it) was very beautiful, even for an early work.I started the thing a couple nights ago, was tired and slept through the first act.I shut it off, read the synopsis on the back of the box to see what I'd missed, and just now finished it.Except for the conversion of Oronte, and the holy wars (that should be a contradiction in terms, and I wanted to see the Muslims win for a change), I was totally lost.I have no idea what the story of this opera is. Just hurrah for Christianity and death to the infidels, is all I got out of it.All the infidels.When the wise old man (who sang beautifully) who seemed to galvanize these crusaders bit the dust at the end, I couldn't have cared less.

If you want subtle go elsewhere
But if you want thrilling early Verdi with all his flaws and with all his genius stop right here. I wonder if you could cast this opera today. Certainly not as well as this 1984 La Scala production. It is good to see Carreras, the 3rd tenor, at work. And Dhimitrova is at her straight out best. The production also deserves a word of praise. A full traditional production with real grandeur. The sound is a little thumpy but that's its age. All in all a welcome addition to the galley years of the Verdi canon. ... Read more

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Reviews (2)

A Brilliant Concert of Spirituals
Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle shine in a concert of all spirituals from Carnegie Hall in New York City.They sing alone and together, with an orchestra conducted by James Levine or with solo instruments, and sometimes backed up by a choir.Some songs bring you to tears, others bring on laughter.Their voices soar throughout and you are left wishing the concert never had to end.This is a terrific, terrific video!

A feast of music unlike any other!
Spirituals in Concert featuring Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman with James Levine conducting is a feast for all the senses.The video is a taped live performance given from Carnegie Hall in March of 1990.Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman are at the top of their art in this performance.The selections chosen are from the wealth of repertoire available from the spirituals of nineteenth century america.The spriritual is one of America's true art forms, coming from the enslaved african-americans of the ninteenth century.Read more

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Editorial Review

This is a 1998 performance from the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg,of the original 1862 St. Petersburg version of Verdi's Read more

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Reviews (6)

The Force Is With Us!
The original Marinsky Forza is presented in a new DVD under the brilliant baton of Valery Gergiev.This offering contains every jot of music that Verdi wrote for this unusual opera.It also contains many of the dramatic scenes cut from all productions of FORZA in recent times.Some of these scenes are a bit egrigious. Most shocking of these additions is the suicide by drowning of Don Alvaro.The three principals are splended in their energy and naturalistic perforemance.The tenor is a slavic version of a young Pavarotti.I would highly recommend this DVD!

Puzzling DVD
It is interesting to have available Verdi's first version of Forza, if only to realize how much stronger the opera became once revised.Textual differences have been described by other reviewers so there's no need to belabor points with which I'm in agreement.
A Spanish tragedy, Russian style
There are other DVD versions of 'Forza' that I would recommend over this one which is conducted by Valery Gergiev, namely the superb1958 performance that was recorded with Renata Tebaldi and Franco Corelli.However this 'Forza' has the original ending that Verdi wrote for the opera's premiere performance at St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre in 1862.In fact, it is performed in that same theatre, and if there are times when you wish the tenor _would_ leap to his death in the last act, then this might be the version for you.Read more

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A fine example of serious opera circa 1800
It is difficult to believe that Rossini's opera seria "Tancredi" was composed in the same year as the joyous "Italian Girl in Algiers." And yet if you listen very carefully to (say) the Act Ifinales to both works in which every one declares how amazed they are atthe turn of events, you might be hard pressed to explain why you think oneis the serious and the other the comic situation. Perhaps the composer wasbasically such a happy chap that he saw the humor in all things.Read more

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Editorial Review

One of the most unjustly underrated Italian operas receives aproduction that should help correct that attitude. Read more

