Customer Reviews

Gaetano Donizetti: L'Elisir d'Amore - Opera National de Lyon

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Elisir d'amore is one of Donizetti's most popular operas, and it's easy to see why: it's bubbly, funny, romantic, and Nemorino remains one of opera's best tenor roles. The story of the country bumpkin drinking a "love elixir" to win the heart of the town flirt contains some of Donizetti's best music, and the famous aria "Una furtiva lagrima." Nemorino was a favorite role legendary tenors such as Caruso, Gigli and di Stefano. It's been lucky on video too. There is a wonderful B&W film from 1968 with Carlo Bergonzi, Renata Scotto, and Giuseppe Taddei as Belcore. But that's a film from a live performance, and the picture quality is not very high, although the performance is of course extremely charming. For a modern video, I heartily recommend this staged performance from Lyon of Elisir with Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu.
Alagna and Gheorghiu in recent years have cut down their number of joint performances, and rumor has it that the husband and wife team are now separated in all but name. It's a shame, for this video shows what a great pair they could be. Of the twosome I respond more to Alagna -- his Nemorino is funny, sweet, adorably naive. His "Una furtiva lagrima" uses slightly different ornaments and cadenzas than the more "familiar" version. His voice can turn sharp on pressure, and like a lot of French tenors his voice has a metallic edge. It's a different sound than a Gigli or Pavarotti (to name two other famous Nemorinos). But Alagna sings with passion and he's one of the rare tenors who seems to have an instinctive way of shaping and phrasing the music to the better. Gheorghiu is a chillier, more cerebral singer. Her lyric voice is dusky and smoky, and she's not as perky and soubrette-ish as most Adinas. Yet somehow it seems to work.
The production is vaguely 1920-ish, but otherwise extremely traditional: Nemorino is still a sweet country bumpkin, Dulcamara a travelling quack, Belcore a blustery "studmuffin," and Adina the tart-tongued town flirt. Eveline Pido is one of today's underrated conductors: he understands ottocento operas as needing a firm incisive hand. No mindless oom-pah-pah stick beating from him.
I can't think of a drawback to this video. If you like Elisir, it's a definite keeper.

This DVD is a gem!

GREAT music by Donizetti; tunes that I'm continually humming to myself (because I can't sing) throughout the day. Wonderful singers: Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu in the starring roles, however the show is stolen by the performance of Simone Alaimo who does a superlative job as Doctorre Dulcamara. Talk about getting into a role: he holds absolutely nothing back....magnificent! Just see him in the duet "Quanto amore" with Angela Gheorghiu and you'll see what I mean. It'll leave you breathless.

As far as the overall production, I have seen a couple operas staged (on DVD) from the Opera National de Lyon and have not been disappointed in the results. They seem to have the knack of producing good audio and pleasing sets that are easy to look at and complement the people on stage.

Brian Large handles the video and editing so you know you're going to get great camera angles.

My only negative comments(and thus the loss of one star) about this otherwise wonderful production is that first, Roberto Alagna's voice came through my stereo system slightly tinny at times(maybe my system and/or the fact that I like my opera fairly loud) and second, that I could swear someone hits the wrong note at the very end of the opera.

All in all an enjoyable show that I've listened to many times and just never get tired of. Absolutely worth getting.

When I saw that this performance had been set in the 1920's, I nearly passed on it, because I have found that "re-setting" a work like Elisir rarely works. However, in this case, it "works" very well indeed. Elisir is a comic opera, so the stage action means more than in a serious opera (although good acting in all forms of opera obviously enhances the performance). Donizetti's score is full of memorable tunes, and there is not a dull moment in it. In this DVD, all of the principles have good stage presence, and, with one minor reservation on my part, all are first rate singers. This performance was recorded when Alagna and Gheorghiu were newlyweds, and there is certainly chemistry between them which intensifies the stage relationship between Nemorino and Adina. Both are in top vocal form here, as well. Bass, Simone Alaimo is tremendous as Dr. Dulcamara, with wonderful buffa stage presence. The staging of his "snake oil sales" technique is hilarious. Somewhat less than ideal is Roberto Scaltriti as Sgt. Belcore: his voice sounds dry and one dimensional. Maestro Pido conducts with obvious affection for the score and with sensitivity to what the singers are doing, as well. The video is excellent, and the sound is Dolby 5.1. One reviewer found that the audio soundstage was narrow, but I did not experience this in a large viewing room. I have noted in other operatic reviews that the DVD medium works superbly in bringing opera into the home, and this disc is further evidence in support of my belief. If you are an operaphile, this performance of Elisir is a "must-have". If you are curious as to whether or not opera is for you, then this would be an ideal way to find out.

