Customer Reviews

Leoncavallo - I Pagliacci / Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana / Domingo, Stratas, Pons, Bruson, Obraztsova, Pretre

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rarely is it more appropriate to put two works on the same DVD.
Pagliacci and Cavalleria Rusticana are two tales of the deadly results of jealousy. In both of these, one spouse is manipulated into murdering the other spouse.

Both are not stage productions but instead are filmed by Franco Zeffirelli, in the incomparable style you would expect of him. The "Tuscan sunset glow" and Italian countryside make this teatro verissmo even more real for us.

Placido Domingo (Canio) and Teresa Stratas (Nedda) give us an unforgettable pair of star-crossed lovers. Their singing and acting are spectacular. Besides what you would expect--that Placido's "Vesti la giubba" is gut-wrenchingly tearful, Zeffirelli has enhanced the production with insightful close-ups such as when Nedda is putting on her make-up, because "the show must go on." It's a ghostly parallel to "Vesti la giubba" as she looks into her mirror, and sees a ghostly white reflection.

Please see this film. Your spine will tingle even more than you already felt when you first heard Enrico Caruso sing "Vesti la giubba." It's a scary yet beautiful, non-stop runaway ride towards disaster.

I am not a sophisticated critic, familiar with different recordings and nuances of opera - I just love to listen and watch. What I most loved were Zeffirelli's wonderful landscapes, colors and settings that set off the singing. Placado Domingo, so familiar, just blends into his roles and his superb voice seems effortless. I found the young Stratas so sexy and vulnerable, Wow! ... and Obraztova solid and sour and pitiful, as called for. I could watch it again - that is what counts for me.

I generally prefer opera stage productions to movies of opera. Opera movies typically lack a human connection between the performers and audience that stage productions have. This makes more difficult to enjoy the opera experience. But for this DVD gave me the joy of a live opera. I loved every second of these two works. Both are tragic tales of jealousy. In Pag, Domingo and Stratas portray their respective characters vividly and convincingly. Pag is a better written opera than Cav, but Cav is the one I'd watch repetitively many times with great enjoyment. The duet of Turiddu and Santuzza is so powerful and haunting. Many tenors tend to play Turiddu just angry and nasty when they sing the duet. But here Doming gives a nuance to the role by playing angry, yet exasperated and troubled. Plus, Obraztsova does a great job portraying jealous, miserable, and angry Santuzza. You just can't help but have compassion on her. Despite the fact that the picture is a little grainy, this DVD is great. In short, in both operas, the casting and performances were outstanding.

I give this DVD three stars. The Pag is brilliant, the Cav much less so. A big part of the problem with Cav for me is that it is a much inferior opera in my view, but I was not much impressed with this particular production either. On location shots in Sicily are nice, but they actually take me out of the opera. Bruson looks right for the part, but it's a dull part. Domingo looks like a lounge lizard--where were the gold chains (granted Turiddu is a drip)? His ear-biting scene was not dramatically compelling at all, nor was the knife fight. Domingo is far too much the gent, no matter how hard he tries to be sleazy. And poor Santa wandering around in black and falling to the ground gets very tiresome. The grainy film makes it look like it came from the 1920s. This one had me yawning all the way through.

Fortunately PAG makes it all worth it. The staging is wonderful, more realistic looking than many operas, but still not taking us out of the fact that this is the world of an opera. Domingo is alternately saddening and frightening--it's a great performance, particularly in his famous aria. Stratas is unbelievably sexy as well as sympathetic. Pons is very strong too. This one will have you at the edge of your seats. Doesn't hurt that it's a better opera of course! Too bad Pag doesn't get paired up more often with Il Tabarro, a superior opera to Cav.

