Donizetti's "L'elisir d'amore", Opera de Lyon on DVD - WOW! - John C. - Aussie

Music Lane

It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

Donizetti's "L'elisir d'amore", Opera de Lyon on DVD - WOW!

Looked at this last night and was entranced - a great comic "opera". I designate it "opera" because it is far less serious than most and is great fun.
The singing, stage presentation, the music generally are all top entertainment. The principals, newly married husband and wife team Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu are in fine form.
The DVD contains a 52 minute addendum showing the artists in rehearsal, not only for the live opera production shown on the DVD, but also rehearsal for the CD recording which was done especially and contains extra music.
And what a lovely person Angela Gheorghiu comes across as. Someone made the comment that even in a bad mood she is better than most people are normally! If only the same could have been said about Kathleen Battle. I must confess to a prejudice against Anmgela after her singing in an LD set (Solti conducting) of "La Traviata" but her Donizetti performance changed my mind so I'll revisit her Verdi effort with a more open mind.
I've also been a bit prejudiced against the Opera de Lyon, disliking their modern costuming of the operas but again, this Donizetti performance is changing my mind about this also.

So, if you like great singing and enjoy a bit of fun on the stage, go look at this DVD. it is a winner.
One warning however. The audio is fine but the video of the stage production is very ordinary. I guess this was due to the subdued lighting because the supplementary rehearsal video is crystal clear. I'll forgive it because the atmosphere of the live audience is worth the decreased quality but it makes a bit of a mockery of the high definition cameras being lugged around. High definition result it is not.
John

Peace at AA

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Topic - Donizetti's "L'elisir d'amore", Opera de Lyon on DVD - WOW! - John C. - Aussie 15:56:33 06/04/02 (0)

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