Customer Reviews

Royal Gala Evening [VHS]

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

 

 

I have to say I'm amazed that no-one has taken the time to review this wonderful performance. But now I'm going to draw attention to it; so hopefully more people than I will be aware of it. This is a Royal Gala Evening held at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, England. The performing artists are José Carreras, Agnes Baltsa, Katia Ricciarelli and Ruggero Raimondi and this evening is staged in aid of José Carreras Leukaemia Foundation and St. Sophia's Children Hospital, Athens, Greece.

José Carreras opens the event with a beautiful rendition of Mattinata, followed by Agnes Baltsa who treats us to "Seguidilla" from Carmen. In my opinion you can't beat Baltsa's "Carmen". Even seven years after giving us the ultimate Carmen both on cd and dvd she gives a convincing rendition of this aria. Her voice hasn't changed much over the years - it's almost hard to tell the two performances apart. She's also singing a duet with José Carreras from Cavalleria Rusticana which is one of the many highlights this evening. I also have to add that she's singing the wonderful Greek song "to treno fevgi stis okto" written by Mikis Theodorakis. If you enjoy this song and would like to hear more of the same, check out her album from 1984 called "from Greece with love". The album was reissued in 2004 because of the Athens Olympics.

Katia Ricciarelli is treating us to a wonderful version of "o mio babbino caro" and "ebben? No andro lontana". Her beautiful liquid, floating voice has become slightly more "wobbly" during the years, but still it's a real treat to hear her sing these songs.

Ruggero Raimondi sings Mephistofeles serenade from Faust and his voice is perfect for this kind of repertoire. I have always been fascinated by his voice, because when performing operas like Tosca (the role of Scarpia) he can scare you stiff, but still his voice has a kind of strange beauty that captures you. Seeing and hearing him performing this song is a joy. We're also treated to a beautiful rendition of L'ultima canzone. Normally this aria is heard in the voice of a tenor, but it sounds just as beautiful when sung by Raimondi. He's also singing a duet from L'Italiana in Algeri with Baltsa and they are really hamming it up. They are wonderful actors as well as singers and their facial expressions are worth a million bucks.

José Carreras gives us "Mattinata", "Granada" and "Porquoi me reveiller" in addition to the duet with Agnes Baltsa. All the songs are beautifully sung, but his rendition of "Porquoi me reveiller" actually made me buy the entire opera it's taken from - Massenets "Werther", an absolutely wonderful opera. And the duet with Agnes Baltsa from "Cavalleria Rusticana" made me take a closer look on a recording with José Carreras and Montserrat Caballé that I previously had decided I wasn't too keen on. (Mostly due to Caballé's singing). But having heard Baltsa and Carreras I went back and found that I actually liked the opera. So thank you, Carreras and Baltsa......In addition to this concert I now have two more operas which I love....

The encore is Brindisi from La Traviata where all four artists are performing together and it's really fun watching what's happening on stage. Carreras starts singing, but suddenly he bursts out laughing and he has to turn away from the audience to "get his act together". Unfortunately the video doesn't show what the reason for his outburst was, but perhaps it was because of Ricciarelli looking at him and whispering a few words while he's still singing. I guess the reason for that being Raimondi standing there with bulging eyes when the orchestra starts playing Brindisi. It's obvious that he doesn't have a clue about how to sing this song and he turns away from Baltsa, staring at the floor and trying to make himself as invisible as he possibly can. Ricciarelli and Baltsa take turns in singing and when all Raimondi can do to help is offering a few tralalas you'll see Baltsa's eyes widening in mock horror. It's getting more and more hilarious and I can't help but laughing out loud when you see the conductor putting his hand over his mouth trying not to laugh and shaking his head while still conducting the orchestra. As it gets "worse" you'll see him putting his hand to his head and obviously thinking something like "My God, where's this going to end...?" In the end he turns around and starts conducting the audience instead...... The artists themselves are also laughing because they're making a mess out of the song. But a most enjoyable mess I might add and the audience are also having a good time. I just wish I could have been there. Since I obviously wasn't, this video is the next best thing to it and it's worth its weight in gold... I know that this is a performance that I will be watching over and over again in the years to come. I love watching these singers because they all have a stage presence very few can match. If you're a fan of any of the four artists, this video is an absolute must in your collection; and if you're not a fan you will probably change your opinion during this evening.....