Delightful!
Many of you, gentle readers, are familiar with the sad background of this "melodramma giocoso"; in the space of 8 months, Verdi lost both his infant children and his wife to illness and death. Combined with a lackluster performance by two of his principal singers, who sang in muted tones to preserve their voices, and a libretto which Verdi styles the "least bad" of those offered to him, the opera was a flop! It had three more performances in the 19th century. A change in public taste away from this form of opera in favor of the dramatic tragedy almost certainly was a contributing factor.
But yet ...
This recording is the first chance we have had to see and hear this opera and judge it on its own merits. Phillips issued a CD version years ago as part of their offering of all the early Verdi operas, which had gleaned scant attention in over 100 years. As evidenced by the five star rating above, I think that the folks at the Teatro Regio di Parma did a bang up job...
A real treat!
I have to admit that the cover photo of a woman in a state of hot pink undress nearly put me off buying this DVD. I took one glance and dismissed it as more Eurotrash. However, I was sufficiently curious to check every now and then to see when a review had been posted. I was pleased to read that Mr. Gleeson, in his review, described the production as "refreshingly traditional." I agree with that as with all other points of his review. It is such a treat to see an opera staged in a manner that composer and librettist would recognize as, and admit to being, their own creation, and not the production of some pompous idiot who shows contempt for composer, librettist and audience alike. In this case, the production does exactly what it should do: it tells a story, and in a way that's interesting, engaging, and (dare I say it) charming.
The cast are uniformly excellent. The only name I recognized was that of Anna Caterina Antonacci whom I associate with serious roles...
Excelent singers, wanderful mise en scene
An unknown Verdí, funny, romántic, great músic. Helps You to understand how Rossinis influence was useful but overpassed. The production id beutiful and elegant. Singers havre Excelent voces and at the same time are great actors, with humor and intellligence. A wanderful experience.
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