Customer Reviews

Bellini: La Sonnambula

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is the only live from the Met broadcast I have saved on my DVR for longer than a month. The singing is very good all around, some of the best I've seen from Dessay and Florez. The production is hit and miss for me.

On the hit side, updating this drama to current day make sense because it is a simple story of a girl being mis-accused of infidelity, and the storyline translates well to any age.

On the miss side the director thought it would be a brilliant idea to set it as an opera in rehearsal. The opera in rehearsal bit is cheap and does not translate well at all. In fact you can't really tell when they are in rehearsal mode and when they aren't, it was a really dumb idea. In fact the show only works if you more or less ignore that they are supposed to be somehow in rehearsal. Once you ignore the dumb concept seeing them in current day clothing makes the interaction between the characters more believable.

I should start off to say that the entire cast was probably the ideal for this show. Florez and Dessay make an amazing pair on stage - they blend very well together and are amazing soloists in their arias too. The orchestra was also great. The chorus was lively and sounded together as a group... didn't hear any individuals wailing. It looked like they had quite a bit of fun for some of the conflict scenes.

Some newcomers may find the opera's story itself a little cheesy - in a sense it's supposed to be. It's a lighthearted and charming piece with a very basic story. It's not a particular favorite of mine but the music certainly makes up the missing excitement. If you think about it - this is a very elaborate opera of a simple misunderstanding which in the end gives you a happy ending and all are at peace. Really, it's pretty fun! With such a light-hearted story like this, some may say it calls for regietheater.

Mary Zimmerman and the rest of the production team was booed on opening night and did not bow for this recording. It has been staged here as a New York opera company rehearsing the opera La Sonnambula. Our issue here is characters do seem to be rehearsing some scenes and others they seem to be having out-of-character interaction. The main problem is that when the libretto doesn't change but the action does, we have a mess. It's made even more bizarre that there's this conflict that matches all the music (but not the words) and the unseen orchestra plays on - actors and instrumentalists disregarding one another's presence.

Other times the people don't seem to act like human beings at all - for a literal and specific set and place we have here, too often the action and character direction seems completely unrealistic (not all the time though). For all direction though, the performers acted with perfection and showed all the emotion in them. The action becomes so confusing that at times it may even be better to look away and simply listen (hopefully you know the libretto or Italian). I would highly recommend looking up a libretto for this because the subtitles are also not very good - though that's never something to judge when listening to an opera; it comes with the territory with most DVDs in a foreign language.

It's audio heaven but visual hell. The set itself on a purely visual level with props and costumes and all are in fact great with what they are. It's like a great stage for the wrong show. I should also mention the fact that I'm also not biased against regietheater or modernizations either - this particular experiment though I think was a failed one, and it has a lot to do with an unfortunate mishandling of libretto and direction, and possible lack of research on Bellini and this piece (Zimmerman by her own admission did not research Donizetti much when she staged Lucia, I do not know if the same was true for Bellini).

This production of "La Sonnambula," when it first premiered at the Met, drew some of the most vociferous booing in recent memory. And some of the booing is deserved -- the concept of the production is muddled. Instead of giving us the story straight up, director Mary Zimmerman decided to stage the opera as a "backstsage rehearsal," where the drama of Amina and her sleepwalking actually happens to the soprano who plays Amina. Do you get it? The whole opera is set in a rehearsal room, with the cast dressed in backstage rehearsal clothes. During "Come per me sereno," Amina's charming opening aria, Natalie Dessay tries on and throws away a bunch of wigs. At the end of Act 1, Dessay and Florez (the Elvino) are being wheeled around on a bed (how'd a bed find its way to a rehearsal hall?) while the chorus frantically rips up and throws away music sheets. The sleepwalking scene has Dessay actually walking through the Met audience. The problem with this rehearsal concept is that the main plot point (Amina sleepwalking into Count Rodolfo's room) make no sense if it's all set in a rehearsal room. Why is "Count Rodolfo" shacking up in a rehearsal hall? Who is he anyway? I have no idea why Zimmerman (or Dessay, who supposedly pushed for a non-traditional production) would think that this sweet, pastoral tale needed to be altered that much.

