Costumes Movie Reviews

I bought this vidoe out of curiosity, and needless to say it wasn't what I expected. I purchased the video based on the reviews that I read. I guess what is considered good to some people might not be considered good to the next.
If you are a college student or a former college student and you like stomp copetitions or greek shows, then this video might be the video for you. That's basically what it is, stomp dancing.
The singing and dancing to me was really boring, but that is just my opinion.
The best part about the tape is the commontary at the end, when dancers are interviewed, and they tell thier life story and how they got involved in stomp dancing....It's really interesting how they explain how stomping was developed in the gold mines in Africa as a way of communicating. Miners wasn't allowed to talk, so stomping patterns was developed as a way of talking. Rubber boots stomping in water. And some of the old footage of stomping in the video is pretty good too.
Well, I voiced my opinion of what I think about the tape, now it's up to the buyer to decide if he or she wants to purchase the tape or DVD.

I bought this DVD sometime ago, but forgot about it until I discovered it just sitting there among my DVD collection. I watched it and bwoy! was I taken away or what? Being originally from Southern Africa brought back many memories as we used to grow up listening and mimicking Gumboot dancing. This is a must-see DVD and the dancing, choreography and music has been excently put together to bring this explosion of energy and power! Makes you feel like you are actually there....

DVDs range in quality (not of the material on the DVD, but the quality of the DVD itself) from a low of Kurosawa's wonderful movie Ran, with its' unwatchable color smears and ghosting, to this DVD which has the sharpest images and best production values I've ever seen. The extra material on the DVD is wonderful and the Gumboots show itself are awesome. Think a South African Stomp. If you love dance and harmonizing music, you really owe it to yourself to check this out.

William Shakespeare's HAMLET is as powerful a story as ever been told and the title role is often considered the toughest to tackle. And so, it exists in many variations. Kevin Kline directed and starred in this version that was taped for television. It is an excellent interpretation, although he does play Hamlet a little old (Quite often the case...). The cast is very good with the exception of an unfortunate Ophelia (who would later portray an unfortunate Getrude opposite Ethan Hawke's 2000 Hamlet). The costume design is of a non-descript wartime wear that alone suggests a twist in interpretation. But, the setting, lighting and dialogue conflict with that view leaving the viewer slightly off-center. With almost 45 minutes of the story excised, this is still one of the most faithful adaptions (Branagh's HAMLET used every word). This is a great document of Kline's vision but when its all said and done, I'd rather watch a filmed version then a taped version adapted from the stage. Still, it is a nice experience.

Though I'm one who often perceives other reviews at this site to be injudiciously overated, I give 5 stars to this version of Shakespeare's most famous play without hesitation or reserve. Kevin Kline's direction is inpired by the emotion and wit of the words, and his acting performance is nothing short of the finest I've ever witnessed, and I've seen many. Please yourself, be a witness to excellence, buy it!

What makes a Hamlet great is the performance of the person playing the title role. In this version Kevin Kline is brilliant. I taped this performance when it was on PBS years ago and I have watched it many times. It is long overdue on DVD/Video Tape. This should be shown to all students of Shakespeare as the definitive way to perform the part of Hamlet (Sorry Mr. Branagh!)

man, every time i see kylian's work i'm inspired to be a better dancer -- his people are so fluent in their bodies and in their art. i can only imagine that it must be so rigorous, satisfying, and challenging to learn this choreography. the physicality is exciting, the humor is intelligent, and the musicality is sensitive without becoming predictable. i enjoy this dvd very much and strongly recommend it to dancers, choreographers, amateurs, dance historians (bizarre use of costumes/props --> classical european references are strange and not altogether clear for me, but the use of these references is endearing nontheless), musicians, and other artists interested in using movement in their designs/collaborations. my personal favorite is "no more play," but webern is my favorite composer and i've choreographed a solo to this piece of music, so i'm biased

I was more than impressed with this DVD. Often when dance is filmed, you lose the dance...there are many close-ups (usually of the face) and many quick cuts which don't allow the viewer to feel as if she (or he) is seeing the full stage. Therefore, much of the choreography is lost. Not so here! This is an expertly filmed production that allows the viewer to forget that they are viewing a DVD and instead, it seems that the viewer is seeing the dance unfold on a stage. Kudos! If only all dance was filmed with this philosophy in mind. Additionally, the quality of the DVD is great. It isn't grainy or blurry. Rather, the quality is better than most DVD/videos. It is as close to live performance as one can get in this medium.