Rigoletto and these 2 operas are to me the 3 most perfectly structured, compact little (Rigoletto's big) operas I have ever seen. They remind me of Guys and Dolls for their artful precision. In this rendition of these 2 operas, the music never sounded so beautiful. Pagliacci is a brutal character study, well done and disturbing as hell. Little details apt to be overlooked in a stage production (or else invented for the movie) add to the grim reality of the story. Cavaleria wasn't so brutal, but (true verismo) was grim nonetheless. I preferred Cavaleria, but loved them both. They were directed to a gnat's whisker, acted to a fare thee well (unusual though unnecessary for an opera, I think) and I loved them both. Even the chorus members did good jobs acting. I dislike being told what to do, so I won't say buy or watch it. But I for one was enchanted with this DVD. Pagliacci was more a stage show with one set, necessitated by the strictures of the plot. Cavaleria was a whole sung movie with lots of beautiful sets and scenery. Zeffirelli outdid himself. Only one flaw. The picture was poor and grainy. It was worth it

Leoncavallo - I Pagliacci / Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana / Domingo, Stratas, Pons, Bruson, Obraztsova, Pretre

The performances are brilliant. Great voices and acting by the principals. Performed within in a wonderful setting under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli. The performance by the La Scalla opera chorus and orchestra is absolutely thrilling.

Sometimes an opera on film can be ho-hum, but this Pagliacci is amazing. Zeffirelli brings his usual genius and flamboyance to the screen, adding another gem to his already impressive oeuvre. Domingo, however, is the real treat. Not only is he one of the best tenors alive, he can ACT! I actually felt Canio's pain during "Vesti la giubba." Right after viewing this movie, I watched Pavarotti and some other tenors sing the same aria, and there is no comparison. Domingo IS Canio. This is a must-buy, IMHO.

Filming Cavalleria in Sicily where the action is supposed to take place is an asset. I do, however, have complaints about Zeffirelli's direction in the film's opening scene. The length of time devoted to Santuzza's spying on Turiddu as he visited Lola seemed more like stalking, and was unintentionally humorous because it was so ludicrous. The confrontation scene between Santuzza and Turiddu was staged in an uninteresting way.It seemed, to me, very static. Showing Turiddu's death is a plus. I found no fault with any of the singing. I give this presentation 3 stars. Pagliacci is a different story.The opera is staged realistically, making the action believable. Domingo's tormented Canio and Stratas' Nedda, trapped in a loveless marriage, touched me deeply. Pons', Tonio, was malevolent and well sung, as were all the other characters. This is a 4 star production

This is a strange combination of short works fated to live together on the operatic stages of the world: one brilliant piece and one hardly above the level of a talented student. Having known these works for better than a half century, I find that "Cav" sounds worse to me as time passes. "Pag" is a brilliant piece of music theater and sounds better all the time. The irony is that neither composer produced anything else of lasting value after these works. Zeffirelli is a great director and film maker and the casts are excellent in all ways. My problem is that I don't like to see films of opera. I like to see the physical effort it takes to sing because that's where you see the real skill of the singers. You can also truly see how the composer, with his sense of musical pacing, understood the theater. The faults of "Cav" can be masked by interesting camera work...in fact the first 15 minutes of this short work has virtually nothing contributing to the drama. And before the final scene the composer throws in a sweet meditation which dilutes whatever tension he created in the previous scene. One wonders if "Cav" would have held the stage as long as it has without "Pag" to lean upon. The second half of the DVD is more impressive since the tension never lets up in Leoncavallo's work. "Pag" also features the ultra charismatic singing actress Stratas and Domingo whose work simply never falls below a level of artistic merit which most singers cannot even approach. Frankly the best "Pag" I ever saw was a live broadcast from the Metropolitan also featuring Stratas and Domingo. During the final scene Domingo took a fall and injured his leg causing cancellation of several subsequent performances. Now that was an electric night! I do not feel that this film, with all its dramatic touches, is up to that broadcast, But it appears to be the best that's currently available. I am aware than many people love "Cav" but I know I will only watch the second half of this DVD.

The performance of both operas is superb. The critics raved in particular about "I Pagliacci", and there is no doubt Domingo and Stratus are magnificent. However, the acting and singing in Cavalleria Rustica, shot on location, is in a class all by itself. Never have I seen an opera with such great performances, and with such incredible presence. Zefferelli was a genius, and here it shows. There is unlikely to be anyone to match Zefferelli in staging of opera's, and this particular performance is unlikely to be equalled. Obtratsova's and Domingo's acting and singing are stupendous! If you buy this you'll not be disappointed! That's for sure!!