Nevertheless, many many operas survive extremely silly productions because of the strength of the singing. Natalie Dessay once had an amazing pyrotechnic voice. It wasn't large but she could hit acuti like nobody's business and her stage presence was charming, if a bit frenetic. Unfortunately, she developed nodes and required several surgeries, and her voice just isn't what it used to be. In the quieter moments, she can still sound charming and her slightly piquant timbre is still there. She's still a musical singer. But her high notes now tended to be screamed approximations (time to take the lower options in the musical line?), and she can no longer negotiate any of the faster passagework with anything resembling beauty. Under pressure her voice tends to curdle and sometimes squeak. Her final cabaletta, "Ah non giunge," is disappointingly weak, sparsely ornamented and, dare I say it, squeaky.

The best performance belongs to Juan Diego Florez, who avoids the sillier stage business of the production, and instead focuses simply on singing beautifully. The voice is losing its rapid flicker vibrato, and now sounds warmer and his skill at negotiating this kind of music is unparalleled. I think the best moments of the video are the lovely duets between Elvino and Amina. Florez and Dessay have sang together many times before and they have great chemistry -- there is real tenderness to their duets. "Son geloso" might be the highpoint of this video.

"La Sonnambula" is one of my favorite operas, but it's never for some reason been terribly popular. It might be "weak" dramatically but I love the simplicity of the story and the tenderness and romanticism of Bellini's melodies. "Prendi, l'anel to donoi" and "Son geloso" might be two of the most beautiful love duets ever composed. They always sound like pillow talk to me. I thought this video was a lost chance to introduce a larger audience to one of the operatic repertoire's most unfairly maligned. But due to the weakness of both the production and Dessay's singing, people might yet again walk away with the wrong impression of the opera.

I was at the Met in person to watch this opera and the music and singing were tremendous, but I did not care for the production. It reminded me of a Gap commercial come to life. Just as important, at times there were so many people on stage at once it was difficult to keep track of the people singing. Ms. Dessay, Mr. Florez, or Mr. Pertusi could get lost in the crowd with the chorus. Now that the opera is on DVD, the opera comes across much better since the cameras can focus on the applicable people singing.

Reviewers have focused on the storyline. While it is not terribly believable, the reality is that many of the operas out there don't have such great plots either. Does an opera always have to have someone that dies tragically at the end? It's the music and singing that counts. And of course, a good production and set would be good too. The chemistry between Mr. Florez and Ms. Dessay was remarkable. Their respective timbres complement each other so well. Their duets were so delicious that I get easily absorbed into their singing and the sheer beauty of the music. While people will probably focus on Ms. Dessay's sleepwalking aria in Act II, Mr. Florez impressed with his jaw-dropping aria ("Ah perchè non posso odiarti") where he held the final note for an astounding 10+ seconds...with power. Unbelievable to see that in person - and great to see that again on the DVD.

La Sonnambula deserved a better staging for its sublime music, and despite the problems in the storyline and Ms. Zimmerman's production, this DVD is a worthy buy - if not for the camera work which provided better focus, then buy it for the music and singing.

I'd like to start this review with a caveat: keep in mind that all these reviews are personal opinions. You, as the potential buyer, may not necessarily like what I like. I've purchased 40+ operas from Amazon, and I'm not always in agreement with what the reviews claim. This is particularly true of this production of La Sonnambula.

As for the singers, Juan Diego Flórez and Natalie Dessay are, of course, outstanding. Dessay's sleepwalking scene in act II will bring tears to your eyes. Jennifer Black as Lisa clearly relishes her role as the spiteful "understudy" in this production, throwing her arms up in triumph at the end of the act I finale after having ruined Amina's wedding to Elvino (though I will admit that her voice was just a bit weak in her upper register). There is a nice balance between the orchestra (the Met orchestra excellent as always) and the singers. The acting is first rate by all the performers. Truly, this is a wonderful production on the musical/acting side.

