Product Details

• Format: Classical, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Bel Canto Society
• VHS Release Date: November 21, 1994
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000003YEL
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #352,300 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Golden voices, September 10, 2002

By 

Robert G. VanStryland (Denton, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: La Forza del Destino (DVD)

Since the listing above is not very clear, let me start by telling you that the item I'm reviewing is the Hardy Classics DVD of Verdi's opera "La Forza del Destino." This is a 1958 Italian telecast from the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, starring Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, Ettore Bastianini, Boris Christoff and Renato Capecchi. For knowledgeable opera lovers, the cast listing above will be recommendation enough. To everyone else, let me say that this is some of the greatest singing you're ever likely to hear.

The picture is black and white, the sound is monaural and the scenery doesn't look all that great, but you're not going to care. These singers convey the drama with their voices (as well as with their movements and expressions), and their singing makes everything about this production wonderful.

Hardy Classics has done a great job of restoring this video; the picture and sound are clear (although there are some unimportant visual flaws). I have seen this performance before, on video tapes that don't look or sound this good.

Get this one while you can. Also, check out other Hardy Classics opera DVDs of Otello, Il Trovatore and (especially)Rigoletto. All of them feature performances by important singers who are no longer active and all of them are sufficiently well restored that sound and picture quality are not significant problems.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A DREAM CAST IN "FORZA"., May 15, 1999

By 

F. Barton "Forrest W. Barton" (Newport, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forza Del Destino [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I have always loved Tebaldi. In fact, I bought the CD edition of this first before the video. Much to my dismay, the audio on the video is MUCH better than the CD. Live and learn, but you don't have to.Forza is a huge opera. Everything has to click. Believe me, I've done hunting for many performances of this opera and this is definetely the BEST. Including Callas, Price, et.al. Corelli has no trouble at all, Bastianini has no equal in this role, and Tebali is devastating in this opera.Granted, you will have to overlook the video defects, scratches and shadows, but the audio is great and because the performances are so red-hot, these few defects will quickly fade into memory. What can I say, all six voices are at their peak and there will never be another production of "La Forza del Destino" like this one. Never. A MUST have. Anything you will ever buy in the future will pale.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Join the Worshippers of Tebaldi, July 2, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Forza Del Destino [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I said the same about Tebaldi's Forza highlights CD: I have always been suspicious of those who are fanatic followers of a Diva. The way they go on and on about the mystic transports and technical perfection; it can become so tiresome. And yet, Tebaldi has cast that very spell over me. It is almost inpossible to give an objective opinion about her after seeing this video.

The picture quality is just awful, and most of the time, it's just as well, given the not-exactly-first-rate quality of the production. The sound is boxy and thin, as you'd expect from such a recording from the 50's.

However, this just makes the performance all the more impressive. The vocal triumphs of not just Tebaldi, but also of Corelli and Bastianini shine through in spite of the recording quality, and for heaven's sake, don't let the technical shortcomings prevent you from buying this tape. You owe it to yourself to experience a erformance like this.

Tebaldi is amazing- her hands tend to assume some stock opera positions, but the face- so beautiful and so expressive in spite of the horrible picture quality. She was in top form that night- her voice fearlessly taking all high notes with no difficulty, and as is so often the case with her, the things that are the usual highlights are certainly wonderful, but she works miracles with other material that most singers throw away.

The sudden dimenuendo in the ascending phrase of her first scene solo left me breathless, as did another unbelievable diminuendo just before the return of the "pieta signor" solo in Scene 3. How, you ask yourself, does she do that? A magnificent voice combined with impossible technical mastery, and all so heartbreakingly moving- stunning, brilliant- how many more superlatives can one use?