The reviewer from IL speaks wonderfully of Kylian's choreograhic feats, and I agree. My personal favorite is also Petite Mort, and I would buy the DVD if Petite Mort were the only offering. This work is breathtaking and inspiring.

This is an excellent DVD! Kylian's choreography is inventive and seamless. The transitions in all partnering are amazingly smooth and performed to perfection. The six ballets presented are all very diferent in style and feeling though bound together by their color theme as well as the reoccurance of a set of black baroque dresses. I enjoyed them all except for Sarabande which - though it had it's interesting moments - I found to be rather teadious. My absolute personal favourite must be Petit Mort with it's beautiful score, simple costumes and impressive and inovative movement vocabulary, very clearly drawing on classical technique but going it's own way entierly - allowing for freedom in motion. I highly reccomend this DVD and had no problem viewing it.

I am stunned at the acting and even worst the singing. In the second act. Callas's gestures and body movements-awkward, and hutchback remind me of the wicked witch in snow white.
This is the biggest hype of all time.

And she plunges the dagger into the breastbone of her tormenter, Scarpia, and then it gets really good. She rises
over him as he staggers back mortally wounded and roars, "Did you torture me enough?...And so I forgive you." Most everyone loves the firey brilliance and dramatic dash of a Callas performance, even if her voice isn't that pleasant sometimes. This is a pair of thirty-minute black & white BBC TV programs from 1962 and 1964, the first a concert consisting of three arias, and the second a staging of Act II of Tosca with Tito Gobbi (who was also the finest Baron Scarpia ever). Just a taste, then, of someone who needed to be filmed for her legend to be fully appreciated. If only they had captured her Norma and Lucia of the mid-fifties--JE REGRET!

I first heard about this performance (Tosca) nearly 30 years ago when I was a teenager and new to the world of opera. Since then it had stuck in the back of my mind, occasionally being brought intensely to the forefront whenever a snippet of it was shown during the occasional documentary.

Here it is, after three decades, it's going on 2 a.m., and I've had one of the most profound experiences in recorded opera.....whew!

First of all, this is a barebones dvd: Chapter list and some brief but interesting notes in the accompanying liner.

Then there are the performances...Callas in concert at Covent Garden in 1962. "Tu che la vanità" from Don Carlos, plus the Habanera and Seguedille from Act 1 of Carmen. Callas sings with the expected intensity in the Verdi, and with atypical jovolity and coyness in the Bizet, which are all ably conducted by the young Georges Prêtre. If this were the entire content of this dvd, it would be worth the cost.

But along comes Act 2 of Tosca, from two years later. Holy Toledo! Renato Cioni sings Cavaradossi just adaquetely, and not really serving a whole lot of dramatic purpose with a standard performance. Robert Bowman as Spoletta and Dennis Wicks as Sciaronne are better in their acting, but not very impressive vocally. The conductor, Cillario, leads without much insight...again, standard opera fare.

Obviously, the big bucks went to Callas, Gobbi, and Zeffirelli who all certainly earned their pay. Callas and Gobbi had seen better days vocally, especially Callas who, though in pretty good voice, sounds downright nasty here and there. But those very few exceptions are far and few in between.

Here are two masters, two artists at the very top of their craft, two legendary performers giving a definitive performance of sight and sound. From the beginning of the act, Gobbi dominates with a presence that few could ever hope to do. And when Callas finally enters, the sparks fly. Nearly every gesture, every vocal inflection, every subtle nuance carries weight that cannot be measured. There are very very few moments of stage mannerisms, so complete are their portrayals. While not always pretty vocally, they show off to the world why they dominated the opera stage during their prime. The intensity they create together is incredible, seldom letting up in the cat and mouse game they play.

Technically, the picture is good, but not great.Pretty good by early 60's television standards. The camera work for the most part is well done, save for a few instances of poor angles or exclusionary closeups that can be pretty frustrating.Overall, it is quite good.

Zeffirelli, the ultra conservative, directs a wonderful production,but when you go back in time, you see how little he really changes over the years.

For all it's relatively minor shortcomings, this is one of the greatest operatic moments on film. The earlier clips are priceless, but after a (literally) hair raising Tosca, you may barely remember them! 5 stars to the 10th power! Thank you EMI!

