Customer Reviews

Bellini: I Puritani

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Several reviewers have criticized Anna Netrebko because her coloratura skills do not match those of Maria Callas. Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills, or Edita Gruberova. On that point, I have to agree. Although Netrebko does an exemplary job of sustaining long notes at the end of phrases (a Bellini specialty), she doesn't display the trills and ornamentation skills of a true coloratura soprano. If the ability to sing coloratura is of primary importance to you, then this production will be a disappointment. However, I am willing to rely on "I Puritani" CD's to hear Elvira in her full coloratura glory because Netrebko brings so many other fine qualities to the role. Those qualities include: a full-bodied dark and dusky voice that, at the same time, is gentle and supple; superior acting ability; a charismatic stage presence. These combine to make for a performance that is both dazzling and haunting. Sadly for the other players, the stage often feels empty when she's not on it.

The male performers don't fare as well, but I think it's partly that Netrebko's stage presence is so strong that The Met needed to dig deep and find three males who could keep pace with her. Unfortunately, none of the three do. As Riccardo, Franco Vassallo has a strong baritone voice, but he doesn't convincingly express the pain of a rejected suitor. Eric Cutler fares better on the acting side as Elvira's true love, but he struggles with the high tessitura of the tenor role. (Nevertheless, he and Netrebko have good stage chemistry even though her voice dominates the duets.) As Uncle Giorgio, John Relyea's bass is too gravely for Bellini's melodic score.

The orchestra, conducted by Patrick Summers, does a superior job bringing out the melodic beauty of Bellini's score. Unfortunately, only Anna Netrebko does it justice vocally (and this, despite her not being a coloratura specialist).

The DVD has many special features. The highlights are Renee Fleming interviewing Netrebko between each act and a wonderful set of interviews with the late Beverly Sills in which she discusses (with her characteristic warmth and humor) her own experience playing Elvira.

I read with surprise the rave reviews of this performance. While it has to be agreed that many aspects of Netrebko are wonderfully suited to this role, there are also critical shortcomings which are probably not obvious to audiences who are not well acquainted with the demands of Bel Canto. First on her plus points - she definitely looked the part, which is not often so, and while many viewers don't mind whether the singer looked the part, many also do, and this will keep these people happy. She has a lovely voice and a good acting ability - which certainly brings the role to life - again something not to be taken for granted. Thirdly she has star appeal, which will bring greater audiences to this sadly and unfairly neglected masterpiece by Bellini (even if its not Norma or La Sonnambula, it certainly deserves a revival).

However, viewers must also be aware that Bel Canto also requires the singer to have a good coloratura ability. This is unfortunately sorely missed here in Ms Netrebko's performance. Indeed audiences who are well acquainted with this work will have picked the glossing over of running notes and other obvious faults Ms Netrebko should have overcomed.

Perhaps it is wise of her to have appeared in a video recording rather than an audio one, where these faults would have been accentuated in the absence of her glamorous personality and great thespian skills. For it would have brought up very unfavorable comparisons with those who have managed the coloratura successfully - the legends of the past like Callas, Sutherland, Sills or even Freni, just to name a few.

Nonetheless, in times like ours, a greatly welcomed release.

This performance which I saw in HD broadcast, is superb in all respects. Puritani, though quite beautiful, is quite a static opera. Musically, what creates momentum is the profligacy and haunting quality of its melodic content, and the underlying rhythmic diversity present throughout the work. Thus much depends on the conductor. He has to let the melodies soar but keep taut control of the rhythms, flexibility without slackness. How Bellini came to use so much polonaise in dealing with Scottish Puritans is a puzzlement, but it works very well. Mr. Summers, whom I had never heard of before, is very good and he succeeds admirably in not letting matters wilt while never rushing anything. Besides its admirable set pieces, Puritani is full of little musical moments, almost throwaway beautiful two- or three-bar melodic phrases that make one comprehend the great respect with which Bellini was regarded by both Chopin and Wagner. A conductor cannot underline all of these, otherwise the performance becomes one of fits and starts, but they need to be noticed, with subtlety. Mr. Summers understands this very well and executes accordingly. It is ironic how much this opera, considered pre-eminently a singers' work, depends, to be truly effective, on the person silently wielding the baton.

