Product Details

• Actors: Laurent Naouri, Burkhard Fritz, Maija Kovalevska, Valery Gergiev, Kate Aldrich
• Directors: Philipp Stolzl
• Format: AC-3, Classical, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: NAXOS OF AMERICA DVD
• DVD Release Date: December 15, 2009
• Run Time: 164 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002QXI2OK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #172,505 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

MusicWeb International, John-Pierre Joyce, February 2010

If this DVD is anything to go by, one has some sympathy for the management of the Paris Opéra in their dealings with Berlioz over productions of Benvenuto Cellini in the 1830s. Although it was finally accepted for performance in 1838, the opera was plagued by difficulties from the start, ranging from the original conductor's dislike of the work to the singers' and audience's overall indifference. One can see why. While vocally attractive and rich in colourful orchestration - including rustic Italianate guitar and tambourine - Benvenuto Cellini suffers from a loose plot based on scenes from the life of the Renaissance artist, and it lacks real show-stopping numbers. For this 2007 Salzburg Festival production director and designer Philipp Stölzl has added to the staging difficulties with a bizarre and incongruous concept. Sets and costumes resemble a sci-fi fantasy - a cross between Metropolis and Star Wars - which is totally at odds with the sixteenth century setting and story-line of the opera. The result is that the opera's shakily assembled scenes appear even more disjointed. Even worse, the goings-on on-stage don't match what is sung in the libretto. Act I, for instance, is meant to take place in the midst of Rome's carnival festivities, whereas in Stölzl's staging the characters are inexplicably stuck on a rooftop. The crazy costumes and fantastical scenery only really work in the third scene of Act I, when the carnival crowds celebrate on the Piazza Colonna. Overall, the singing is good but hardly inspired. Only Kate Aldrich is outstanding as Cellini's friend and helper Ascanio - painfully dressed up as Star Wars's C3PO in a gold robot costume. Her bright, secure voice glimmers in every scene in which she appears. Burkhard Fritz makes a firm-voiced but dispassionate Cellini. Maija Kovalevska certainly has the looks for Cellini's lover Teresa, but she gets few opportunities to shine, and close-up shots reveal an unconvincing woodenness to her acting. The chorus of the Vienna State Opera also appear unsure of how to behave in their grotesquely over-the-top wigs and costumes. Valery Gergiev exerts an iron fist over the forces of the Vienna Philharmonic, driving forward Berlioz's rhythmic pulses at the expense of the sunnier, more delicate, aspects of the score. This clearly didn't go down well with everyone in the audience. There are audible boos at the end of the performance as Gergiev takes his bow on stage, although not as many as those reserved for the sheepish-looking production team.

Product Description

'A mix of futurism à la Metropolis, fantasy à la Batman and quotes from Piranesi's Carceri, juxtaposed in the form of photo montages, enhanced with robots, a helicopter, a shark and the winged vehicle of a pop star Pope', was how the Neue
Zürcher Zeitung described this astonishing Salzburg Festival production of Berlioz's
Benvenuto Cellini. The high-calibre cast, headed by Burkhard Fritz as the
temperamental Renaissance artist and the 26-year-old Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska as Teresa, the woman with whom he tries to elope, is conducted by Valery Gergiev who 'pulled out all the stops. He whips the Vienna Philharmonic into
a delirium similar to that which possibly took hold of the composer'. (Der Standard)
This is French grand opera at its fast-paced and spectacularly-staged best.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Performance: 5; Production: 1, December 27, 2009

By 

Michael Schulman "conspirito" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Berlioz - Benvenuto Cellini (DVD)

This is the first DVD of a very entertaining, tuneful, unjustly neglected opera, but if Berlioz & his librettists were to view it with the sound turned off (& without the introductory title & subtitles), they'd have no idea that it's "their work" being presented.

This deliberately outrageous Salzburg Festival production, with its helicopter, robots & a tattooed, rockstarrish Cellini in leather jacket, black T-shirt & jeans, renders the entire onstage enterprise a meaningless melange, with no relevance whatsoever to the historical time, place & characters the opera is about.

That said, the soloists, chorus, conductor & orchestra are all outstanding, performing with brilliance, high spirits & unflagging energy. They, as well as Berlioz & his librettists, the premium-paying Salzburg audience &, of course, we, the DVD-buying opera-loving public, all deserved better than this mindless Eurogarbage.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Inauthentic Benvenuto, December 23, 2009

By 

DDD (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Berlioz - Benvenuto Cellini (DVD)

The Salzburg Festival has been responsible for three of Berlioz' masterpieces; for that I suppose we must be thankful. The Damnation of Faust is, of course, not an opera. The only staged version I have seen is one from Brussels with Jonas Kaufmann, Susan Graham and Jose Van Damm. It is worth seeing and owning. I have the Troyens and now Cellini. The former is currently available in three sets, but the Cellini has no challenger and is not likely to be contested. This is a pity since the work is clearly a masterpiece, but one that is difficult to bring off. Ideally it should be sung by French trained singers, or those who have an awareness of the style and the importance of the text. The orchestra and chorus should also be French. Berlioz created a unique sound; it deserves to be honored.