It is very difficult to enjoy the music and singing with such a low sound quality. ... As for the film itself, it is much inferior to the 1976 Zeferelli/Stratas movie in all the respects: staging, acting, singing, and conducting. Lip-syncing is just awful. Patane's tempi are all too fast, and Verdi's moving masterpiece becomes too hasty. As if he was late for dinner that day, and wanted to finish faster. Moffo's acting is much inferior to Stratas', and voice wise Stratas is also more interesting, at least in this particular role. Of course, this might be just to my taste, but Stratas made me cry because of the sympathy to her heroine. Here, well, nice voice, beautiful woman, but not touching at all, as this opera is supposed to be. In sum, the only reason you may want to buy this DVD is, if you are such a die-hard Moffo fanatic that simply cannot miss any Moffo sighting. Even in this case I would suggest that you consider not endorsing the amateurish level DVD transfer by VAI with your hard earned dollar.

Anna Moffo might well have been the soprano Verdi had in mind
when he wrote La Traviata, so well suited to the part of Vio-
letta she is - a strikingly beautiful woman combined with a
warm and radiant voice of considerable range and agility and
a sensitive actress - the perfect Violetta visually vocally and
dramatically. Franco Bonisolli is an attractive Alfredo with a
fine voice and Gino Bechi is an imposong Germont. Sets and
costumes are somptuous and the sound very good. A beautiful

movie and a lovely memento of Anna Moffo in her signature role.

It is difficult to imagine a more ideal casting than Anna Moffo in the role of Violetta Valery in Verdi's LA TRAVIATA. This movie preserves for posterity the reason why Moffo was the Violetta of the 1960's. A stunningly beautiful woman with an equally beautiful voice, Moffo has all the vocal and interpretative skills to manage this difficult role. The movie is very faithful to the score and the libretto, perhaps too much, sometimes to the point of looking like a theatrical performance instead. The movie does not have subtitles either, something that can be difficult for people with no knowledge of the opera. Besides this, the color and costumes are really good. Alfredo Bonisolli as Alfredo and Gino Bechi as Germont support Moffo both on the visual and musical aspects. Among the best scenes of the movie are "A Forse lui...Sempre Libera" with a sparkling display of Moffo's beautiful eyes and coloratura technique. Also remarkable is the Violetta-Germont duet, a moment where Moffo and Bechi create a great moment of musical theater. This movie is in my opinion, even with its technical flaws, more effective in making a case for this wonderful opera than the Zefirelli. It presents Moffo in her best role one, one of the best interpretations in opera history.

I really enjoyed this version of Onegin. It's more like a film than an opera. Indexing between the booklet and the DVD is 1 off, and there is a glitch in sound between tracks 12 and 13, but it is still a grat production. And I didn't have any problems navigating to Act II or Act III. What surprised me, the native Russian speaker, is that non-Russian singers sing in almost perfect Russian language.

The film lasts only 117 minutes, which means almost 40 minutes of the original score is missing. Notoriously the opening theme and duet&quartet is cut out and the film start from the peasants' scene. Although, this DVD version includes the music only track of the opening. So, if you go to the bonus menu and select "prologue", it plays the opening music, duet & quartet and continues flawlessly to the film.
Some poeple complained about the scene selection. My copy of DVD works fine. It brings me to the very beginning of the act II or the act III. No problem.

This is a beautifully filmed version of Onegin. While the music is impressively lyrical, you would even forget it's an opera because it's so well filmed. Since it's a film version, there are quite a few scenes edited out from the original Tchaikovsky's score.
The film starts with peasants' chorus. The opening music and quartet are deleted, which is actually a shame because I think the quartet contains the most important key word of the story; "Heaven granted me the habit in place of happiness." Maybe the director didn't want to give it away right from the beginning. Anyway, this music is restored in the special features and you can enjoy the music without motion picture.
The production is really great. Lady Larina's estate, Prince Gremin's palace, duel scene in the snow, scenes of the country side and of St-Petersburg, etc...everything is beautifully filmed. Even Onegin and Lensky arrive on hourses in the beginning. It's not filmed in studio so nothing seems phoney. Musically, it's one of the best recordings ever made.
The image isn't much remastered, nor is the sound. You can select DTS or 2-channel stereo and subtitles in 6 languages.
This is the best version of Onegin on DVD for now.... at least till someone put the Kirov's production with Leiferkus on DVD.