Of course, there is the very dramatic "mad" scene Bellini provided for Elvira, pretty much out of nowhere, but even that is anchored by one of the most beautiful melodies ever written. Anna Netrebko is marvelous throughout, and excels in Qui La Voce and its aftermath. It's quite a haunting, dramatic performance that will long be remembered. You will gasp. The rest of the cast performs admirably, Mr. Cutler providing solid technique, poise and feeling in one of the highest tessitura tenor roles around.

The production is handsome and simple. The direction is smart, and in the case of Netrebko, brilliant. This is a DVD I will get and I'm sure I'll return to several times.

I missed the high definition telecast almost one year ago to the day but thanks to modern technology and my home theater, the dvd in dts sound on a big screen brings into my home a tremendous performance by Anna Netrebko with outstanding support from Eric Cutler, Relyea , and others. According to other reviewers, her trills arent the trilliest, and her fioriture(?) isnt the best, but my goodness, are we lucky to have such a talent performing for us. Thanks to the Met for these telecasts and DG for releasing them. And may I add that Ms Flemings interviews with the late Beverly Sills and with Ms Netrebko put a human-face and touch on the opera telecasts that no operaquiz ever did or ever will.

This performance of Bellini's masterpiece was marred
by a lack of the style of bel canto, an early 19th
century specialty in ornamentation for expressive effects.
Anna Netrebko is beautiful and acts well, but did not sing
the part in the bel canto style. Listen to singers like
Maria Callas or Joan Sutherland to hear how the part should
be sung. I saw two wonderful bel canto specialists sing this
part, Beverly Sills and Edita Gruberova. Netrebko is simply
not on that level and needs to learn the style.
Patrick Summers was a stylish conductor, though the other
singers were average. Best was John Relyea the basso.
The HD performance was fun to watch, but it makes one
sad to think that such a visible productions, which is so
heavily publicized, did not employ bel canto technique.

Star singer Anna Netrebko has a beautiful lyric soprano voice and is a pleasing actress. What she is not, however, is prodigiously gifted with coloratura skills. In this production of Bellini's masterpiece, she is enchanting to listen to and watch as long as one is prepared to ignore smudged fioriture, the absence of true trills, and the presence of scooped topmost notes. Whether she could benefit from more schooling, should she choose to continue in this repertoire, is an open question.

"I Puritani," was written for four spectacular singers, but, Netrebko apart, the Met has not cast this production from particular strength. Eric Cutler in the nearly impossible role of Arturo is a commanding figure, though he is undermined by an unpleasing, frequently nasal vocal production. True, he hits his notes, but his voice is not markedly beautiful. Similarly, John Relyea looks his part, but his rather gravelly voice gets in the way of any memorable impact. As Riccardo, Franco Vassalo is competent, but also in no way memorable. In sum, this production, for all the raves it has received, is hardly the night of four supreme stars expected in performances of this opera.

Further, the camera locations for this DVD performance are sometimes questionable. We, the viewers, are at moments in the wings or seemingly onstage with the singers, facing the conductor and looking out at the house, for no discernible purpose, except perhaps to give the bored among us the illusion of some few minutes of personal operatic fame. Even worse are the backstage visits conducted by Renee Fleming in Barbara Walters mode, asking dumb, unnecessary questions. The appeal here, I suspect, is the same as the one to diners in a fancy restaurant who, it is thought, like to watch the chef through a window open to the kitchen, or even worse cooking at their tableside. The idea that the production and stars should remain onstage and the audience in its seats probably was thought too non-interactive for contemporary multitaskers.

On the other hand, valuable among the special features of the DVD is the relevant between-scene commentary from the broadcast booth (thank God!) with the witty and charming Beverly Sills who shares her insights about this opera along with anecdotes of her own performances in it. Sills' remarks and the beauty of Netrebko's lyric singing, I'd argue, are the endearing features of this otherwise ordinary DVD.

This is a very decent production, I wish I saw it on stage. I am not sure if it is worth adding to one's collection though, because as great a singer and actress Anna Netrebko may be, she does not have a coloratura voice that is critical for this role. She pulled off a great Violetta in 2005 La Traviata, but in La Traviata less coloratura is required by all means. To sing Bellini though the soprano should ideally be a specialist in bel canto, which Ms. Netrebko is not (and she doesn't have to be! She can be perfect in lyric and even dramatic roles).

