Editorial Review

A favorite of many Gilbert & Sullivan aficionados, Read more

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Reviews (7)

You may as well.
In discussing this BBC/PBS series--conceived to take all of Gilbert and Sullivan and get it over with--many reviewers fault the diction of the casts, but the obscurity is not their fault.The sound is simply not up to basic professional standards.The orchestral music, naturally offstage, is all very well; but, tragically, in this series, whenever anybody turns his head, takes a step either side, or stays where he is when somebody else walks away, he may as well be talking into a barrel. Or singing into one, which of course is even more disappointing.
Would have been 1 star without Anne Collins
Skip it.It falls on its own flat feet.Get the brilliant Douglas/Olsen/Warlow Australian Opera production instead. It's a live on-stage performance and hysterically perfect!

Very good traditional Gilbert & Sullivan
This is a very good and very traditional production of Patience. The singing is very good, the costumes & staging are very good, and were it not for the poor diction of some of the singers which makes the words hard to understand, I would have rated it 5 stars. ... Read more

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Magnificent !
I am not very fond of opera but Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni is simply fantastic. I have seen this opera performed in Ribeir�o Preto, Brazil and I loved it. Then I decided to buy this video, with the opera recorded in Siena, Italy. Shirley Verrett as Santuzza is terrific. One of the best performance I have ever seen in my life. The orchestra is also wonderful. This video is one of my favorite ones and I recommend it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classical    2. Opera / Operetta / Oratorio    3. Opera/Operetta    4. Performing Arts - Opera   

Editorial Review

Jonathan Miller set his well-known production of Read more

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Reviews (17)

Curse you, Jonathan Miller.
If you are new to the Mikado and do not know the story and the lyrics, please do yourself a favor and don't watch this until you have a thorough understanding of the plot. If you want to get the most out of this performance, read the libretto first. The performance is pretty much a parody of the original operetta, and if you don't already know what's going on, you're going to be very confused.
Not the best Mikado
The quality of this DVD is disappointing, both in video and audio. It IS a clever production, but the flaws are too great to make it a real joy, even with Eric Idle. The Stratford Festival production is a much better DVD.

Disappointing results, considering the quality of ingredients
You would think that it was a match made in heaven. After all, Gilbert & Sullivan were the 19th century version of Monty Python, with delightfully silly things that let you laugh at things that really didn't matter.
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Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater   

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Reviews (4)

A Soviet Film
This soviet film suffers from erratic quality color photography and filming and a sound quality that is often of a 1940's Western Electric style.The orchestra is extremely sloppy and the music is not very well played.Fortunately, the poor sound quality masks some of the worst orchestra moments.That is the bad news.The good news is that the scenery is appropriate to 12th century Rus and the steppes.The log structures and the plains scenery fits the story.Much of the costuming and action is very exciting and makes it clear why Borodin's music has been used to add atmosphere to US Westerns.With the exception of the Khan's daughter, all the singing seems really excellent within the limitations of the sound track.Poor quality dubbing is also a problem.Still, I can recommend this just because it is the only version of Prince Igor available on film.It has enough strong points to make it worth buying.

the real "Kismet"
If you ever wondered where those great tunes from the Broadway musical "Kismet" came from, a lot of them were adapted from this opera. I must confess I only really like filmed operas from a live stage production, and this one not only has outdoor settings, but actors standing in for the singers. A Marvelous Film
Do buy this one - it is a treasure. The cinematic treatment of Alexander Borodin's opera (orchestrated not by the composer, who left it unfinished at his death, but by his colleagues Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov) brings a new perspective to this dramatic tale of medieval Rus's struggle against the Tatars. Lovingly filmed and wonderfully acted, this "Prince Igor" succeeds on many levels, despite the extensive cuts made in the music, mainly in connecting scenes necessary for stage performance. All the musical highlights remain, though: you'll enjoy the vibrant performances of the important arias of the principals, and you'll thrill to the atavistic dances! The unseen singers do very well, and there is hardly a moment when you notice the lip-synching on the part of the actors. Filmed in 1969, there is a remarkably modern quality to this classic motion picture. Don't miss it! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classical    2. Opera/Operetta    3. Performing Arts    4. Performing Arts - Opera   

