Customer Reviews

Verdi - Oberto

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Got to see this on Cablevision 714 Gallery channel that runs operas now every Sunday at noon and sometimes on Saturday as well.

Enjoyable viewing. Great video and audio. This is as far as I know the only DVD of Oberto and it just came out last month. Uncomplicated storyline. Ildar Abdrazakov is Oberto and he does his usual sturdy job. I was not overly impressed with the acting of either Carlo Ventre as Riccardo or Marianne Cornetti as Cuniza although their voices are fine, especially Cornetti. Evelyn Herlitzius as Leonora was in excellent form after getting very lukewarm or negative reviews recently in Germany. This was performed at the Bilbao Opera under the conductor Yves Abel who seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. It appeared at certain points that the singers were having a hard time keeping up with him. Early Verdi music was excellent and gave signs as to what would be coming. I would rate this better than satisfactory and give it 3 1/2 stars.

Worth having as the first of the Verdi operas

As you know, this was Verdi's first opera. First performed in 1839 at Teatro alla Scala it was moderately successful and was revived a number of times during the next three years. Today there are few opportunities to see Oberto performed so one might ask whether it is a strong enough work to still entertain and whether this production does it justice. I would answer both questions with a resounding "yes". The singing is never less than adequate, the choral numbers being particularly rousing and the staging quite appropriate to the drama at hand. Oberto is a rather old fashioned opera where character after character takes center stage and stands and delivers. Numbers are frequently followed by well earned applause. A pleasant night at the opera.

This performance is a valuable document for any student of Verdi's work. His first operatic effort, it already shows a sure hand in shaping musical architecture and a keen melodic sense. With the expection of Oberto himself, the voices are mostly in the servicable catagory. The picture is clear though the production tends to darkness. The sets are traditional which is a plus and they create the needed atmosphere. One does not have to suffer from wacky directorial ideas while trying to listen to the music. The biggest problem for this viewer is the soprano, Leonora, whose acting leaves much to be desired. But what was most distracting, but may not be a problem for most people, is the fact that she seems to feel that she must open her mouth as wide as possible on all her "ah" vowels. This is probably needed in the high register but in the lower and middle it can only cause problems down the road. It does not help the sound at her present level of performance. (Dame Gwyneth Jones attributed opening her mouth too wide for the wobble that plagued her mature work).

The DVD contains two interesting interviews one of which is with the young conductor. He suggests that this early Verdi score contains much imitation of Donizetti and Bellini. But to my ear Verdi is already miles ahead of those two composers not withstanding the great operas they have put into the repertory.