Steffi Scherzer did not present remarkable talent in technique of being a swan.
Compare to Natalia Makarova's creative and marvelous performance in the 20th century, Scherzer is just an ordinary ballerina who might ruin this masterpiece in the art of classical ballet.
This is not the precious one to collect for appreciation.

Totally objective and irrefutable ratings (0-10):

DVD Video - 10.0 - Superb. Very thoughtful and gratifying camera work.

Sound - 10.0 - Barenboim and the Staatsoper Orch play this piece as well as I've ever heard it. The Digital 5.1 sound is full and just what you'd expect from a well-made DVD. I am not a sound expert though, so take my rating on sound only with a grain of salt.

Content - 8.5 - (breakdown follows)

Steffi Scherzer (Odette/Odile): 10.0 - Miss S. is enormously talented and, in many places, spine-tingling to watch. I've never seen or heard of her before this, but she is simply one of the best currently dancing ballerinas I've seen. Her performance is languid, and she seems ever-conscious here that she is playing someone who is part-bird. This is true of the corps too.

Oliver Matz (Prince Siegfried): 8.5 - is not as good, but still competent. Plus, even though his technique is a little rough edged (in places it looks too hard for him; plus he's a terrible partner), he brings a very pleasant lightness to the steps, especially in the "danse du prince" that begins the first "white" scene. Overall, Matz is memorable, which says a lot.

Jens Weber(Benno): 8.0 - His technique is a little raw, but overall, his dancing is pleasant to watch. His role is beefed up in this production, and that's a good thing in this case because Weber has some acting talent. This is important because, in this production, Benno is a catalyst for the Prince's troubles. (See comment below on production).

Bettina Thiel - (the Queen): 9.0 - Very nice to watch, beautiful lines, soulful acting. Anyone who's seen other Swan Lakes (not counting Matthew Bourne's) knows that the Queen is usually a pantomime role. Here, she is central to the story, so it's good that she has a lot of dancing to do. The most exceptional moment is her solo scene, which is danced, I believe, to the prelude of Act II (Act III in most productions; see below).

Corps de Ballet: 10.0+ !! - Absolutely marvelous. The white acts are breathtaking. I have three Swan Lakes on DVD. This is the one I watch the most. And I watch it a lot. The main reason is the stunning corps.

Production: 8.5 - Traditionally, the ballet is set in the 13th century or whatever - fairy tale time - whereas this one is set in what appears to be late 19th century dress (during the full color scenes). So what? The white scenes are totally traditional, and the color scenes are a little more innovative, but, apart from the plot tweaking, nothing spectacularly controversial.

Benno has a "thing" for the prince, which is unrequited. I believe that this is an objective subtext in this ballet whose whole premise is the Prince's sexual confusion. When Benno finally gets it that the Prince is not interested, Benno's jealousy ignites the subsequent deception. You'll either be persuaded or not.

Did I mention the Corps?

Tchaikowsky's Swan Lake probably presents the greatest textual difficulties of any ballet in the repertoire. The first production in Moscow was a failure. The second at the then Mariyinski (now the Kirov), after Tchaikowsky's death, was the work of two master choreographers whose marked stylistic differences enhanced the thematic variety between the "white acts (II and IV) " choreographed by Ivanov, and the "color-full acts" (I and III) choreographed by Petipa. They also made a crazy quilt of Tchaikovsky's score, changing some items around, deleting others, adding Tchaikovsky piano pieces (orchestrated by Ricardo Drigo) and interpolating bits by Minkus. It was a success that has lasted to this day. An unintended legacy of this initially effective approach has been that SWan Lake has been considered re-interpretative fair game by varied and lesser talents. Miraculously, Ivanov's second act remains relatively untouched. It is one long love duet that has become the very definition of classical ballet, the steps and patterns so chaste, so appropriate, so beautiful and so ingrained in the collective balletic consciousness that it has mercifully intimidated choreographers through the decades and remained devoid of tampering in general (well.... Balanchine tweaked a thing here and there, and added a coda to the central pas de deux). All this to justify why, worthy though this effort from Berlin is, it should not be anyone's first Swan Lake. I will always advise to start with the Russians. The only one available on DVD so far is the Kirov: a sumptuous production, danced superbly, with the romantic restraint characteristic of the company. It enshrines stylistic traits that identify it as Russian ballet.... Swan Lake's score will allow it to be nothing else. For example, the folkloric tilt of the heads in the cygnet pas- de-quattre, or the way females use their backs, nowhere more obvious than in the Spanish dance (Act III), but also central to the swans, the flow of the arms, etc. So start in St. Petersburg..... you can't go wrong.