Editorial Review

All the ingredients for Rossini's prime comedy are present and expertly mixed in this 1987 Glyndebourne Festival Opera production: a Figaro (John Rawnsley) extroverted, ingenious, energetic, and vocally resplendent; a Rosina (Maria Ewing) fresh and sweet but steel-sinewed in her determination to have her own way; a Count Almaviva (Max-Rene Cosotti) who has not only thevocal lightness and agility his bel canto music requires, but a fine sense of humor and the ability to perform a good drunk scene. Ferruccio Furlanetto and Claudio Desderi are equally adept in their supporting buffo roles. Read more

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Reviews (6)

A good, solid production of an operatic gem
Once, a friend of Richard Wagner's (yes, he had a few) discovered him sitting in the shadows at the back of an opera house box watching "The Barber of Seville."
A Fun of an Opera
The major quality of this production is the acting.
This is a wonderful, wonderful dvd...
After watching a number of opera videos now, this is the first that simply overwhelmed me with it's enthusiasm and love of the stage.John Rawnsley was incredible as the playful, mischevious, witty Figaro. I subsequently recognized him in "Les contes d'Hoffmann" (The Tales of Hoffmann) / Pretre, Domingo, Royal Opera Covent Garden (1981) available on Amazon, as one of the fellows in the opening tavern sequence.(Quite a good dvd as well, if you want a recommendation.) I hope to see Mr. Rawnsley in more starring roles.Having seen a few stodgy, dark, ungenerous and inapropriately costumed Wagner dvds, this one made me give opera a second chance.Rossini is my new hero as well, of course.(After renting this three times, I can't wait for payday to buy my own copy!)
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Subjects:  1. Classical    2. Opera / Operetta / Oratorio    3. Opera/Operetta    4. Performing Arts - Opera   

Editorial Review

No, this is not the Broadwayhit, but the original Verdi masterpiece, staged and performed to a fare-thee-well by an extraordinary cast in this 1994 Royal Opera production. CherylStuder shows why she was one of America's leading sopranos in the late 1980s andearly '90s before bowing out because of overwork and strain. Her Aida istouching, proud, defiant--in short, the quintessential Verdi heroine. HerRadames, Dennis O'Neill, is only adequate, which puts both Aida and her rivalAmneris (Luciana d'Intino in a forceful portrayal) at odds over seeminglynothing. The Royal Opera Chorus performs Verdi's glorious choral momentsbrilliantly, and the Royal Opera House Orchestra, under Edward Downes, gives asolid, vigorous account of one of Verdi's most shimmering scores. ElijahMoshinsky's staging abounds in many clever touches, and the sets and costumesare evocative without being too elaborately overwhelming. Read more

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Reviews (3)

Impressive production and singing
I never thought that Cheryl Studer could pull off Aida. But she does. She sings with her usual committment vocally and the audience love her. The staging is impressive and the chorus and orchestra under Edward Downes add to the production. The remainder of the cast perform excellently.

TERRIBLE!!!
Singing isn't all that great, but it was probably the best part of this production. The conducting was bad, the acting was bad, the staging was bad...I think you get the clue. I couldn't watch it all in one sitting. I had to stop after the first act and watch the rest later. Poor Verdi, he'd be rolling in his grave if he knew these terrible musicians had ruined his art!

wooden production
Very disappointing production. The singing was OK but the staging and acting very less successful than other productions of Aida that I have seen ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classical    2. Opera / Operetta / Oratorio    3. Opera/Operetta    4. Performing Arts    5. Performing Arts - Opera   

Editorial Review

Alban Berg's scalpel-like dissection of human baseness is compellinglycaptured in a 1987 Vienna State Opera production that emphasizes its often- overlooked lyricism. Based on George Buchner's play about a soldier's maddescent into murder, Berg fashioned a fast-moving exploration of both hisprotagonist's life and his own 12-tone music, utilized expressively throughout.As conducted by Claudio Abbado, the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus makeBerg's usually difficult music utterly accessible. Franz Grundheber vividlyconveys Wozzeck's descent into insanity, and Hildegard Behrens embodies hisgirlfriend Marie's mixture of innocence and sluttishness. Adolf Dresen'sstaging, thrillingly visualizing Berg's tense score, works its hair- raising magic best during the opera's climactic explosion of fatal violence. This performance of Read more