Where I differ in my opinion from some other reviewers concerns the overall concept of the setting. By staging the production in a modern rehearsal hall, Zimmerman is playing with the very notion of "staging". Never was I confused as to when we were in "rehearsal" and when we were in "real life". Some reviewers have complained about the occasional mismatch between the words and what is portrayed on stage, and they are entitled to their opinions. However, I wonder how much we have become too entrenched in "accurate, period productions", as if anything that doesn't include hoop skirts, bustles, and gentlemen in waist coats no longer counts as acceptable. Creativity and innovation are at the heart of musical and theatrical development: the "tried and true" isn't always the best approach,..."tried" often becoming "tired". Yes, this is the story of "a simple Swiss girl in a simple Swiss town", but let's think outside the box for a minute and try to understand what the production team is doing before rejecting it out of hand. The fact the audience literally "booed" Zimmerman's production on opening night is shameful; I would expect more of us.

For example, the reviewer in the Washington Post was confused by "the Act 1 finale, which had the chorus throwing torn-up paper and cups around the room," calling it "inexplicable." Actually, it makes perfect sense to me: the diva of the production, Amina, has just been unjustly rejected by her love, Elvino...effectively spelling out the end of the production; hence, the chorus tears up the score and trashes the rehearsal room in their frustration. Again, let's think outside the box before raising up our hands in surrender.

Anyway, each is entitled to his/her opinion. I found this production to be a complete delight and a wonderful way to spend of couple of hours with opera at home. If you are completely against modernizations in opera, then this is certainly not the production for you. On the other hand, the acting performances and the glory of the two stars' voices more than make up for any shortcomings others may have found in the production. A whole-hearted two thumbs up from me.

I attended the HD live presentation of "La Sonnambula" at my local theater. It was only the second opera I had seen and it made me realize that opera can be really fun and some of the stories, such as "La Sonnambula", are easy to follow. Natalie Dessay was amazing as a singer and so cute to watch. She and Juan Diego Florez were wonderful together. I highly recommend this DVD, even for those who are new to opera.

I am a great fan of both Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez, and I was not disappointed by them in this DVD, which captures - unfortunately - what to me is the most bizarre idea for an operatic production. Other reviewers have already described the staging, so I won't bother to repeat their observations and limit myself to agreeing with them and the chorus of boos that followed the performance at the Met. Hopefully, the two principals will be invited to repeat their roles in a more traditional staging.

"Huh? Couldn't you say that for all operas?"

No, not really. Most operas also involve good music. The music per se of Vincenzo Bellini's "La Sonnambula" is so rudimentary one hardly needs to hear it. That's as Bellini intended; his opera is a vehicle for "bel canto", for unabashed display of beautiful voices. La Sonnambula is like a triple-dip ice cream cone; the three roles of Amina, Elvino, and Count Rodolfo are the three scoops of gelato and the orchestra/chorus are the cone ... and there's not even a waffle cone at Gelateria Bellini!

Also, some operas have dramatic merits -- intelligent librettos, emotive impact, and/or slapdash wit. The libretto of La Sonnambula is ludicrous and the `plot' is mediocre even by the vaudeville standards of 19th C opera. But who cared or cares, in the realm of bel canto! It's the singing! Turn off the subtiltes and do you think you'll miss anything? Trust me, you won't.

La Sonnambula is supposed to be set in a Swiss village, some miles below a vacant castle. The village belle, Amina, is bethrothed to the village beau, Elvino; their wedding is planned for the morrow. Lisa, another village maiden, is fuming with jealousy. The lovers, however, sing rapturously of their happiness. Suddenly a suave, elegant stranger appears, asking directions to the castle, though it emerges that he's oddly familiar with the region. The castle is too far to reach before nightfall, so the stranger accepts a room at the inn managed by Lisa. The villagers warn the stranger that a hideous "phantom' roams the region by night, but the stranger scoffs. Night falls.

