Opera on DVD

Started by uffeviking, April 08, 2007, 12:54:48 AM

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yashin

There are great examples on DVD of actor/singers in the last few years.  Unfortunately for so long we were stuck with VHS of Met, San Fransisco, Covent Garden or La Scala productions with the same wooden actors wheeled out.

Can you think of any DVD with Domingo that you actually think wow? Or Pav for that matter?

Maybe Pavarotti in I Pagliacci -was a suprise to me - a pleasant one.And i enjoy him in Elisir and La Boheme.  However, he is shocking in Il Trovatore and Aida DVDs.

Domingo- i can't think of a DVD recording where i have liked him-maybe Fedora with Freni.  Other than that i would stick to some of his cds.

marvinbrown

Quote from: yashin on July 29, 2007, 03:22:01 AM
There are great examples on DVD of actor/singers in the last few years.  Unfortunately for so long we were stuck with VHS of Met, San Fransisco, Covent Garden or La Scala productions with the same wooden actors wheeled out.

Can you think of any DVD with Domingo that you actually think wow? Or Pav for that matter?

Maybe Pavarotti in I Pagliacci -was a suprise to me - a pleasant one.And i enjoy him in Elisir and La Boheme.  However, he is shocking in Il Trovatore and Aida DVDs.

Domingo- i can't think of a DVD recording where i have liked him-maybe Fedora with Freni.  Other than that i would stick to some of his cds.

  Two DVDs with Domingo that I own are: Une Ballo in Maschera and Otello.  While Domingo overacts in Otello I love his performance in Une Ballo.  In both cases, appearancewise he fits the bill perfectly and far better than Pavarotti can ever hope to.  Appearance is very important to me, more so than acting skills.  I find that I enjoy opera most when it is staged with a believable cast- after all opera is dramatic and the visual effect is so very important in my opinion of course  :).

  marvin

yashin

Is that the Solti Un Ballo? I have not seen it.  On the other hand i have NO recording of this opera on CD or DVD-shame!

If you want more believable actors/Singers then you have to look at the likes of Mirelle Delunsche, Angela Denoke, Natalie Dessay and Patricia Ciofi on the female side and on the male side i would go fo Torsten Kerl, Simon Keenlyside, Chris Ventris and J.F West.

I did not want to start a Domingo vs Pavarotti argument.  They both have their merits and both have made some terrific recordings on DVD and CD.  But, they both have their fair share of turkeys. 

Domingo may 'fit the bill' but i can't imagine much more than waving arms, tight pants and a breathless sound - see his Aida from the Met - he sounds like he is having an asthma attack!

I would prefer a flawed singer but a good stage presence than total voice - look at Florez - he has the voice but i find him difficult to watch.  The Barber DVD of his- i find him irritating to watch.  His facial expressions are annoying.

Only my opinion of course.

marvinbrown

Quote from: yashin on July 29, 2007, 07:20:42 AM
Is that the Solti Un Ballo? I have not seen it.  On the other hand i have NO recording of this opera on CD or DVD-shame!


  Yes thats the Solti Un Ballo DVD.  It was supposed to be the Karajan Une Ballo DVD but Karajan passed away a few weeks before the debut and Solti had to fill in.  Ths Solti CD is with Pavaroti and it is also GREAT.  If you have never heard Une Ballo I highly recommend it.  I discovered it by accident.  It was the last Verdi opera I came to know and it surprised me how beautiful its music is...so many memorable melodies- unlike a lot of Verdi's earlier operas this one stood out- musically that is (I prefer it much more than Nabucco and Macbeth). 

  marvin

yashin

Have you ever seen the Un Ballo DVD from Leipzig with Chailly conducting? The costumes were terrible!!
I remember seeing it on Italian TV and thinking "what on Earth is this rubbish" only to find out it was being released on dvd.

The costumes i think were meant to represent animals and were made out of foam spines that stuck out.  Here is a pic from the cover

yashin

Can you recommend a CD of this opera?

I have just been looking, seems like Solti has the thing sewn-up and i don't like him really.  And it looks like a choice between Pavarotti and Domingo.  Maybe with Bergonzi in the older recording.

I love the Opera in English series but the Un Ballo-or a masked ball as its called in the English series has terrible reviews.  Maybe i will stick to the DVD.

marvinbrown

Quote from: yashin on July 29, 2007, 05:05:04 PM
Can you recommend a CD of this opera?

