Customer Reviews

Rossini - Il Barbiere di Seviglia (The Barber of Seville) [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

It saddens me to see that so many people have written negative reviews of this performance, which I consider to be one of the best opera videos currently available. It's not a traditional production -- indeed, we're probably never going to see anything like this again -- but isn't that the whole point? This production is unique, maybe even infuriating at times, but it never stops being interesting. I also happened to find it incredibly entertaining.

It helps that there is some amazing singing by Jennifer Larmore, who has a rich mezzo voice with ringing top notes, and who handles the difficult vocal writing with ease. She even looks like the ideal Rosina -- youthful but alluring. The rest of the singers are less amazing, although Richard Croft does a good job with the part of Almaviva, and the late, great Renato Capecchi (who in his prime sang Figaro, but here, just a few years before he died, sings Bartolo) is very characterful.

It also helps that this performance is conducted by Alberto Zedda, THE living Rossini scholar, who coaxes the orchestra into providing energetic playing that alternates easily between the vigorous and the gentle, just as Rossini ordered.

The sound is actually quite fine, notwithstanding some other reviewers' (inconsistent) complaints about overmiking or undermiking. Yes, it's true that you can often hear the shuffling of feet on stage, but I've never been to a opera performance where there isn't a noticeable amount of stage noise -- it's part of the live opera experience! Perhaps the "Professor" and others below who found this stage noise problematic are used to hearing (or seeing) only souped-up studio recordings of opera. If so, then that is very unfortunate. In this case, the rhythmic footsteps of the dancers are supposed to be a part of the performance, and they are far less intrusive than the coughers and cellophane-candy-unwrappers that one would encounter at any live opera performance.

The criticism that baffles me the most, however, is the complaint that there is too much motion and action on the stage in this performance. As far as I can tell, the whole idea behind this production is the key concept that rhythm and perpetual motion are at the very heart of Rossini's music. Incredibly, one negative reviewer below even goes so far as to assert that "all action needs to stop when a singer launches an aria, or during an ensemble." This has got to be one of the most crabbed and narrow-minded conceptions of opera that I have ever read. I, for one, am glad that the days of the old "stand and deliver"-style of opera performance have faded away, and that a performance like this (the very opposite of "stand and deliver") could have been made and preserved on DVD.

Wow! I have over 100 recordings of opera on commercial vhs, but this was the first opera I have ever bought on DVD and boy am I glad that this was the choice. The picture is stunning in quality and the sound brilliant in clarity, crispness, and warmth. The score is performed brilliantly at the hands of Zedda, a Rossini expert, and I was left with nothing but tears of happiness after listening to this recording! A great value for those looking for operatic pleasure at its finest!!

The first video Barber of Seville I saw was a VHS with Cecilia Bartoli. So I was scared off by some of the reviews below. Having watched it, I agree with another review: the negative reviews are unfair.

True, early on the movements are distracting and there are moments where the crowd noise is a problem. But like any good drama, this staging draws you in. After the first scene or so, the extra action really adds to the production. If you like a static production where the singers just stand around and sing, then, no, you won't like this one. But if you like action that creates a grand spectacle, than you will experience this production more positively. On the whole, it works. I'm no expert in operatic historiography, but this production FEELS right for the genre.

I'm also no expert in singing, but the music in this production sounds fine to me.

As with "sinyung" I'm giving this 5 stars since it is "so much fun." I burst out laughing numerous times. Isn't that what a great comedy is to do? Yes, there are occasional flaws, but they are more than outweighed by the positive aspects.

I had high hopes for this DVD, as several people had posted favorable reviews of it. Indeed, it is well sung, and the orchestra sounds great. However, this is simply the most irritating staging of an opera that I've seen in my life. There is never a moment, and I mean NEVER, when there aren't hundreds of extras flitting about like idiots. It becomes impossible to listen to the opera.One would be tempted to listen to the DVD with the picture off, but all those people running around make a great deal of noise, and their stomping frequently drowns out the music.It is an incredible display of directorial self-indulgence! Dario Fo is the director, and If I ever meet him, I'm going to slap him as hard as I can.

If you like Commedia del Arte, this is an opera for you. Dario Fo makes it impossible not to enjoy it. On stage there happens so much and sometimes so funny that you nearly forget to listen to the opera

While Dario Fo has gone overboard - populating every square inch of the set with extras and stage business - this remains, overall, a "fun" Barbiere.

Richard Croft should win an award for execution of all his stage pranks and physical demands while having to sing Almaviva's difficult music. "All'idea di quel metall" is one of the most eye-popping messes I've seen a tenor have to go through; racing up and down a flight of steps that is being wheeled around the stage in constant motion as houses appear and disappear around him, it really is a bit much. Croft never misses a beat and looks to enjoy the athletic aspects of the role Fo has laid out for him. This Almaviva is a perfect blend of arrogant machismo, comic timing, physical agility - like Errol Flynn with high notes.

Beautiful Jennifer Larmore is not given particularly exciting costuming here, but she too exercises all of the business Fo foists on her as well. Una voce poca fa is thrilling singing but the sideshow with her ladies in waiting is a bit much.

