Product Details

• Actors: Josep Carreras
• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, Italian
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: January 18, 2000
• Run Time: 80 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00002JWZL
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #486,969 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Taped in 1998 at the Basilica di S. Ambrogio in Milan, this Christmas concert starring José Carreras with David Gimenez conducting the Arturo Toscanini Orchestra includes a few sentimental religious favorites, notably César Franck's "Panis Angelicus," Schubert's "Ave Maria" (in which he gets the words mixed up), the anonymous "Adeste Fideles," "Silent Night" sung in Italian, and "The Lord's Prayer," sung (in English) as an encore and, for some viewers, probably worth the price of the disc. There are baroque orchestral selections (a Bach overture, the "Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" from Handel's Solomon), and some pop favorites: "The Little Drummer Boy," sung in both English and Italian, and "White Christmas," sung as an encore in English.

Among the more exotic items are an Italian adaptation of a Schubert lullaby titled "Mille cherubini in coro" ("A thousand Cherubim in chorus") and a setting of "Panis Angelicus" attributed to J.S. Bach, who would have had serious theological problems with the text. Most of the time, the performance is essentially operatic, with lush orchestration and lots of vocal vibrato, whether the music happens to be folk, pop, or liturgical. Carreras's fans will be satisfied, as his voice is in good condition and he sounds generally comfortable with the material, particularly in the Spanish and Catalan numbers. --Joe McLellan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Pleasure, January 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Concerto Di Natale Christmas 1998 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It's pure pleasure to listen to Jose Carreras sing beautiful Christmassongs in an absolutely gorgeous setting,the Basilica di S.Ambrogio.Jose is in wonderful voiceand when he sings the "Little drummer boy" getsquite animated. Lovely video.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Clear picture, mono sound, March 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Concerto di Natale Christmas Concert with Jose Carreras (DVD)

This is a nice concert with a nice clear picture, but the sound is mono - no sound coming from anything but the center channel speaker, even though the box says "Dolby Digital Surround".