Customer Reviews

Monteverdi - L'Orfeo / Savall, Zanasi, Figueras, Mingardo, Abete, Turk, Vargas, Bettini, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Savall may be today's grand guru of the "historically aware" musical production scene, and conducts here a recent, indeed sumptuous production of this masterwork from Barcelona's Liceo opera house. The theatre was ravaged by a fire some years ago and has been recontructed magnificently. Savall makes use of his catalonian forces one frequently encounters in his recordings and they rise magnificently to the occasion, producing a scholarly and thoroughly convincing, from the philological perspective, rendering. His singers are a varied lot. Montserrat Figueras, Mrs Savall in real life, opens up the proceedings as a very convincing La Musica, if somewhat over-acted. The Orfeo, a singer I face up for the first time (Furio Zanasi), gives a beatifully vocalised Orfeo that is utterly wanting on the acting side, apparently being more concerned with an impeccable mastering of the work's vocal intricacies than in projecting his character on stage in a convincing manner; the "possente spirto" passage is precious, though. The Euridice is given nepotically to Savall and Figueras's young daughter Arianna, who is not very convincing as the unfortunate girl that prompts Orfeo's rescue excursion into hell. She has a likeable voice but has still to develop her skills; in my view, there are in the market far better candidates for the rôle Savall might have chosen. The jewel in the crown is the Messenger, soprano Sara Mingardo, ravishingly poignant when bringing the news of Euridice's death, her voice soaring all over the vast venue and superbly acted. The supporting rôles are well cast and sung, and the Act 1 dancers do their fare effectively. The production by flemish régisseur Gilbert Deflo is, as I said in the introductory sentences, luxurious and all-encompassing and resembles a similar one that Spanish TV (TVE) broadcast by satellite to the world in 2000 from Madrid's Royal Theatre that I don't recall if is also his; in Barcelona it surprises you from its very beginning as Savall's enters from the back of the stalls, period-dressed and deliberately walking towards the pit to impetuously launch the proceedings, with musicians in charge of the famous opening fanfare distributed in various places in the hall and balconies.

Sound quality has the spectacularity one has grown to expect from this source.

I am so sick and tired of baroque operas, performed by crackerjack period orchestras and stellar singers, married to ridiculous modernist and postmodernist stagings. Am I the only one who can't abide the disjunct? Baroque opera (recitative-aria-recitative-aria with the occasional duet, dance, or chorus) works because the music is designed to be paired with lavish stagings and opulent costumes. The theatrical aesthetic paradigm of the 17th and 18th centuries was one of whimsy, of fantasy, of color and "suspension of disbelief."
So tremendous kudos to the present production for its colorful and appropriately whimsical staging and costuming -- the mythological Greeks *look* like mythological Greeks, not, oh, Vietnam War combatants or Bronx junkies.

And the music? Maestro Savall has produced another winner. The orchestra is as fine as it ever is under his direction, and the vocal cast is without fault -- the weakest link may in fact be Caronte, whose tone is a bit shallow and whose full-face mask muffles some of the fine basso writing Monteverdi provided.

Highly recommended.

What a great performance of L'Orfeo! It moved me a lot more than I thought it would! The singing is impeccable, though I would've preferred more extensive ornamenting by the soloists, the musicians are absolutely magnificent, and the visual effects are also stunning! A collaboration like this with so many world class musicians does not happen all the time. I recommend this for anyone who complains that baroque opera is boring or stale.

Jordi Savall is well known in early music circles for combining sound scholarship with high creativity, and this production of L'Orfeo is an example of Savall at his best. The sets and costumes evoke Monteverdi's era well, the choreography is based on the art of the time, and the singing and playing are magnificent. One might have liked a little more dashing Orfeo, but overall this is a refreshing change from the self-indulgent postmodern reinterpretations of Baroque operas one often sees. If you like L'Orfeo, you'll probably like this production.