I wanted to like David Malis more as Figaro: a terrific actor, lithe and willing to risk life and limb, but the voice isn't quite right for Figaro: his coloratura work is all delivered in an aspirated manner, most noticeable in the Rosina/Figaro "Dunque il son" where Larmore's ability to sing it smoothly makes his aspirated runs sound choppy and out of tune.

After repeated viewings I've found fewer problems with this production and the Act I finale is absolutely mind boggling - impossible to top and produces a riotous ovation from the audience who have all been lathered up into a frenzy. Great fun!!!

This disc is a well executed performance of Il Barbiere. The singing is of a very high quality throughout. Jennifer Larmore is simply fabulous as Rosina. Her rich and deep mezzo is surprisingly agile in the coloratura portions of her role, and her stage presence is a plus. Richard Croft's tenor is a little bigger than is heard in most performances, but that is another plus, because Count Almaviva shouldn't sound like a wimp. David Malis is a wonderful Figaro, mainly because he can act as well as sing. The rest of the cast perform well, and the pacing of the score under the baton of Albero Zedda is exactly what one would expect from a noted Rossini scholar. Which leaves the staging. Il Barbiere is a comic opera, and the libretto provides ample room for buffa action on stage by the cast. The delicacy and the comedic sense of this gem of an opera are simply overwhelmed by stage busyness, like people running around with banners, ladders, furniture and all sorts of things that detract sharply from the plot, the real action and the singing. I am glad that I have this DVD, because I like Il Barbiere and this is the best performance currently available on DVD. I have reviewed a fair number of operas here, and maintain that the DVD medium is the next best thing to live performance. The video here is excellent, but why, oh why didn't the sound engineers produce this in Dolby 5.1 rather than in stereo? I recommend this performance to serious opera lovers, but I caution anyone who is "testing the water". There are other operas available on DVD that make better first ventures than this one. I think that the crazyness onstage would spoil the opera experience for newcomers to the art.

I've seen a lot of opera on video, but this is by far my favorite. It combines the superb musicianship of Rossini expert Alberto Zedda with the brilliant, zany, inventive stagecraft of Nobel Laureate (for Literature) Dario Fo. Although Fo's direction is sometimes manic, it's never over the top and is always in keeping with the spirit of Rossini. Jennifer Larmore is a wonderful, youthful Rosina, and Richard Croft as Almaviva is pretty good, too. The only disappointment, if any, is the somewhat lightweight Figaro of David Malis, but in the grand scheme of things this is minor. Whenever I watch it (and I've seen it at least 10 times now), it puts a smile on my face from beginning to end.

I wouldn't say this production of "the Barber" was perfect, but I give 5 stars anyway because it was SO MUCH FUN! I've seen a convention production of "the Barber" live which was very well-sung and well-staged-- but the fact is, my attention always wavered after the second or third da capo of each verse or coloratura....

So even with the vibrant and often stunning vocal performances from Larmore, Croft, Malis and the rest of the cast (right down to Bertha the maid), what really sealed the COMIC SPIRIT of Rossini in this productions is the "frivolous" direction by Dario Fo. Count Almaviva is no longer stuck under Rosina's balcony when serenading Rosina, Rosina and Figaro are really "playing around" with each other in their duets, and everyone is just having fun with the opera.

Yes, watching this production finally made me appreciate Rossini's genius in creating the consistently over-the-top comedy in "the Barber". So THREE CHEERS to Dario Fo for coming up with the imaginative mimes to supplement Rossini' wonderful music! In particular, I thought the "subtitling" of the arias was a wonderful tip of the hat to the karaoke culture of today.

Of course, I must admit that unlike some opera-lovers, I DON'T have a problem with "stylised" as opposed to realistic staging of operas. Instead getting annoyed with an unusual way of staging an opera, I would try to see the "point" in such a staging. SO SIT BACK AND RELAX! The way to enjoy this production is to try to catch all the jokes and humour in the staging!

Video of a bunch of people on a stage singing can get boring--
NOT HERE ! DARIO FO EXCITES THE STAGE with live acting; AND
actually brings it closer to THE TRUE VERSION of the comic opera
Rossini intended. The Italian clowns interact with the performance and truely enhance it. The singing of Figaro's
"Largo al factotum" is the best ever recorded ! The singing
of the whole opera has an unusual LIFE to it, AND actually
sounds amazingly like the spirit of Rossini himself was inspiring

everyone ! Alberto Zedda conducts the orchestra in such a manner that it seems to have an amazing insight into the music.
Even the Overture is performed in a way I noticed certain tonalities I never noticed before. The balance between orchestra
and singer is so amazing you wonder if they aren't actually
communicating telepathically. Even the added actors must have memorized every note, and carefully planned each movement.
The recording is loud and clear --excellent !
IT IS MORE FUNNY THAN THE BUGS BUNNY VERSION-- AND
MORE TRUE TO ROSSINI THAN ANY OTHER VERSION.
I almost wonder if Salvador Dali inspired some scenes ?
SURREAL !