DVDs:

	Rossini - Il Barbiere di Siviglia Hermann Prey, Teresa Berganza Deutsche Grammophon, 2005 average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Rossini's 1816 work, based on Beaumarchais's Figaro characters, is one of the great joys of comic opera, crammed with familiar arias and duets, all of which drive the galloping pace of the book without ever interrupting the plot. At the heart of the tale is Figaro (Hermann Prey, making the most of his trademark theme "Largo al factotum") and the love triangle of Count Almaviva (a lusty Luigi Alva), the willful Rosina (Teresa Berganza at the peak of her mezzo-soprano powers), and her guardian with an ulterior motive Bartolo (Enzo Dara). --Piers Ford

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Figaro, Figaro, Figaro...

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 Corelli 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.

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I never get tired of it!

I had it on VHS, I have it on DVD, it's mandatory! And of course I have the same version in CD (some slight differences, some singers are not the same).

I find the overture, with Abbado conducting, absolutely mesmerizing. You can actually see his eyes guiding the orchestra.

The singers? Well, Hermann Prey is my favourite Figaro ever, and it's really a pitty there isn't any film of his wonderful Papageno in Mozart's Magic Flute. Teresa Berganza and her voice are perfect for the role. Enzo Dara is hilarious. I just love Luigi Alva's voice (he's Don Ottavio in the most amazing Don Giovanni ever recorded, the one by Giulini - how I wish we could have it on film!), I could go on forever.

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Excellent!!!

The opera is made of singers from high quality and very hillarious
Teresa berganza is excellent artist!


Great!

This is a wonderful production. It is obviously not a live performance; this means the singers get a chance to finely hone their singing and acting. Alva is a great actor, and makes his romantic interest shine through in his singing. Berganza also gives depth to her character, and her voice is lovely. This version is my favorite and is full of humour, even in the great choreography.


Pleasing, pleasant, but dull Ponnelle film

In today's age, when almost every operatic director has a mind-boggling "concept" for an opera, there's something comforting about popping this Ponnelle film. It's unambitious, inoffensive, aesthetically pleasing, and generally well-sung. Although there are some quirky touches (like Figaro sings "Largo al factotum" with Ponnelle panning to various mannequins and wigs in his shop), mostly this is your good old-fashioned Barber of Seville, with the good old-fashioned stage business and even the good old-fashioned musical cuts. Too bad this good old-fashioned Barber of Seville is also so dreadfully dull.

Despite Ponnelle's attempt to "open up" the opera, the film remains essentially stagey. The sets are both realistic and artificial-looking -- Seville being pretty terra-cotta land that only the characters of the opera seem to inhabit. Even the casting is predictable. Luigi Alva sings essentially the same performance as his studio recordings of the 1950's. He can't really hold a candle to Juan Diego Florez of today and Fritz Wunderlich of yesteryear (in that magical stage telecast of 1959). Ditto Teresa Berganza, whose pretty mezzo voice almost makes up for the fact that she's the most predictable of Rosinas, without a trace of either musical or thespian originality. Her "Una voce poco fa" actually made me yawn. Would it kill her to embellish Rossini's musical line just a little bit? She sings the whole opera almost absolutely "come scritto" which kind of kills half the fun of a Rossini opera -- hearing the unique embellishments of every singer. Would it kill her to seem like she's having a bit of fun? Ponnelle's fondness of closeups only reveal Berganza's advanced age and her facial dullness -- you can practically hear Ponnelle shouting "Smile! Frown! Smile again!" Most of the time she just looks sullen though.

As is often the case with this opera, it's up to the supporting characters to provide the fun. They sort of do, with the emphasis on the sort of. Hermann Prey makes a charmingly conceited Figaro. Enzo Dara, ridiculously coiffed in a long curly brown wig is a hammy, funny Bartolo. There's nothing original about his performance either, but Bartolo's antics are so engraved in stone, that it's fun to see those same old antics performed with relish. Paolo Montosarlo is Basilio, and Ponnelle underlines "La calunnia" with loud bursts of thunder. Bertha constantly sneezes, so much so that you want to shove her some Claritin. Basically they are fun, but this is the same kind of fun you'd see basically at any Barber performance.

I would be more satisfied with this film, if I didn't have another Ponnelle film to compare this with -- his 1981 film of Cenerentola. That film is more stylized, but it has a warmth, charm and beauty that is sorely absent here. I cared about the characters in the Cenerentola film, even the screechy stepsisters, because Ponnelle seemed to care about them. It also is a truly unique experience, employing special effects that turned Rossini's earthy opera into a real fairy tale. I watched that film and thought that it provided something special, something a staged performance could not achieve. However, with this Barbiere film, I think that essentially, I could go to any opera house and have the same experience, except with maybe less detailed costumes, scenery, and less closeups (which usually don't flatter the singers anyway).

If an operatic film doesn't provide any original ideas, then I expect it to preserve a special, memorable operatic portrayal. For instance, I happily sat through a grainy RAI film of Madama Butterfly because of the tenderness and beauty of Anna Moffo's Cio Cio San. I sat through a grainy B&W film of Otello because Mario del Monaco's Otello was a force of nature. But I don't get that feeling here. None of the performances are so note-worthy that they needed to be preserved permanently on celluloid. Certainly not Teresa Berganza, whose Rosina was dull the first time around and only got duller through the years. Or Luigi Alva. Hermann Prey, Enzo Dara, and Paolo Montosarli are the only performers who are trying. But still, they aren't so special that they *need* to be preserved for posterity in a lavish opera-film. Plus, Hermann Prey could be seen in better form in the German-language telecast that's now on dvd.

So my conclusion? Buy the German Barber of Seville with Fritz Wunderlich, Hermann Prey, Hans Hotter, and Erika Koth, if you want a fun, beautiful performance. Buy the recent dvd from Madrid with Juan Diego Florez if you want a more note-complete, vocally dazzling show. This is an inoffensive, fairly pleasant film, but I personally don't think it's anything special.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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