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Already an historical performance
It is going to be a long, a very long time indeed, before we see another Chenier to rival this fabulous 1985 Covent Garden performance. Domingo was in excellent voice, and he meets every vocal challenge with virile, golden tone. Even if he lacks that brilliant spinto of Corelli, he has what it takes for this formidable role. Of recent tenors none comes near. The rest of the cast is if anything, better. Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Karajan�s favourite soprano is a glorious Maddalena: full voiced, warm, compelling, she is quite simply extraordinary. Baritone Giorgio Zancanaro gives a master class on how to mould a phrase in the old Italian style. His big aria is delivered with the kind of musicianship not heard since the days of Amato and Battistini. A Brilliant Andrea Chénier
Umberto Giordano's most famous opera "Andrea Ch�nier" portrays the tragic fate of poet Andrea Ch�nier in the French Revolution. Setting the real-life figure as the lead character and with the poet singing his own verses, this verismo opera embraces the realism enthusiastically. Character Andrea Ch�nier is a romantic and idealistic poet, who loved his country ardently and faced his death heroically. It's a tenor's opera. You would think a lyric tenor would be most suitable for the character's poetry, if he could also bring off some great heroic moments in the big orchestration. In this 1985 production, Domingo rendered Andrea Ch�nier with a well-balanced poetry and heroism. He filled poet's big arias with rich lyricism, at times, intimate feelings, and yet, the big outbursts were all there. Domingo was well matched by the powerful-voiced Anna Tomawa-Sintov as Maddalena. In her dark and rounded voice, Anna Tomowa-Sintov sang the character strongly, although some delicacy and variety might make the role more interesting. Her "La mamma morta" was in no short of dramatic expressions in both the recitative-like passages and the emotional outbursts followed. Giorgio Zancanaro, who approached the revolutionary G�rard humanly, sang a wonderful "Nemico della patria", which won him a storm of applause from the audience. A Much Better Selection
Until recently (November 2003) the only DVD edition of Andrea Chenier was a 1975 film version with Franco Corelli in the title role.This one is much better.It is an excellent live production filmed at Covent Garden in 1985.It illustrates why the Royal Opera is one of the world's leading companies.Read more

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Editorial Review

Mussorgsky died before finishing this epic treatment of the 17th-century clash between Russian conservatives (the boyars and the Orthodox "Old Believers") and the progressive, Westernizing reformers led by Peter the Great. Among the composers who have reworked and completed the material, Shostakovich and Stravinsky are the most convincing, and their work is used in Claudio Abbado's interpretation. His orchestra and singers rank with the world's best.Read more

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Well-thought Khovanshchina
Abbado is a strong Mussorgsky-champion.
A really great Opera.
Khovanshchina considered by many to be Mussorgsky's greatest work is grand opera in the greatest sense. There is ballet, huge choruses, and even a on-stage brass band (which sounded really good too).
Beware of the staging
I will make no comment on the music and singing (see one of the excellent books on that).I review this only to warn you of the absurd staging that does its best to ruin this beautiful opera.The dances especially are almost comical due to the attempt to modernize what is already a timely and timeless work of art. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

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Editorial Review

Claudio Abbado's 1982 performance of the Verdi Requiem with the LondonSymphony Orchestra and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus is not, perhaps, a classicin the league of the 1963 Carlo Maria Guilini recording, but it has a steely,controlling intelligence that never stands in the way of the work's passionateand ecstatic qualities. José Carreras's tenor voice was at that point in itsfullest bloom, and Ruggiero Raimondi's bass has a spine-tingling dark lyricismthat reminds us that the writing for bass here has much in common with possiblyhis greatest role, King Philip the Second in Read more

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Reviews (5)

A powerful performance
I don't know what I can say about this requiem that hasn't been said before..... It is a wonderful recording of Verdi's Requiem. What I especially like about this one is that the soloists are right in front of the orchestra, close to the conductor so you can easily watch them while singing. (Unlike some other recordings of this requiem where the four soloists are far away) I love watching the singers to see how they approach this piece and also the interaction between the singers and the conductor.
Good chorus, fine playing, glorious ladies, limited sound
As often with Abbado, this performance is distinguished more by lyricism than by passion.It's unfortunate that the limited dynamic range of the reproduction emphasizes restraint; I suspect that it was balanced better if you were in the hall.I did not find the recording bad, but it does attenuate very soft passages and loud climaxes.The chorus is good, the orchestra plays very well, and the soloists are outstanding.The men are very fine, though Raimondi isn't the most involved singer I've ever heard, and Carreras sings sharp some of the time (the bugaboo of 'Italian' tenors - so did Corelli and the young Domingo).The ladies are superb, fully involved in the meaning of the work.These were two of the most beautiful voices of the time, or probably of any time, but I was not prepared for how well they blend.Both Norman, who didn't sing much Verdi, and (Margaret) Price, who did, really understand 'Verdi arches' and shape their lines with loving care.The high mezzo part suits Norman perfectly, and I'd readily place Price alongside Tebaldi or Caballe as a consummate Verdi soprano.I also appreciate gaining a deeper understanding of how conductors communicate, from being able to see Abbado's gestures and expressions.If the sound were better, this would be a classic.