It is wonderful to find an opera DVD without any noticeable flaws! The picture and sound quality are great. A real relief of a DVD as so many operas being performed today try to modernize the setting and costumes (turning the opera into a grotesque spectacle that is unbearable to watch).
This DVD has good bonus features, too. Highly recommended!

This is a fine introduction to Monteverdi's Orfeo. All of the singers have rich, beautiful voices, the period instruments are a pleasure to watch, and the audio and visual qualities of the DVD are excellent. The filming of a live stage performance is handled unobtrusively excerpt for the parts when the Messenger sings directly in front of the wide-angle lens camera. Among the things I disliked was the fact that the Spirits and Euridice wear opaque veils in the underworld scenes; the veils not only obscure the dramatic effect but also seem to interfere with their singing. Orpheus's plastic lyre looks like a high school prop. The timing of the English subtitles is also awkward and there is no option to display the Italian libretto. The acting is sometimes a bit exaggerated and artificial (on purpose?), but the music throbs with emotion and is always stunning.

This is a wonderful production of an early Baroque opera. It's performed on period instruments (by costumed musicians) and the singing is very good. The staging is Baroque (no post-modern silliness here) and the singing is very good. It's a real gem of a production.

Es una buena puesta. Me agradó la ambientación cual si fuera el estreno en el Palacio Ducal en Mantua. Y estoy de acuerdo con quien dijo que el estilo de la escenografía podría ser el mismo que el utilizado en la época de Monteverdi.

Particularmente las voces me parecieron sencillas, sin mucho trabajo en el timbre en comparación con las exigencias que presenta, por ejemplo, Haendel en sus óperas. He escuchado versiones de L'Orfeo en donde las voces tienen un timbre más brillante que esta versión pero eso no desmerita a ésta pues vale la pena el trabajo de los artistas en cuanto a la actuación.

La escena mejor lograda fue la de Caronte. La máscara que utilizó el cantante está muy buena, con mucha expresión, y el ambiente de la laguna Estigia me pareció magnífico.

Musicalmente la orquesta cumple. El sonido es excelente. Quizás muchos no estén de acuerdo con que la orquesta haya sido filmada todo el tiempo pero es necesario considerar que la puesta considera el ambiente de un palacio y, por lo tanto, la orquesta forma parte de la tragedia misma, donde la misma Música se involucra desde el principio.

Pero no estoy de acuerdo con algo. Me hubiera gustado mucho ver la ópera con subtítulos en español, en especial cuando se trata de una puesta del Teatro del Liceo. Es bueno tener DVD's de óperas con subtítulos en varios idiomas, entre ellos el español, muy desprestigiado a pesar de de haber una gran mayoría de hispanohablantes en el continente americano.

Sonido e imagen muy buenos.

Cantada en italiano con subtítulos en inglés.

This is one of the best productions of a Monteverdi opera I've seen on DVD.
The cast is very good. Although I was surprised to see a baritone singing the role of Orfeo. However, he does a fine job and the tessitura of the role would hole no terrors for most baritones.

The dancing in the first act is entertaining and very pretty.

The costumes are not "period" but sort of "ancient". The staging is the same.

A nice touch to have Jordi Savall dressed as Monteverdi, himself!

The talk on the opera in the bonus material is one of the best I've seen on an opera, too. The overall presentation of the CD and the material is very classy and exhibits a great love of and respect for the opera and the composer.

I will buy another DVD recording of this work, however, I am very pleased and satisfied with this one until I do.


The two cornett players are very good and clearly visible.

One of the best productions in recent times
of any opera. A true period performance
down to the very core. It was a wonderful
idea, to have Les Concert des Nations dressed
as in Monteverdi's time, I think it adds
to the flavor. The singers were all wonderful
The producer Gilbert Delfo's Idea
of such performance comes in handy to
celebrate the 400th anniversary of
the first performance. Bravo Savall!!!!