I am 12 years old and a big opera fan. I absolutly love this preformance. The camera angles are great, there are some funny parts, the preformers are great singers and actors, and Roberto Alanga is so cute. I don't see how anybody can't love it.

I have two other Elixir DVDs (Pavrotti twice, paired once with Kathleen Battle and once with Judith Blegen). They're all good, but this is my favorite. Alagna and Gheorghiu can both act as well as sing, and they work well together (they are, after all, married). When Angela tells Dr. Dulcamara that she doesn't need his elixir, the close camera work makes the reason as clear as her complexion. Dark eyes, long dark hair, and a voice that never fails-- this Romanian beauty is another reason to cheer the collapse of communism.

This is by all means a very good production of a simple but very enjoyable opera. The cast is great. The singing is very good, but what makes this production special is that all the singers act very well and they also look their part. They look like they enjoyed themselves on stage and so does one watching them.

Please don't listen to the idiot who sais this is a poor production. You can see clearly that he has no idea of what he is saying when he sais it can't be good just because it is filmed in Lyon! He clearly has no idea of the great productions one can see nowadays all throughout Europe.

L'Elisir is a funny opera with lovable tunes and this production really achieves that. The sound quality is very good, even though it's true that the sound is a little narrow, with too much coming from the middle, specially in 5.1.

I sincerely recommend it! Great buy!

A splendid show nicely presented.
Makes me want to go to Lyon, but
I'm sure this quality is exceptional for them.
Alagna is without doubt today's
supertenor. The accompanying documentary
is also fun. One major complaint (almost made me deduct
a star - 4 1/2 would have been better) - why are the
original language subtitles not provided? DG does
it and it makes all the differenbce if one doesn't
know the words by heart. If you folks who produce these things
read these reviews PLEASE include subtitles in the language in
which the operas are sung. Make a good product a great product.

This is an exuberant production with a marvelous cast and sensitive musical direction. Filmed in a 16x9 format before a live audience, the opera is indeed a joy to behold. The pairing of the husband-and-wife team of Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu works beautifully throughout and the contributions of the other principals leaves nothing to be desired. The work has been updated into the 1920s and the results are satisfying although not quite so colourful as traditional presentations. The stage appears a little cramped and I would have liked to see more space for everyone to move around. Video direction by Brian Large is exemplary as usual. Picture quality throughout is excellent.
My one criticism concerns the audio tracks available on the DVD. Neither the Dolby Digital 5.1 nor the Dolby Stereo is entirely satisfactory because both produce a fairly narrow left-to-right soundstage with too much of the sound emanating from the middle. The absence of a good 2-channel PCM audio track is regrettable. The balance between voice and orchestra is fine however as is the overall quality of all the singers. For years Decca had a top-notch reputation for first-class sound in its recordings. On this occasion however, they fell somewhat short of the mark.
The inclusion of an excellent 52-minute documentary of the making of the video and CD is to be commended as is the comprehensive booklet.

I'm a believer of live performances (local live performance is typically more enjoyable than Pavarotti/Levine/MET on plastic, so to speak) but enjoyed watching this as much as I would at the theater. Particularly overall acting to the last chorus girl is very engaging. I sometimes watch operas at home one act or scene at a time, but not this. I couldn't turn it off until the end. Beside the story itself and real-life newlyweds, that filming was an integral part of this production must be a factor as well to create such a compelling recording.

My favorite is Alagna. I know little about his other roles, but he is Nemorino incarnated in his singing and acting here. If you felt puzzled, like I did, by his "Una furtiva lagrima," watch the extra "Making of" ("Love Potion" from the menu) then watch/listen to the aria again (Act 2, track 22). Doesn't it sound and look whole a lot different? The CD (non-live) by the same cast contains two versions of the aria. Gheorghiu is lovely as ever. If I had to criticize, she could have worked on her facial expressions a wee bit here and there. As she comments herself, she is not a tragic heroine fated to die in the end this time. Alaimo (Dulcamara) is another critical element in this performance, commanding such a presence despite sweaty face. Scaltriti's caricatured army officer (Belcore) is not too silly nor wet and, I think, nicely complements the light-hearted atmosphere which is consistently palpable throughout the performance. I just wondered why his face was pulled to one side when singing...

Picture is very clear throughout, and the sound is good at least with my humble stereo system. There are technical issues (subtitles, unfriendly menu, etc.) and perhaps some other gripes, but, hey, do you want to simply enjoy a well-done opera at home? This is it.

Wonderful singing and acting. There's real chemistry between the two leads--helped, I am sure by the fact that they are married. To my tastes, the audio and video are just fine. This opera is pitched at just the right level to deliver the most at its comic moments.