Worthwhile for the soloists
This is not by far the best Verdi Requiem I have seen and/or heard. The negatives leap at you: compressed sound, lack of eloquence, bite and power in the choir, and a somewhat tepid, let's-keep-Apocalypse-tidy Abbado. In short, this is not the Verdi Requiem I'd choose were I to have only one..... But one should not limit oneself to only one, pocketbook permitting, where great masterpieces of music are concerned.Read more

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Reviews (2)

BRAVI!!!
An excellent performance.Pavarotti is brilliant.Kabaivanska Pavarotti and orchestra are wonderful!!
If you love Pavarotti, you will love this video. This is HIS role, and he does a masterful job. His cries of "Vittoria!" gets an ovation. "E leuceven le stelle" goes so well that it's encored (!!) . He sounds like he's just warming up in "Recondita Armonia", but otherwise, this is Pavarotti in one of his best evenings with the beautiful diction, and the rich color that he's always been known for. it is pure enjoyment to listen to him. Read more

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Editorial Review

By 1981, when this production was taped for Canadian television, JoanSutherland's voice was unquestionably past its prime. But even in its decline,that voice remained something quite special, and the role of the troubled Druidpriestess Norma was one of her specialties. A substantial advantage in thisrecording is the presence at the podium of her husband and coach, RichardBonynge, who had a deep understanding of the strengths and limitations of hervoice and stage persona. His pacing and balance give the voice opportunities tochallenge, at least momentarily, the ravages of time.Read more

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Reviews (13)

There's alot to hate here. . .BUT:
"Norma" is an opera fanatic's battleground, for so few singers can actually stand up and SING it.And, if you are a rabid Callas fan
Fine singing in spite of reviews!
I find the reviews a real puzzle. It seems that there are two distinct dvds of this Canadian opera production: I have one version and nearly everyone else has another. Sutherland's "casta diva" is not ugly. It is finely sung. There is no strain. The timber is rich as always Forte singing is full, rarely on the edge and always movingly sung. When she joins Troyanos in the duets the singing does become greater. Soft notes are beautiful tohear. If Ortiz asPollione is not the best, he deserves much more creditthan he gets for the good singing that he does deliver. He doesn't sound under parted to me. If a reviewer has to compare him to Corelli or Del Monaco that's their loss. Few can match either of them. Troyanos triumphs as most reviewers agree. Her loss will never be replaced for its sincerity, integrity, beauty of timber and the radiance of her personality. Diaz and the rest of the cast are also fine. I think Bonynge does a really good job with the orchestra. He has often been under-appreciated and unjustly maligned. The overture is a little fast but in general everyone does themselves credit. The four stars I give is with reluctance, it deserves five, but the sound and picture quality are distractingat time. The packaging is up roar. The video is dedicatedthe memory of Tatiana Troyanos which I thought was a very professional touch.This dvd deserves to be seen andheard. You may not buy it but I don't think you'll regret having heard it either.The Caballe Norma is extraordinary.. Tat l'Orangeperformance is immortal.Comparisons make us partisans not lovers of beautiful music beautifully sung. I am very happy to have this dvd in my collection.

Good dvd
This is a nice presentation of the great Joan Sutherland in one of her greatest roles.She is past her prime and seems quite tired in the last act, but she could probably still sing circles around most sopranos.Troyanos knocks my socks off and the Pollione - Ortiz is quite good.He has a baritonal sound but sings bel canto quite well with some impressive high notes.I prefer this version to the Australian Norma with Sutherland because, although Sutherland's singing is definitely better in the earlier Australia one, Troyanos is better than Elkins as Adalgisa and the tenor in that one is a bit of a 'can belto' guy whereas this Ortiz is quite pleasant to listen to.The production is quite dark, which I personally like, since all of the action takes place at night - it really sets the right tone. ... Read more

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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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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

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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

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.