I have just been looking, seems like Solti has the thing sewn-up and i don't like him really.  And it looks like a choice between Pavarotti and Domingo.  Maybe with Bergonzi in the older recording.

I love the Opera in English series but the Un Ballo-or a masked ball as its called in the English series has terrible reviews.  Maybe i will stick to the DVD.

  For CD I recommend the Solti with Pavarotti.  For DVD I recommend the Solti I was referring to above, the one he took over after Karajan's death.  The stage setting on the Solti DVD is mind-blowing, the whole opera is set not in Boston with a Duke as the censorship officials forced Verdi to do but in the original setting of Sweden with King Gustav III as Verdi had wanted all along- Boston with a Duke  ::) give me a break, I really hate it when public officials destroy a perfect work of art .

  marvin

Anne

I have a DVD of the opera with Pavarotti at the Metropolitan.  It is very good.

springrite

Quote from: marvinbrown on July 29, 2007, 01:56:43 AM

  I've said this before and I'll say it again...I never buy Verdi opera DVD's with Pavarotti in them. 

Same here!

uffeviking

I second that one! It's atrocious, and very funny when Pavarotti is looking for the pillows to fall upon when he dies!

Try a much better one:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=5902




Anne

#210
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=74776

This is the DVD that I like.  The support cast is strong:  Harolyn Blackwell, Leo Nucci, Aprile Milo (was in good voice here).

The tension between Millo and Nucci was papable.

Harolyn Blackwell was a delight.  She is tiny and delightful; I like her voice.

uffeviking

But that's another Verdi with Pavarotti! I thought we had eliminated him from singing another Verdi opera!  >:D

uffeviking

Dearest Anne, I admire your devotion and loyalty to your local opera house but let me point out there is a wide and beautiful world outside the NY Metropolitan Opera who knows how to present Verdi operas!

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Drilldown?name_id1=12554&name_role1=1&comp_id=32220&genre=33&bcorder=195&name_id=56241&name_role=3


Mozart

I started watching Aida with Placido Domingo, and it worked like a sleeping pill. 15 Minutes into it, I completely passed out, at 8 pm!

marvinbrown

Quote from: MozartMobster on July 31, 2007, 12:38:19 AM
I started watching Aida with Placido Domingo, and it worked like a sleeping pill. 15 Minutes into it, I completely passed out, at 8 pm!

  OH NO  :'( !!!  What went wrong?

  marvin

Mozart

Quote from: marvinbrown on July 31, 2007, 03:41:48 AM
  OH NO  :'( !!!  What went wrong?

  marvin

It was really strange, I felt like I was being drugged watching it. Maybe it was because I was lying down so comfortably. I even started laughing at first because you said that Domingo always fits the role better, and the way he was dressed I was like ohh yeah this dude sure is an Egyptian haha. And then boom,I was asleep.

marvinbrown

Quote from: MozartMobster on July 31, 2007, 03:48:30 AM
It was really strange, I felt like I was being drugged watching it. Maybe it was because I was lying down so comfortably. I even started laughing at first because you said that Domingo always fits the role better, and the way he was dressed I was like ohh yeah this dude sure is an Egyptian haha. And then boom,I was asleep.

  In that case get Aida on CD  ;) !!!

  marvin

uffeviking

There is another Aida not from the Met or with Pavarotti, not even Domingo!

Try it, you might even like a production you have never heard of, be adventurous and explore this one:

http://www.euroarts.com/artikel/dvd/?id=005405_giuseppe_verdi_aida

knight66

I suggest this version of un Ballo, if for some reason the Solti is not acceptable. Excellent singing and Leinsdorf is fine here....if not elsewhere.




Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Anne

#219
Quote from: uffeviking on July 30, 2007, 06:12:04 PM
Dearest Anne, I admire your devotion and loyalty to your local opera house but let me point out there is a wide and beautiful world outside the NY Metropolitan Opera who knows how to present Verdi operas!

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Drilldown?name_id1=12554&name_role1=1&comp_id=32220&genre=33&bcorder=195&name_id=56241&name_role=3



Dearest Uffe,

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=74776

If this is a group discussion between you and a select few members, you can rule out every performance from the Met because you dislike it so much.  (Have you even heard the Performance?)

If this is a discussion among all of us, I cannot stand by and not stand up for a performance that IMHO is very good.  Peace!   ;D