As to this Berlin production. The good: never have I heard the score played as well on any performance. The Staatskapelle Berlin outdoes itself, Barenboim makes the score clear, moving and vibrant (even if at times his tempos are a bit slow for the dancers to show off). He brings the orchestra on stage for a bow at the end of the performance.... well deserved (the DVD sound is very good). The Staatsoper company is excellent.... I would never have expected such lyrical dancing from a German company (so much for stereotypical thinking). The principals are outstanding, with special kudos to Steffi Scherzer, a dancer I did not know before this and who is truly gifted. But all are fine and worthy of greater exposure. The bad is pretty bad: an Oedipal, unsubtle and melodramatic supertext has been imposed on the fairy tale creating a meaty dance role for the Queen (à la Matthew Bourne), a mime part in all other productions I know and which the late Lucia Chase relished performing occassionally with "her" company, ABT. Then there is the gay infatuation Benno has for the prince...... why? it doesn't contribute anything nor go anywhere....I guess it's decorative. There is even a hint of palace intrigue since von Rothbart now seems to be a Prime Minister who gets strangled by the Prince at the end. Does it work? Not really. All this added to&fro needs music and stage time which is robbed mostly from Act III. The national dances are truly shortshrifted when they can be exciting. Perhaps Mr. Bart should have allowed more of Petipa in what Petipa did best, and refrain from doing what he obviously has not mastered. So.....all told, I enjoyed it. Even the bad stuff has the redeeming quality of sounding so good. I would have given this performance 3 stars but for the superlative work of the orchestra. If you are a lover of Swan Lake and know it, get it. If it is your first acquaintance with the work.... go elsewhere. I recommend the Kirov (I particularly enjoy the introduction of some black swans among the white in Act IV to Tchaikowsky's Valse Bluette, orchestrated by Drigo, a lovely, appropriately melancholy dance, even if the result of the hodge-podge prone masterpiece bequeathed to us by Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa..... and Tchaikovsky.

I found this performance bizarre; the whole production seemed strange. It was not an avant-garde one, but done with a pretense for historical accuracy. Yet the costumes of the chorus suggested something totally different from 17century Moscow. Were they Polish or Ukrainian? Someone did not seem to do their homework.
I actually liked Marusin as Prince Golitzyn. I think he had squillo and also he acted quite well. Paata Burchuladze seems to always play the same role, no matter whether he is in this opera or in Don Giovanni. The singing is good, though. I must admit that only main roles that are either Russians or Bulgarian Ghiaurov, sing intelligibly, although Ghiaurov happenned to have a heavier accent that I would have thought. But for me as a native Russian speaker, the singing of the chorus and other's smaller roles were a real disappointment as I could not understand a word and had to resort to subtitles and it was a real distraction. I wonder if Italians have the same feeling when they listen to their opera performed by foreign singers...In any case, it's a satisfactory performance but I think the complexity of the work was not resolved here, and the beauty of this opera was not fully conveyed. It looked rather Wagnerian to me but it is not and I believe it had to be done with more respect to its Russion origin, or be totally devoid of place and time to become an avant-garde production.

Well sung and adequately conducted, this Khovanshchina suffers terribly from Alfred Kirchner's unfocussed and ultimately unsatisfying production, totally lacking in spiritual core. Much of the production does nothing to assist the viewer in appreciating or even understanding the admittedly complicated plot. The standard cuts are made, thankfully (chiefly affecting Act 2). Abbado conducts the Shostakovich orchestration (preferable to Rimsky-Korsakov's, perhaps) with a decidedly un-Russian flair, making for an interesting but unconvincing interpretation. Kirchner's production comes into focus only in the finale to Act 5 by Igor Stravinsky, rarely used in relation to the more common Shostakovich finale, itself based on Rimsky-Korsakov's original finale. (Ravel also wrote one, performed once in Monte-Carlo and never heard again.) The singers acquit themselves with varying degrees of success; the Vienna State Opera Orchestra plays well, not sounding very Russian; the Bratislava Opera Chorus is mediocre much of the time (granted, the stage direction they are given is for the most part horrendous). The English subtitles are good; this is an in-house performance (although not from the Vienna Staatsoper) from 1989, with some very annoying camera work. Total length 174 minutes, not 113 minutes as printed on the box. A decent rendition, if not profound.

