Rossini - Il Barbiere Di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)

Teatro Real of Madrid has done it again. Any of you who are fond of gorgeously staged productions, surely have noticed how high the bar has been set by Madrid. The Gran Teatre Del Liceu is another one you can put real faith in. I am becoming fond of comparing productions, buying one then another. This one trumps all the others I have seen.I recall Il Viaggio A Reims and the stunning array of staggering talent. Maria Bayo was in Viaggio, but I didn't notice her so much-owing to all the melodic melee and endless parade of stellar vocals. So I was very pleased and stunned by Maria Bayo this time! I think my mouth was agape, and eyebrows raised. She received a very long and enthusiastic ovation near the denouement; that would bring tears to your eyes-and why should she not? She had finished yet another in an interminable series of tour de force arias, and this one the best, saved for last! What nabobs of negativism whose reviews I read at times on these pages. They bring new meaning to the phrase, 'finding flaws in Paradise'. Disregard any review that does not recognise how extraordinarily difficult these shifting tempi and syncopated melodic reparte are... to sing, act and move about, in choreographic harmony all at once! I bet some of these reviewers have difficulty setting up their dang DVD! You will adore Maria Bayo and if you have a heart at all, will find yourself wishing to God you could sing that purely, and sonorously, strongly, and indefatigeuably! Belle, belle!I have not begun to praise this production enough-space does not permit. But you will come to greatly admire Pietro Spagnoli, as THE perfect Figaro-what a voice, what stage presence, what great acting. Move over Placido (whom I adore, don't get me wrong). Juan Diego Florez..a more believable Almaviva, a more tender and enviable light tenor you will not find today;..except for Roberto Alagna, and his knockout wife and unsurpassable soprano, Angela Giorghiu.Now I am keen not to overlook a smaller part, after my mistake with Maria Bayo...I must give Ruggero Raimondi a huge, vigorous shout of hurrah...as does the whole audience! Absolutely a flawless , but somehow, affable, bad guy! and man what a thrilling baritone to hear.If an audio cd of a good baritone is missing in your collection, here is one! It's small wonder he is so beloved. I keep hearing reviewers point out where an aging performer is losing it. How...simon cowell like. It's haughty. Paula Abdul pointed out to the audience, after a particularly snide comment by Simon, that Simon has NEVER appeared on stage. You see what I mean by a degrading haughtiness? Perfection of interpretation does indeed come with age.American Idol is more about worshipping youth.( and fame and wealth). Older performers could easily blow those kids off the stage. Ruggero's interpretation and performance of this role practically steals the show - eats the scenery as it is often said. How is the arch nemesis, the do anything for money bad guy - make us smile - and just be utterly delighted! This is perfection!I tell you even the cast in the background is flawless. Everything works in this production. And I must again compliment the costume crew. Wow! Forgive my wordiness, but I must point out what is genius about the costumes. It relates to the beloved opera "Pagliacci". Before the industrial age, when everyone toiled in the fields without relief, the traveling minstrels would blow into town with great fanfare. And what was the attraction? Typically, great fun would be had with the power elite. It was the saturday night live of its day. What makes the SNL sketches work, is whoever is being made fun of, will be wearing the clothes Bush, or Hillary, .. or what Babwa Wawters is wearing; her mawking obsequiousness portrayed in charicature. The costumery really does not have to be so baloony or absurd.In this production of the barber, the costumes are perfect. They bring to mind the people, choreography, and culture of southern Spain of that era. The clothes are still , somewhat normal looking, yet frightfully close to clown oufits. The delicate balance is acheived consummately. It is all brilliant. I do hope to see more of all of these performers...and sets and staging by all involved in this production. A shimmering, scintillating,sparkling performance by every player, seen and unseen. Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!