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Reviews (7)

Good work on the stage, but not so great in the musical part.
Wozzeck is one of my favourites operas, a work which I know in some of the most important performances: Bohm (DG), Boulez (CBS/Sony), Dohnanyi (Decca), Barenboim (Teldec), Abbado (DG)... I'm sorry about this is not, from the musical point of view, one of the best available.
First rate!
Great performance, vocally and orchestrally. The acting is good as well. Staging is appropriate throughout, and visually at times quite lovely, as in the drowing scene. Deceptive Packaging!
Let's not be fooled, folks: the VHS reviews, which appear under the DVD listing, refer to an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT version. This is SUPPOSED to be a different staging, as you can tell from the cover of the DVD. It looked like it was done by the same people who did Yellow Submarine, or maybe by Julie Taymor (who did Oedipus Rex for the Tokyo Met, and Titus with Anthony Hopkins).Read more

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Reviews (8)

A blow for art
In act 1, I was hoping for Marcel and his priggish little puritanical protestantism to get their comeuppance.By the 4th act I was so horrified by the catholics (I should have guessed) that though I still detested Marcel and his good little coven of huguenots (French protestants, calvinists), I didn't know what to think.Then came the last scene.Valentine changes faiths.When she's dead, her father starts to cross himself, then just in despair and defeat, stops in the middle of it and drops his arm.I hope this was in Meyerbeer's libretto.What a perfect case for tolerance.I am an Atheist.Sutherland was wonderful, I applauded with the audience, what a marvelous farewell from a marvelous talent and apparently a marvelous person.All the singers were excellent.In particular the page, whose coloratura was thrilling in the first 2 acts.The chorus alas was wooden and moth-eaten.And such a big one in as I recall every act.I enjoyed this very much although as a rule I dislike and avoid discussions about religion (either pro or con) unless I can do all the talking.And I usually don't say much.It's all nonsense.Gruesome, horrific nonsense as this opera, which is based on history, demonstrates.And this is only one example that happened 500 years ago.Look as this morning's newspaper.Sutherland shone, as did the page.Everyone was excellent.The music was glorious.Oddly only Sutherland and the page had coloratura parts, but they ran with them.I've disclosed a lot about the plot (including the ending).I hate people who do that.Only I didn't do it to prove I watched the thing (or whyever people do that), I did it to support my case.That someone (Meyerbeer and his librettist?) was through art striking a blow for tolerance.

Wonderful opera, passable production.
I will tell you from the start, I know a good amount of things about the great masterpieces of opera: I have heard Wagner's Lohengrin, Tristan und Isolde, Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal, Verdi's La Traviata and his four last works, Richard Strauss' Salome, Elektra and Rosenkavalier, Berg's Wozzek, as well as a bunch of other things. I can therefore say that I know what "Grand" opera is. And "Les Huguenots" is. The Grand Opera Masterpiece On DVD
Joan Sutherland is a popular soprano with a following of many admirers. She has appeared in various operas now available on DVD, among them Lucrezia Borgia and La Fille Du Regiment. In the 60's and 70's Joan Sutherland grace the opera stage with her numerous sold out performances and her winning "big" voice. She was motivated to sing opera in an effort to rival Maria Callas or to follow in her footsteps. Here, she plays the role of Marguerite De Valois, the warm-hearted and freethinking French princess. Giacomo Meyebeer's operas were the trend at the time in Paris. His style "grand opera" is rarely performed today. It features lavish scenery, special effects and spectacle, crowd scenes, great singers and dramatic orchestral music. Much of these operas "L'Africaine", "La Prophete", "Robert Le Diable" were very big productions that cost a lot to produce- tales of intense drama, romance, tragedy, history, religion, etc. These operas were ancestors to Wagner operas. In fact, Meyerbeer was himself a French Wagner of his day.Read more

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

Editorial Review

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Reviews (11)