In this particular production, Ms. Netrebko's acting is wonderful and her singing is decent, but it cannot be compared to that of Joan Sutherland or even Edita Gruberova. There is no video recording with Dame Sutherland (to my knowledge), but there are at least two with Ms. Gruberova, so I certainly would recommend that rather than this one. The tenor there will be much better, too. Here the tenor has a suitable type of voice, but he is not singing well.

This 2007 DVD is puzzling. With Juan Diego Florez scheduled to sing Arturo at the Met in the near future, why did the Met choose to film this production, with the WORST tenor who has ever sung it at the Met since its 1976 inception (Luciano Pavarotti sang it then, and it has been downhill ever since)? Eric Cutler is absolutely awful as Arturo; when he goes to sing his high D-flat in his opening aria, the camera is on the soprano, Anna Netrebko, indicating that maybe Cutler missed the note and they had to edit something in later. Elsewhere, his singing is more unpleasant than any Arturo I have heard in performance or recording.
As for Netrebko, her interpretive skills are excellent, and she is a very charismatic performer. Most of the other reviewers have covered this in detail.
The other members of the cast are variable. Franco Vassallo, the Riccardo, is also about the worst Riccardo I have heard. The 1976 Met production featured Sherrill Milnes, and since then Paolo Gavanelli and Thomas Hampson sang the role (Pablo Elvira and Matteo Manuguerra also sang the role with distinction elsewhere) much better than Vassallo does here. Vassallo's mouth vibrates excessively, with the inevitable forcing and spreading of the tone. His range does not extend to the top (interpolated) notes of the role, and in general he sounds like a comprimario. John Relyea, as Giorgio, does sing out of the left side of his mouth, but in general sings with feeling, and is not a liability.
A further word about this performance. For some reason, the Met chose to open some cuts, but introduce others that create musical imbalances. In Act 1, Riccardo's cabaletta has both verses, but then near the end there is a jarring cut to nearly the end of the piece, and it does not work. At the end of the Elvira/Giorgio duet there is only one verse, and then the end of the number is also hacked up, including the orchestral part. Sometimes singers request cuts to save their voices, but why cut the orchestral part? Similarly, much of the opening orchestral/choral music is cut.
Unfortunately, this recording reflects the outdated philosophy that an opera only needs a prima donna. I hope that Florez records the role of Arturo soon with a good soprano so that there is a more balanced recording available.

Despite the tremendous effort put into the performance by Anna Netrebko as Elvira, this recording should under no circumstances be released commercially. Indeed, there are many other MET performances not available in commercial DVDs that fare much much better than this!

I am not being harsh to Netrebko, but the remark by Renata Scotto about her being the 'best Elvira' around these days is simply as far off as Scotto's bizarre early-year comment of 'forget about Callas; now is Scotto'. And the problem is not limited to Netrebko's problematic coloratura.

There are many incidences of Netrebko acting out of character in this performance. Her inability to conjure up poignant emotional portrayals throughout is a marked one - she is half smiling when Elvira should be dismayed, startled, or even mad. All in all, she is Anna Netrebko throughout; not Elvira the heroine.

For other characters, I must say that the singing qualities are below the required level of the MET in general,and even the conducting is barely average.

The only saving aspect is the sets and costumes, which the MET undoubtedly invested heavily in.

I was thrilled. I went to the Met (1st time) in 2007 to see Anna Netrebko in 'I Puritani'. I was overwhelmed by her beauty, her acting ability, and of course that glorious voice. Then about 2 weeks later I caught the performance in a live simulcast "Met goes to the movies" and was even more impressed because the cameras were able to focus on close-ups with important facial expressions. And now, lo and behold the performance is out on DVD!

The entire cast is superb. Patrick Summers leads the orchestra flawlessly; obviously he is thoroughly familiar with Bellini's beautiful music. Netrebko sings Bellini with no apparent effort and she is enjoying every minute of it. The 'mad scene' is not rehearsed, she does what she feels comes naturally. Yes she actually lays on her back on the stage with her head hanging into the orchestra pit and sings full throttle! It works; the ovation was thunderous.

Standing out besides Netrebko is John Relyea as Giorgio. A magnificent voice. He role is sung with compassion and he is very comfortable with the role. You want to close your eyes and let the music and the voices transport you but you do not want to miss anything on stage!

A plus with the DVD - you get to see interviews with Beverly Sills and Renee Fleming.