Not surprisingly, the performance of Juan Diego Florez makes this "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" special. I think of the role of Count Almaviva as third in importance behind that of Figaro and Rosina. But Florez has such a compelling stage presence and is such a spectacular Rossini tenor, that, like me, you may find yourself just waiting for him to come back onstage. (We are rewarded for our patience when he performs the difficult and usually omitted aria, "Cessa di piu resistere," shortly before the curtain falls.) Throughout the opera, Florez's voice rings out with precision and crystal clarity. His vibrato gives the vocal lines an electric sound as if they're pulsating with energy. And he knows just how and when to embellish Rossini's score. It's simply bel canto and coloratura at its best.Unlike some of the other reviewers, I wasn't disappointed with any of the other performers, particularly because their voices blend so well in the ensemble pieces. Pietro Spagnoli as Figaro may not command the stage as we're used to (after all, the opera is named after him), but he has a rich, flexible baritone voice (flexible enough to match Rosina's fast running couplets in their famous duet, "Dunque io son," a feat few Figaro baritones can pull off). Yes, Maria Bayo as Rosina omits a high note here and there, but her soprano voice has a lovely lyrical flow to it and she gives a spirited performance. She is having a great time onstage and it's infectious. It mattered not a bit to me that she's somewhat older than Florez, her love interest. Why shouldn't she be?I particularly enjoyed Bruno Practico's interpretation of Dr. Bartolo as a rather dim-witted buffa character rather than portraying him in the usual way as stuffy and pompous. Practico's approach integrates Dr. Bartolo into the stage action better and makes his "patter" music (the Act I aria, "A un dottor" and the Act II duet with Almavira, "Pace e gioia") more in line with the comic feel of the opera. He does a great job performing this difficult music. It's a treat to see the veteran Ruggero Raimondi as the amoral Don Basilio, booming out "La calunnia" in Act I and adding to the comic lunacy of Act II. Even Susana Cordon makes the most of her small role, giving us a wonderfully disheveled and quirky Berta but one who is shrewdly aware of exactly what's going on at every moment in Bartolo's household. Cordon gives an animated and funny rendition of her short Act II aria, a piece that often feels as if it's interrupting the action; but here it brings "bravas" from the audience.The sets, lighting, and costumes are inventive and show up well on the TV screen (opera DVD's are often so dark). I love the black and white motif, made comic with stripes, polka dots, and other assorted odd designs. The lighting designer was able to make black and white look as vivid as if he'd worked with a full palette. Then, at just the right moment, the black and white sets, costumes, and lighting give way to vivid colors and carry us to the end of this sparkling production.The bonus DVD contains informative interviews with the director, conductor, and performers. One example: Florez describes how he carefully writes out his "ornamentations" (as he calls them) ahead of time.

Okay, I am biased. I adore this opera, and it this production is my second favorite ever. That may sound like a backhanded compliment since I refer, of course, to the marvelous RCA recording made in the late 1950's with Fernando Corena as the definative Bartolo and many other superb portrayals that left so much to the imagination and was like being treated to a Chuck Jones cartoon in Italian. But then, that production was never made into a movie on DVD or otherwise.This film is fun, funny, clever, and oozing with the accurate look and feel of Spain somewhere at the turn of the 18th century, rather than the pre-French revolution era of Beaumarchais original story. Figaro's resemblance to Zorro at the end of the film seems more than coincidental, and that gave it an even greater charm. It works because despite the fact that it was conceived by a Frenchman, written as an opera by an Italian a generation later, and a German (Mozart) did the sequel long before Rossini came onto the scene, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle never forgot that this is essentially has a Spanish setting, and as a grand touch, the portrait of Dr.Bartolo (featured prominently in the comedy business of Act I) bears more than a striking resemblance to Salvador Dali's self-portrait, adding a further touch of lunacy to the proceedings.Production values aside, the singing was wonderful. I found myself singing along through many of the scenes, and the two-plus hours seemed to merrily dance away.This is a great "Barber of Seville", better than even the sequel film, which is also worth getting. They compliment each other beautifully, and are a must-have for the collections of opera lovers, Mozart/Rossini lovers, or fans of the Beaumarchais comedies. Worth every penny.

