Product Details

• Actors: Anna Caterina Antonacci, Bruce Ford, Andrew Davis
• Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Kultur Video
• DVD Release Date: November 22, 2005
• Run Time: 138 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BP86RI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,449 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Rossini - Ermione / Antonacci, Ford, Montague, Austin Kelly, Howell, Nilon, Lopez-Yanez, Unwin, Davis, Glyndebourne Opera" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Recorded at Glyndebourne’s superb opera house, this lavishly praised production of Rossini’s forgotten and unusual tragic opera has proved to be an unequivocal success. Based on Racine’s Andromaque, this account of the Greek and Trojan love tangle has been set by Graham Vick in the classically-inspired auditorium of an Italian opera house, rather than in ancient Greece. The set designs, with their striking colours, forms and lighting are as if created especially for the small screen.With the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Subtitles: English / French / German / Italian / Portuguese / Spanish. "Ermione leapt into the house as a drama - engaging, fiery, tragic, profound" OPERA "Glyndebourne pulls out all the stops to do a rarely performed Rossini tragedy proud ... Monday will surely go down in Glyndebourne’s history as one of the Great Nights - the first time it has mounted one of Rossini’s serious operas, and done so with outstanding success ... As Ermione galloped with headlong momentum to its hair-raising finishing line, you felt you had been through an emotional car-wash ..." THE TIMES

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Give it a chance, February 4, 2006

By 

Giordano Bruno (Wherever I am, I am.) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Rossini - Ermione / Antonacci, Ford, Montague, Austin Kelly, Howell, Nilon, Lopez-Yanez, Unwin, Davis, Glyndebourne Opera (DVD)

Say what you will, opera is all about music, and music is all about tuning. Apart from the choral overture, the first 20 minutes of Ermione are musically undistinguished, and in this production the principal singers in the first three scenes all seem convinced that the orchestra is consistently sharp. I'm just minutes away from running to my computer to re-sell this disc, but suddenly the singers find their tonal centers and Rossini wakes up, and the rest is pure delight, though not without imperfections. Diana Montague (Andromache) never reaches either intensity or A440. Jorge Lopez-Yanez (Pyrrhus)achieves both, but lacks the vocal athleticism to make the characteristic rapid passages of Rossini truly impressive. Anna Antonacci (Ermione)sings and acts her character with such cold hauteur that one begins to look forward to tragedy, but she sings splendidly. Bruce Ford (Orestes) is a painful twerp but he also sings gloriously. Their duets and indeed all the ensemble arias are superb, imaginative, emotionally effective MUSIC, which explains why I'm giving the disk 4 stars.

The production owes a bit to the Cabinet of Doctor Caligari. Set in the gilded boxes and velvet drapes of a traditional opera house tilted 15 degrees askew, it's unrelentingly an "opera about opera". I'm not usually keen on self-referential art, but this time it seems to make sense. Certainly it's vivid, lush, and coherent. There are a few token bits of "relevance" tossed in, including vague hints of Pyrrhus as Mussolini, but they can be ignored. It's hard to imagine that a pre-modernist production, dressing the roles in Attic bathrobes in the manner of Hollywood Homer, would be nearly as plausible. Once you accept the premises, I think you'll find the production values excellent.

Another reviewer faults the sound recording and especially the balance of singers and orchestra. The criticism is fair, but I found that by turning the volume up to the maximum comfortable, I was able to satisfy my ears.

Give it a chance! It's the only DVD of a rarely-produced opera rich with musical ingenuity. If you've never seen or heard the work before, sit through the first few scenes once and ever after fast-forward to the good stuff.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes it has some minor flaws but..., September 4, 2007

By 

D. J. Marconi - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rossini - Ermione / Antonacci, Ford, Montague, Austin Kelly, Howell, Nilon, Lopez-Yanez, Unwin, Davis, Glyndebourne Opera (DVD)

despite the not so great-but acceptable- sound, somewhat twisted libretto and plot, static and boring staging featuring a tilted platform , and crappy subtitles, this is one amazing opera which can only be seen and heard through this dvd.

Just a tragedy that this opera was apparently never recorded until 1986, and that cd is out of print. Why they never recorded a version after this version is another mystery.

But the music may be the best Rossini ever wrote, and he knew it since he preserved the score and borrowed from it frequently. He called it his "little William Tell," though virtually no one ever heard it. It was way ahead of its time-it feels like a bel canto with deeper psychological development, and more sophisticated taut music that drives the opera to sublime heights.

Despite "the lack of competition," this dvd features some incredible singing and acting by all 4 of the main characters. Ms. Antonacci took on a formidable role and masterfully conquered it and the audience. But she has plenty of help from the likes of Ford, Austin Kelly, Montague and conductor Andrew Davis who really surprised me.

I am giving it 5 stars because of the music, singing and acting by the cast-especially Antonacci. Nearly the entire Second Act is dominated by her. It's interesting to note that it is believed by many that Rossini wrote it to showcase the talents of his wife.

Now if we can only get a new cd version or a reprint of the 1986 disc. This is one opera that really needs to be heard.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get comfortable, and relish this stellar production!, January 4, 2009

By 

Opera-rater "Christopher" (Fayetteville, AR) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Rossini - Ermione / Antonacci, Ford, Montague, Austin Kelly, Howell, Nilon, Lopez-Yanez, Unwin, Davis, Glyndebourne Opera (DVD)

The reviews posted here confuse me a bit: I found everything about this production top notch. Of course, you have to research the plot BEFORE you watch, otherwise you're lost from the get go. Once you realize what's happening, you have to simply give in to the production and enjoy. There are no tuning problems! There are no audio problems!! Montague nearly walks off with the show, and were it not for the Ermione's last monologue and duet the work would seem a little lop sided in Andromache's favor. However, Antonacci is one of the greatest singing actresses of our time, and when she is onstage you can do nothing but watch her.

I hate to even bring up the name "Callas" but one can't help but make comparisons. Antonacci displays the kind of blood and guts commitment for which Callas was famous. Her singing here is splendid, but her middle voice has a "veil" and her more recent performances show that she has worked out her initial vocal issues. Bruce Ford occasionally lets loose a verismo yelp which, while exciting, is not exactly stylistically correct. These moments simply show an artist at the top of his game investing in his character. Purists might sneer, but I found him an exiting performer.

But above all, it is Antonacci that one remembers, and especially her closing "mad scene", very reminicient of some of Donizetti's doomed Queens. The production itself is elegant, simple, beautiful and doesn't call attention to itself after it is once revealed. The staging is a beautiful blend of elegant tableaux. I loved this production and am thrilled that it was captured on DVD.