Customer Reviews

Kalman - Die Csardasfurstin

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Well, at least one prior reviewer seemed disgruntled. As an Anna Moffo fan, I think her attempt at burlesque comedy was quite gutsy & admirable. She's exquisitely beautiful and her voice is in excellent form. Keep in mind, she's not singing "La Traviata" here and it's German language. I really enjoyed hearing her speak German throughout the film which is a difficult language and she's very good. The actors are well-cast and the storyline is delightful. The melodies are simply beautiful and I found myself humming a couple of the tunes for several days. I do admit it was hard to picture our lovely Ms. Moffo as a showgirl, but she pulls it off with regal dignity even in those skimpy burlesque costumes. The male tenor was fabulous and his voice melded exquisitely with Moffo. Print and sound quality are outstanding. Deutsche Grammophon apparently corrected the prior major issue - German and English subtitles are offered now. Overall, a very enjoyable film with excellent singing.

This is a 1971 film version with excellent picture and sound. Anna Moffo is the csardasfurstin (gypsy princess)-- a "lady of the stage" cabaret performer who charms a young Budapest aristocrat (Rene Kollo, who is already engaged to a lady of his class) into a socially awkward marriage proposal. Attractive settings and costumes complement the Eastern European flavor of the music and the light social commentary on class hypocrisy in this delightful production of Emmerich Kalman's 1915 operetta.

I've always loved this movie, ever since I saw it for the first time in movie theaters many years ago. I love Kalman's music, I loved everything about the production. I've been hoping for years to watch it again either on TV, on VCR or the DVD. So when I saw the DVD it was the dream come true.

Edited the review because when I wrote it I didn't know how to use the subtitles. Would change the ratings to 5 stars but not sure how to do it.

This is a wonderful movie performance of Imre Kalman's masterpiece. Anna Moffo sings the role of Silva beautifully, and Dagmar Koller's performance as her rival Stasi is just as good. Silva's costumes show more flesh than would have been tolerated in Franz-Josef's Vienna: that's why the operetta is set in Budapest! Moffo looks great in next to nothing! The movie format allows for a grand tour of the gorgeous Lippert-Wylersheim estate in act 2.

This is a great DVD. Moffo is beautiful with a luscious voice - the two don't often go together - and Kalman's music is infectious. The program is very well produced and all the singers are excellent. I highly recommend it.

This production of this operetta is really a must. The singers are great and so is the production.Just perfect.

I am a huge fan of operetta and Kalman's zesty Hungarian confections, which are filled with gorgeous tunes and corny plots. If you also love Kalman, then I say please skip this atrocious adaptation of "Die Czardasfürstin". The direction is horrible, the lip-synching during the songs is on a par with Japanese horror movies of the '60's and the wonderful, colorful original orchestrations have been altered into a mushy, muddy sound. The tempo of many of the numbers have been slowed down as well, resulting in a loss of Hungarian pep and verve. The singing is good, but with the musical numbers so reduced in charm, who cares?

Yes, the costumes are sumptuous (although the '70's plunging necklines and hairy chests of the male dancers in the first number are totally anachronistic) and Anna Moffo has great legs. I wish she used them more during the musical numbers, rather than just moving side to side with them. The lead character, Silva, is after all, a revue performer and is supposed to sing AND dance.

Spare yourself the pain and skip this DVD. I'd recommend the Mörbisch festival DVD of "Die Czardasfürstin, also available on Amazon, over this one.

Five stars is not enough for this DVD! This is Emmerich Kahlman's masterpiece, cast does an outstanding job, Anna Moffo is fabulous, the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Budapest Ballet are fantastic. This production was filmed in Budapest 1971 like a movie, and not taped in a theater. The superb sound was recorded in Munich. Anna Moffo is fabulous as Silva, she has an incredible voice, she is pretty, she dances well, and is perfect for this role. This DVD makes me wish I lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire!

I had never heard of this opera before, but knew a few of the songs from watching different Andre Rieu programs, so I decided to give this DVD a shot. If I could give it 10 stars it would not be enough. The singers were fantastic, the music beautiful and I loved that it was shot "on location" in Budapest rather than on a stage. The story is light and lots of fun so it was obviously predicatable but it doesn't matter, and the sub-titles made it easy to follow and really appreciate the music. If I had to point to a fault, it would be that it was too short, only 1 hr 35 minutes and I wanted more.

This is one of the more empty productions I've experienced. A real disappointment to see the gorgeous, talented Anna Moffo not only with a fractured voice, but featured in an inane operetta film with little redeeming value. Those few "songs" that are in this work are noticeable more for their brevity than their melody, and the famous voices - Moffo and Rene Kollo - are embarrassingly meager. What happened to their singing? Could they both have been having bad days? From his limp and expressionless performance on this DVD one would never believe that this man went on to sing Wagner - and Siegfried, no less.

Moffo once had a gloriously beautiful voice and stage presence, but here she's alarmingly screechy, and seems not well suited to play the role of a sex-bomb nightclub singer. She certainly looks beautiful - if a bit mature - in her skimpy costumes, but her once voluptuous voice is starting to sound frayed at the edges and she seems sadly out of place in the Hanswurst slapstick of this production.

Early in her career she filmed Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona. She is magnficent - physically and vocally in that little 18th century masterpiece. Her comedy in that role is effective, her singing is flawless. It's still available on VHS and hopefully will be released on DVD. It is a superb example of Moffo's artistic gifts.

If you know and appreciate Anna Moffo from her glory days - Luisa Miller, Violetta, and her other memorable roles, you might be let down by her attempts here at burlesque operetta. I found the entire production to be a bit mindless. Granted operetta is light and frothy, but this one seems just plain silly, and its musical content is entirely forgettable. Be forewarned!
One star for Anna's beauty.