Ótima gravação

D’emblée, je vais choquer : je déteste les mises en scène contemporaines proposées notamment par une chaine de télévision franco-allemande, et d'autres. Certes, les images en 4K sont superbes, mais affligeantes à mon goût, voire vulgaires ; certes, l’audio est de qualité : mais à quoi bon quand le spectacle est médiocre ? Autant se procurer un bon CD.Bref, je préfère quand la mise en scène est imaginative, réaliste, en accord avec l’œuvre. Et si les interprètes sont de qualité,… cela devient de l’enchantement.Passéiste ? Tant pis, j’assume.Enchantement, c’est exactement ce que me procure ce DVD, livré avec un petit livret en plusieurs langues, dont le français.Celui-ci explique l’essentiel à ceux qui découvrent cette œuvre.Certes, l’image n’a pas la qualité des 4K et même de la HD… Il est regrettable que ceux qui “remastérisent” ne se soient pas intéressés à ce monument. Nous sommes dans la définition des anciennes cassettes VHS. Tant pis, c’est quand même beau et attachant.Car cette interprétation de 1972, à la Scala de Milan, est un monument.D’abord par son réalisateur et metteur en scène, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Il était profondément attaché à la théâtralité, aux décors et costumes ; on sent ici l’influence de Salzbourg et de Vienne, la gaieté de Milan et de Venise. Et quel soin et quelle attention apportés au moindre élément du décor, au moindre objet !Et puis il y a Claudio Abbado. Il est encore jeune en 1972, lorsqu’il vient depuis un an d’être nommé directeur musical de la Scala de Mila, dont il transcende le dynamisme dans cette période que certains considèrent, sous sa direction, comme l’âge d’or de cette Scala.Et puis il y a l’orchestre et les chœurs de la Scala de Milan : superbes !Et puis il y a la Grande Teresa Berganza, qui devient ici, à Mila, l’interprète de référence du rôle de Rosina : elle est là, à 39 ans, au mieux de sa forme et au début du faîte de sa voix ; merveilleuse.Et puis il y a Luigi Alva en Almaviva, vibrant et élégant, dans le début de sa maturité : il n’a plus grand chose à prouver, mais il rayonne quand même.Et puis il y a la magnifique basse d’Enzo Dara, LE spécialiste de Rossini, LE spécialiste du personnage de Don Bartolo, magnifique.Et puis il y a Hermann Prey dans le personnage de Figaro qui allie une pétulance toute italienne à la densité vocale d’un interprète de lieder : il devient d’ailleurs, comme Teresa Berganza dans le rôle de Rosine, l’interprète de référence de Figaro.Et puis il y a Paolo Montarsole comme Basilio, Renato Cesari en Fiorello, Stafania Malagù en Berta,…Pas un seul interprète qui ne soit excellent.Un monument, une interprétation de référence, de légende.Quel qu’en soit le coût (difficile à trouver, même en occasion), le rapport qualité / prix est exceptionnel.

Conocía esta versión y la he comprado para verla cuantas veces quiera

Godibilissima riproduzione del barbiere.Regia studiata nei minimi particolari - interpreti - cantanti dal più grande del cast Bruno Praticò (Bartolo), segue la straordinaria caricatura interpretativa di Susana Cordon (brava anche nella sua aria) nei panni di Berta - Florez concentra troppo (sebbene in maniera impeccabile ed eccellente) il suo ruolo nel canto, tralasciando effetti interpretativi - Bene Fiorello - Raimondi se l'è cavata aiutato solo dall'esperienza, debole il resto della compagnia. Direzione di Gelmetti molto bene.Qualità audio - video bella e soddisfacente (essendo un dvd).

die Sänger/Darsteller sind erste Klasse. Das wird vom Sound übertroffen, man höre sich die Pauken an. Wundervoll. Lege speziell auf den Klang der Aufnahmen großen Wert. Die Technik sollte allerdings endlich einmal höher auflösende Kameras verwenden, die auch bei Zoom noch kristallscharfe Qualität liefern. Hört man aber diese herrrliche Musik, vergisst man diesen Mangel (der fast allen DVD's anhaftet) schnell.Diese DVD's sind das Geld wert. Ein Genuss von fast drei Stunden. Viel Spaß.Eine Ergänzung:Liebe Freunde der OperDiese DVD muss man haben. Zu Beginn noch findet man einige kleine Fehler bei der Ouvertüre und der Dirigent summt bei lauten Stellen eher weniger den Ton treffend mit, aber das ist eben so, gehört dazu, denn es nimmt gleich zu Beginn jegliche Studio-Synthetik, die oftmals nervt.Die Handlung ist recht banal, es geht um Liebe und den Hindernislauf bis zum Ziel, halt wie im Leben beim Ausräumen der Hindernisse zuerst beim Objekt der Begierde, danach in deren Umgebung.Die sängerische und schauspielerische Leistung aller Beteiligten ist gut, es gibt etliche Highlights. Mit guter, kraftvoller Anlage und keinen oder tauben Nachbarn muss man die Stimmen genau anhören, wie gerade die von Juan Diego Flórez vibriert, sirrt und nahezu unglaublich rein und klar ist.Das Absolute ist der Part ab 2:25 Std. bis zum Zwischenapplaus, der deutlich macht, was Juan Diego Flórez da geleistet hat. Dieser Part und der berechtigte Applaus griffen tief in meine Seele, ich hatte feuchte Augen. So ging es ob dem Applaus sichtbar auch dem Interpreten. Was für eine Leistung.Diese Oper muss man einigemal ansehen, es sind so viele versteckte, nicht sofort sichtbare Details eingearbeitet, man entdeckt stets Neues.Nach wie vor die uneingeschränkte Empfehlung.