Where to start? Updating frequently can add interest and make the auditor rethink his/her ideas about the work in question. In this particular case it is simply silly. Cellini makes his appearance in Act I via a helicopter! The setting is a rooftop (in Rome?) and Balducci has two robots as servants. Oh yes, Ascanio is also a robot. An hommage to Star Wars? Don't ask. If the updating were witty, imaginative, artistic and relevant I would probably sound less churlish. As it stands, however, there is nothing about the staging that I find engaging or likeable. Salzburg became (under Mortier) a showcase for outrageous staging. Sometimes it worked and sometimes not.

All of this would be academic if the singing were world class. According to the notes, Burkhard Fritz has sung Cellini before. I understand that he sings frequently at Bayreuth; no matter, as the voice is not a beautiful one nor one that is used artistically. Maija Kovalevska, Teresa, is one of the second generation of singers from the former Soviet Union. It is generically pretty, without a hint of the singers' ethnic background, e.g., slavic shrillness. Brindley Sherratt, from the UK and a voice I was not familiar with sings Balducci; the role is not a showcase for the singer, but he makes the most of what is really an ungrateful role. The only Frenchman in sight is Laurent Naouri as Fieramosca. The best singing of the evening came from the American Kate Aldrich. Vocally she was stunning; dramatically she was hamstrung by having to be a robot.

Unfortunately Cellini does not have what can be called a performing tradition. It is difficult to sing and doubtless expensive to stage. Early on its history was one of failure for the composer. Add to that the variety of textual differences. Initially it was intended for the Comique and included dialogue. For the Opera recitatives were required. And in Weimar Berlioz shortened the text eliminating "buffo" elements. The first recording (and in my estimation still the best sung) under Colin Davis includeds dialogue and a bevy for French trained singers. Gedda was, of course, not French trained, but was sensitive to the text and the style. The most recent recording on Virgin was conducted by John Nelson a sensitive Berliozan. Why he chose Gregory Kunde is a mystery as the role truly eludes him as it eludes Fritz--although differently. Nelson includes about twenty minutes of music that had never been heard. Since the notes for the DVD (more generous that most) do not make reference to the edition used, on that there are a number of textual difference, the listener is required to be a bit of a musicologist.

In spite of the above criticisms and the "three star" rating I have to recommend the set simply because you are not likely to see another in the near (or distant) future. The Met has never revived its first production even though Troyens has had two investitures. After watching this DVD listen to the first recorded performance to give you an idea as to what could have been.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A treat for the ears; trash for the eyes, December 22, 2009

By 

Richard (Minneapolis, Mongolia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Berlioz - Benvenuto Cellini (DVD)

With the wonders of DVD we are able to see operas which we may never have the chance to see live. Benvenuto Cellini is one of them. This performance fills a hole but is not what we want or need. The performance itself is quite good. The singers are all up to par and their acting skills are also honed. Gergiev's nervous energy keeps the Berlioz score jumping and glowing. He is perfectly on top of Berlioz' tempos and rhythms.
The production is another matter. At its best it is irrelevant: at its worst downright silly. To start with the first act seems to take place on the roof of a building looking out at a city skyscape - maybe New York. Who knows? But then we meet Mr and Mrs 3CPR as Teresa's servants. And as Anna Russell used to say, "You know I'm not making this up." Plus during the show there are various distractions projected on the back wall. Fireworks. And who knows what else.
Then we meet Cellini's apprentice Ascanio. He is R2D2 although much more feminine since this is a trouser role. Toward the end of the opera R2D2 literally loses his head. He has to sing his big aria with his head pushing up from the stage floor and his abandoned body running around desperately trying to reconnect. God knows why. Certainly there is enough action in Cellini for any director to have a ball without going out for the truly ghastly and stupid.
The pope has a role in this opera and here he appears as a lavender wearing drag queen surrounded by his foppish lackeys. Duh! Why! Is the director anti catholic. Is there some idea behind all this trash beyond the desire to be outrageous. And wait till you see the pope mobile.
At the least Regie directors should provide some game plan for their productions so that we have a slight chance of getting their message. That is provided there is one. It is unlikely that we will see another Cellini on DVD so this will have to do. In spite of the production it gave me a lot of pleasure from the singing and acting.
God knows Berlioz doesn't need help from "friends" like these. Today we are beginning to recognize Cellini as one of Berlioz' masterpieces. If you can turn off the background idiocy the genius of Berlioz shines through.