Verdi as it should be performed
Firstly, to the reviewers who don't get Verdi singing, perhaps a brush up-course may be in order. Lauren Flanigan, as Abigaille, gives the best vocal performance available on dvd or video. Only the divine Maria Callas does it better(and that is only available on a fair sounding cd). Madame Flanigan respects every note and marking Giuseppe Verdi indicates in the score.Her voice is in superb shape here, and her legato, coloratura, and all the other extremely difficult things that a true Verdi soprano must execute are present. Neither Dimitrova, Neves, nor the outlandish performance of Guleghina come close to this.
Patience
The people reviewing this version of Nabucco need to see the whole thing. The first act does have some sound muffling but acts 2,3,4 for some reason do have DVD quality sound. After seeing this I am reminded of Verdi's Macbeth which premiered six years after Nabucco. If you like Nabucco, see Macbeth, (the Sinopoli version available here on Amazon). There are a number of performances of Nabucco in the Teatro de San Carlo, one of which is with Maria Callas from 1949, a monural recording but spectacular performance.

Gee! What a bunch of soreheads making those reviews.
I have watched this opera three times and like it better with each showing. I also have two other VHS recordings of Nabucco and think this one at least holds its own among them. True, the fellow who plays Zachariah isn't Sam Ramey, but he still does a very respectable job. Maybe I am just a hick from the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, but I liked the opera. The chorus deserves recognition-- it was superior. Maybe those who didn't like it just don't care for Nabucco. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classical    2. Musical Features    3. Opera / Operetta / Oratorio    4. Opera/Operetta    5. Performing Arts - Opera   

Editorial Review

In this intense, beautifully sung but minimally staged melodrama, Verdiventures into the theme of parent-child relations, a motif that runs through hissubsequent work and provides much of its emotional depth. He still has somegrowing to do, some bel canto clichés that must be rooted out before he canconsistently reach the emotional level of Read more

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Reviews (5)

Rare Verdi rarely done
This is a fairly minimalist production, but it serves the drama decently. Luisa has a lot of scenic changes and it could hold up the drama. I am not too familiar with Luisa. I've only heard it as I made traversals of the entire Verdi canon. And it did not stand out - until now. Maybe its because I haven't heard any Verdi in a while, but I was really struck by the music this time. It is a wonderful piece and I do not entirely agree with some who claim the first two acts are throwbacks and the third forward looking. It does not fall apart but is a united work of art. The singers are dependable. Of course Anderson is outstanding. And Ichihara the tenor is more than adequate. He's no Pavarotti or Domingo but it is also nice to hear someone else in the tenor role. We are not likely to get another Luisa and its good to have such a good one here.

Superb 'Luisa' from Lyon
Kultur's DVD of the Opera de Lyon production of Verdi's 'Luisa Miller' confirms the high opinion I have long held of the work. The locale of Schiller's drama 'Kabale und Liebe' as adapted into Verdi's opera was changed by the censors from a German princely court to a Tyrolean village and the result is an intimate drama in the 'Traviata' mode. An interesting aspect of the opera lies in the comparison of the retired army sergeant Miller and the aristocratic Count Walter. Both love their respective children and want their happiness but Walter equates happiness with wealth and power even though these things havebrought him anything but happiness and both end up equally bereft of children at the tragedy's conclusion. interesting too is the contrasat between Walter and his accomplice Wurm. Walter is capablre of honourable behaviour as where in the second Act duet he assures Wurm they will stand oir fall together. Wurm is presented as a base (as well as bass) villain with no redeeeming traits whatsoever. Musically the performance is all that could be desired. June Anderson presents a sweet Luisa who rises to the dramatic demands of the third act as well asd providing perfect coloratura in 'Lo vidi e'l primo palpito' and 'La tomba e un letto'. Taro Ichihara is a melliflous sounding Rodolfo who delivers the goods in 'Quando le sere al placido and meets the dramatic demands ofhis role. Eduard Tumagian is aq solid Miller. Paul Plishka as Walter shows the more positive side of his character while Romuald Tesarowicz portrays a sardonic villainous Wurm. Susanna Anselmi makes much of little as the near non-entity Federica.Full marks to the Opera de Lyon!