Okay, are you ready? The stranger is in reality the long-absent Count Rodolfo, incognito for no reason that is ever revealed in the libretto. The phantom is none other than Amina, a sleepwalker/sonnambula, who strolls into the Count's bedroom unaware of her action. The good Count suppresses his lust and leaves her untouched in his bed, where she is discovered the next morning. Elvino goes "Italian" with jealousy and prepares to marry Lisa instead ... Have courage, dear romantics! All will be resolved.

The three bollas of gelato in this cone -- absolutely superb gelato, as good as any from Tre Scalini on the Piazza Navona in Rome! -- are Natalie Dessay as Amina, Juan Diego Flores as Elvino, and veterate basso Michele Pertusi as Rodolfo. Florez sings like a God, as `they' used to say of Caruso; he sings with such "sprezzatura" that he nearly steals the show from Dessay. ["Sprezzatura" was the word used in the early baroque for musicianship so disdainfully perfect that it could strut itself without restraint. Che bello voce ha il peruano!] Dessay has `matured' as a musician enough to compensate for a little tiredness of voice in the second act; her phrasing and tuning are sublime throughout, and she recovers her `fire' in time for her jaw-and-curatin dropping final aria. Just how good she really is is clarified by comparing her to Jennifer Black in the much easier role of Lisa. Black's vocal gifts don't include beautiful timbre; in fact she's screechy, scoopy, and her highest notes are seldom pitch perfect. She sings the first aria, and if you haven't ejected the DVD after it, you'll gasp with sensual pleasure at Dessay's first musical phrase.

In keeping with my gelato metaphor, if the singers are the ice cream and the drama the mere cone, the production - sets and costuming - is the thin sheet of paper wrapped around the cone to keep it from dripping. This production isn't at all visually splendid or charming. The gossip is that it was hated by audiences at the Met and panned by the critics. It reconceives the drama self-referentially, as a rehearsal of the opera in a back studio almost as shabby as the actual practice rooms of most opera houses. It's not incoherent. It's not such a dim idea. One could even say it "works", but it misses its audience completely. This is a concept addressed to an audience of insiders who have seen half a dozen productions of La Sonnambula, who have a full set of memories of those productions, and who crave some irreverence. First-timers won't "get it." Devout Belliniphiles want the whole lasagna, Dirndl dresses and all. Fine, give `em what they want! It doesn't matter. The production is merely a ploy for hiring the singers!

In that case, you ask, why not just listen to a CD? Is it just the subtitles? Well, let me ask you: why not just get your three scoops of ice cream in the palm of your hand? or do you need the stale tastless cone and the inedible paper sheath after all?

If you enjoy great bel canto singing, it doesn't come greater than this.To add to the joy, Dessay, Florez and Pertusi not only sing their roles to perfection, they look their parts and act them superbly as well - and entire supporting cast do too. I have watched this video at least a dozen times over the past few months, and it only grows more delightful with each viewing.

Poor Bellini! Out of fashion for a century and rescued from near obscurity by the
genius of Maria Callas only to be trashed by this horror. What are we to make of Zimmerman's absurd production? Bellini in some sort of big-city office loft, the characters, the action at total odds with the romantic bel canto score, the opera reduced to near farce. It might have been saved by superior singing but even that's missing. It's almost as though the singers were wondering to themselves: "What the hell is this nonsense and why are we here!"

Every operatic performance should be a tribute to the composer but in this case it's nothing more than an obeisance to the director and her obvious need to be seen as
daring, outrageous, and inventive. One can only shudder to think what she has in store for future opera performance (if any). Can we look forward to her Norma set in Detroit,
a metaphor for inner city collapse? I wouldn't be surprised.