Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This is a glorious work by Vivaldi. It is a live, high-energy production. Of course, you have to accept the usual blemishes and imperfections of a live production. The only other production I know is an earlier (1977) recording, also with Marilyn Horne. I was expecting to hear a baritone as Ruggiero. This production has a counter-tenor or something like that: Jeffrey Gall. Normally I find counter-tenors annoying, but Jeffrey Gall quickly won me over. In fact, all the singers are wonderful. The staging, costumes, etc. are excellent. If you like Vivaldi, you definitely want this DVD. Watch for the moments when Alcina (Kathleen Kuhlmann) flirts. You will enjoy the statues. What fun!
The only disappointment is not in the production, but that no synopsis is included. There is a hint at the plot included in a few sentences on the back of the case. You will need to get the synopsis somewhere else. Just reading the back of the case and following the subtitles won't be enough to know what is happening. Why do the people who make DVD's have to be so stingy? How hard would it be to include a synopsis?
Click Here to see more reviews about: Vivaldi - Orlando furioso / Behr, Horne, Patterson, San Francisco Opera (1990)
Antonio Vivaldi's opera takes place on the sorceress Alcina'senchanted island. Although old and ugly, Alcina has the magicalpower to make herself appear beautiful and to bewitch courtiers whoset foot in her realm. She has tried to make her power eternal bygaining possession of the invincible guard Arontes under the statueof the wizard in the Temple of Infernal Hecate. Brought to the islandby fate, the other main characters of the opera, namely the beautifulAngelica, her young Saracen lover, Medoro, and the jealousOrlando--a Christian knight and Charlemagne's nephew, who is inlove with Angelica--are entwined in an intriguing love story of furiouspassion and despair. This San Francisco Opera production ofOrlando Furioso boasts a stellar cast, headed by the Americanmezzo soprano, Marilyn Horne, whose undisputed mastery of thebel canto school of singing makes her one of today's finestperformers. 140 minutes.
Orlando: Marilyn Horne Angelica: Susan Patterson Alcina: Kathleen Kuhlmann Bradamante: Sandra Walker Ruggiero: Jeffrey Gall Medoro: William Matteuzzi Astolfo: Kevin Langan Orchestra and Chorus of the San Francisco Opera, Randall Behr, conductor Production by Pier Luigi Pizzi; directed for video by Brian Large
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