AN OPERA LOVER'S NIGHTMARE COMESTRUE.
THIS RECORDING IS ESSENTIALLY UNWATCHABLE. THE VIDEO QUALITY IS SO POOR THAT I SENT IT BACK TO THE DISTRIBUTOR WITH A BLISTERING CRITIQUE. I NEITHER EXPECTED NOR RECEIVED A REPLY.
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A fascinating oddity
La Serva Padrona is the quintessential Opera Buffa. This film is pretty quirky, but its faults are excusable, provided you're familiar with the genre. Read more

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A Comedy with some culture and good singing
This opera is a comedy set in an english village in the early 1900's.The basic story is that the village notables decide that none of the village girls are good enough in reputation to elect a festival queen so they choose Albert Herring, the shy village green-grocer who is firmly under his mother's rule to be the festival King .In the subsequent events, Albert appears at the festival, collects his prize money and disappears, much lamented by all.He reappears at the end having spent some of his prize at nearby pubs.Clearly, he is transformed by the experience and takes charge of his own life in a happy ending.Read more

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Editorial Review

Claude Debussy's great literary opera, Read more

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Reviews (7)

compare Jonathan Miller
For those who found this production too static, please watch the DVD of Handel's Tamerlano directed for the Halle Festival by Jonathan Miller.In an interview that's part of the bonus material, Miller explains his philosophy of directing operas.Basically, sometimes there is no need to have people moving about the stage.The Pelleas et Melisande with Gardiner and all is so gripping that there is no need for running about the stage.This is one of the very few times I have approved of tampering with a composer's stage directions -- and this is the first time I really enjoyed a production of P&M.

Mesmerizing
This performance is consistently and repeatedly (I've been drawn back to it many times) engrossing and ...yes. .mesmerizing.The poetic essential interpretation allows the mystery and power of this most delicious score to stay at the fore -- no distractions. To address a complaint made by others, the sound on my DVD is fine -- no problems at all.

Bad bad sound!
The staging is okay, but the sound is ABSOLUTELY terrible.Read more

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Editorial Review

This production triumphantly fulfills a complex and difficult assignment. Gossamer fantasy may be the hardest style to put into operatic form, and Shakespeare's Read more

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A weird and wonderful Midsummer Night's Dream
This is a fascinating record of the now legendary production of Britten's opera by Peter Hall at Glyndebourne. Staged after his hugely successful production of Cavalli's La Calisto, at the same house, he brought with him one of the brightest of it's young stars, the beautiful Romanian soprano, Ileana Cotrubas. An Excellent Production
This opera is a slightly shortened version of the Shakespearre play sung in English.It would be much easier to understand if it had subtitles or if you know the original play well.Britten's eery musical effects are super as are those of the staging.Some of the high points revolve around the boys choral singing and the weird effect of the fairy king/queen duos (James Bowman/Ileana Cortrubas).The humans are very good both in the difficult vocal lines and the acting to make them seem plausible.The acting and vocals of the rustics (especially Bottom) are really excellent even in the very difficult ensemble parts.My only reservations are that Britten's music is often difficult for my relatively untrained ear and that the diction and language cause some difficulty in understanding the text.On the other hand, for pure virtuosic singing, this is a wonderful example. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

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Reviews (9)

Ruddigore
I first saw this one on PBS many years ago.My wife didn't.We really enjoy this one.

Excellent production
As a veteran of a wonderful college production of RUDDIGORE (I was one of the ghosts in the portraits, and one of the "bucks and blades" in Act I), I think the previous reviewers are all wrong.
Really awful production
I had looked forward to the TV production of Ruddigore and was appalled at what was done.The result was less professional than one my high school did years ago on a far less grand budget.Vital songs have been cut, and far too much effort is put into artificial, cutesy, and gimmicky stagings.It is particularly disappointing seeing how well other G&S plays in this series were done.Any fan of traditional G&S, and particularly this less well known gem, will be greatly disappointed, as I certainly was.Ruddigore deserves a much better DVD offering than this retread of a failed TV production. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

This Read more

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Entertaining, Opera As Comedy (If Only It Could Be Revived)
Donizetti: The Daughter Of The Regiment (La Fille Du Regiment)