Tolstoy once said: "I like neither talented drunks nor drunken talents" thereby wittily dismissing Mussorgsky. Mussorgsky however cannot be pushed aside so easily ( even if Tolstoy was right; it took no less than three composers to finish the work,
left in a sorry unfinished state.)
Abbado, who is undisputably today's greatest interpreter of
Mussorgsky, chose, very wisely, the Shostakovich orchestration
who created a dark hued, sombre score that he handles masterfully.
In fact we go from the aethereal strings (The Prelude) to the
dark bases representing the brutal strenghth of the Khovanskys
and the ensuing conflicts. Distant trumpets create magical effects. This DVD sound is superb( and if I may say so, you are far better off with this than the exorbiantly priced CD set)
And to see it! The design is incredible. Sets are surrealistic
in a way, full of disturbing images suiting the mood of the moment. Screens sometimes close creating claustrophobic effects,
sometimes opening to infinite vistas. Sometimes we see ruined cities or pyramid of skulls, the latters seems like a constant theme reminding us of the concluding tragedy.
The principals... Nicolai Ghiarov, the world famous basso, acts
and sings with tremendous power, a multifaceted tragic character.
Paata Burchuladze, another marvelous basso, shines as Dosifey the
high priest. We must also mention Anatoly Kocherga in the role of Shaklovity the evil Boyar, thoroughly
frightening, but believable - his great aria in third act is
one to watch for. Ludmila Semtchuk as Marfa is beautifully acted
and sung, she is a real feast for the eye as well as the ear.
Last but not least, Heinz Zednik, the scribbler, ( of Bayreuth's Mime fame) here
he sings in Russian as if the role was created for him.
Note of caution: The music is difficult and requires repeated listenings. Watch it one act at a time as the opera is very long.
But I assure you, you will love this work as I came to love it, being a sceptic at first.
Do I need to sum up? Great musical and theatrical experience.
Opera at its best. Can't recommend it enough.

While I was familiar with the music of this opera, I was quite happy to get it on DVD, since it is very rarely performed. After seeing it, I understood why. It is definitely more enjoyable on the car CD player, than as an actual visual performance.
While the opera is certainly one of Verdi's lesser successes, the ridiculous production, with Napoleonic outfits was very annoying ( the actual story takes place in the XIIIth. Century), and anyone familiar with the original story, or at least following the subtitles would catch on to this. While the singers were good, the bad production weighted them down.
The ballet was clearly a tedious and unpleasant afterthought for Verdi, as its score is totally lacking his usual flair and the lacklustre choreography did not help a bit to lift the tedium.

Vespri is a wonderful, underappreciated opera. It probably has the most ensemble numbers of all of Verdi's operas, even more so than Ballo. It requires great singers but has relatively few "showy" numbers for them, a fact star singers may resent given the length of the work. The soprano gets the haunting "Arrigo...." which is really part of a duet, the well known Bolero, and a melodramatic ballad in the first act; the base gets the eloquent "O tu Palermo." The musical and dramatic quality of tenor and baritone arias are not as high, yet their music is equally demanding. The ensembles are magnificent: all sorts of combinations from a-capella quartets to choruses to full-out unison oh-so-beautiful-italian-melodies. Most of the opera seems written in long melodic lines in minor keys (I have not checked a score.... it sounds that way to me). Yes, there are some passages where the inspiration is not up to the rest, but those do not occur often.

I first became acquainted with this opera when the Met did it years ago with Montserrat Caballé, Nicolai Gedda, and Sherrill Milnes, in a somewhat undistinguished Swoboda/Dexter production. Caballé's singing was the "stuff of legends," as subsequent hearings of the broadcast performance continue to attest. And she was followed in the part by the likes of Scotto, Deutekom, et al.

The La Scala performance is particularly distinguished by Muti's conducting. I'm not a fan of his conducting in general, but here he excels: energetic, lyrical, propulsive. It is a pleasure to hear Giorgio Zancanaro, a truly robust italian baritone the likes of which we don't seem to hear in America often. His Met appearances were brief. Ferruccio Furlanetto is a good singing base, elsewhere a good Leoporello; Studer and Merritt are fine, but ...... one longs for great voices as Elena and Arrigo, and good as they are, the greatness one has heard totally eludes them. The opera is given complete, even with the ballet (one wishes they would have used the Jerome Robbins choreography.... this one is undistinguished and boring, and so is the dancing). The production is sumptuous. Much love seems to have been placed by all concerned into this project, and in general it shows.

The sound is excellent.... uncompressed stereo. Unfortunately, this is probably the worst DVD I have ever seen (the reason for the 3 stars). I do not know the reason for this utter failure. I have not seen this performance on tape or disc. It looks like the performance was underlit for the source television broadcast and therefore the problem may never be resolved. At points I found it hard on the eyes as I tried to focus in utter futility.

The question then becomes..... if this is as good as it gets, is there another Vespri in the works? I doubt it. Get it..... close your eyes from time to time..... it certainly is not unwatchable.... the worst moments occur in the luxurious ballroom scene.... close-ups are ok. Why could La Scala not gotten somebody like Brian Large to supervise things? Italian unions? Pity.

I put off watching this DVD for quite sometime. When I did finally view it, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The singing was wonderful, the recording was good, and the setting was effective. The 'Sicilian Vespers' took place in the 13th century, but the costumes here are updated to the 19th - that is Verdi's own time. The opera is longer than usual for Verdi, but it goes by quickly. About twenty minutes of the 3d act is devoted to a ballet that could stand on its own as a performance piece. I'm astounded that this opera is a 'neglected' work. I deducted a star since the DVD has few extras or choices.

Since Simone Boccanegra is my absolute favorite opera by verdi, I had a huge expectation for the DVD version by the Met. What a disappointment. The orchestration is very conventional. Levine made it sound very old fashioned. Tomowa-Sintow's Amelia is awful. Her vibrato is too much that she sounds like an aged lady. Whoever sings Paolo is the worst I've ever heard on any recordings. He can't sing a note and his appearance looks rediculous. Needless to say, Gabriele Adorno is less than mediocre. He's also a bad actor. And Sherril Milnes... I usually admire his works, but here he is just not convincing. Maybe because of the bad direction. I wasn't impressed by the setting, either. Since the quality of video is quite grainy, everything looks cheap. I just can't believe the world famous Metropolitan Opera releases such low quality DVDs. On the back cover it says "The Set, Costumes and lighting are superb - NY Times", well, that's all about it. Nothing else is worth mentioning. What a waste.

This is a traditional period Boccanegra (rather gloomy sets) with Milnes suitably imposing in the name part. That said, his voice is not at its best and Anna Tomowa-Sintow as Amelia is a little too matronly for my tastes. She sings affectingly when required to, though, which is more than can be said of Gabriele (Vasile Moldoveanu), probably the weakest of the principals. In the pit, James Levine drives the music too hard, so climaxes are inclined to be a touch overpowering and not a little brash. If you want to hear the subtleties and nuances of the score try the audio recording conducted by Abbado on DG - quite a revelation, and well cast, too). Video director Brian Large (usually reliable) is caught out a few times and there is the odd sensation as singers move from one side of the stage to the other and the vocal image falters, caught in a no man's land between the microphones. Very distracting. In sum, watchable enough but not one to die for.

This is an excellent production of what is arguably one of Verdi's finest works.

It is an opera that both my wife, Sue, and I love from the first to the final chord, and we have been very fortunate to have seen it at Covent Garden on a number of ocassions.

This production from the NY Met is damn near perfect, every nuance and facet are catered for perfectly. I have long admired the American Bariton Sherrill Milnes, here he is just perfect as the Doge Boccanegra - this could be his finest role. Others are just as perfect, such as Paul Plishka's wonderful dour Fiesco and Anna Tomowa-Sintow's moving Amelia.

I am less impressed by Vasile Moldoveanu, a kind reviewer suggested he never set the world alight. I would more unkindly suggest he is a very inferior tenor when you consider what the Met could have had available (aka, Carreras, Domingo, Kraus, Pavarotti) - but in a production and performance like this he becomes very acceptable.

This is an outstanding document of an outstanding opera. I hope you buy it. If you do you will witness Opera at it's very best. Of course, a master composer producing an absolute masterpiece is a great help. Enjoy it, you will see and hear no better.