Product Details

• Actors: Montserrat Caballé, Claudio Abbado, Norbert Beilharz, Cecilia Gasdia, Lucia Valentini-Terrani
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Arthaus Musik
• DVD Release Date: August 20, 2002
• Run Time: 119 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008G751
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,670 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Verdi Requiem not well represented, April 19, 2007

By 

Xavier - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Verdi - Requiem / Montserrat Caballe, Peter Dvorsky, Lucia Valentini Terrani, Samuel Ramey; Claudio Abbado, La Scala (DVD)

Montserrat Caballe was the reason I bought this dvd and loved her voice in the past. She was not singing or there was something wrong with her. I was disappointed. Had I known this I would not have purchased. Samuel Ramey was excellent, however, and so was the orchestra.

I knew this was simply a rehearsal for the Verdi Requiem and was anxious to purchase because of Ms. Caballe. Wished I hadn't!!!

2.0 out of 5 stars Where are you Montse?, February 14, 2012

By 

Trevor Noonan (Dublin, Ireland.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Verdi - Requiem / Montserrat Caballe, Peter Dvorsky, Lucia Valentini Terrani, Samuel Ramey; Claudio Abbado, La Scala (DVD)

I bought this dvd as I love Verdi's Requiem, Lucia Valentini Terrani, Samuel Ramey, Cecilia Gasdia...but essentially it was Caballe that drew me to it as I'm doing a big survey of her recorded works at the moment. Overall I can't recommend really this video of rehearsal work for the putting on of the Requiem in Milan in 1985.
It appeared Gasdia was shadowing Caballe perhaps, or maybe they were singing alternate performances. It was a pity this wasn't referred to or clarified. Also I was very interested to hear & see Terrani; however I don't think she came across in her best light.
Regretfully there was very little footage of Caballe singing, or doing anything else for that matter. Throughout the film I kept saying to myself..'Montse, where are you..?'. And then I decided that she must have only agreed to the absolute minimum of exposure of herself in the film. Finally towards the end of the film I started to get some of my money's worth when we got to see her singing one of the key pieces of the work during which she got a fit of the giggles and the viewer got a chance to experience her apparent playful personality. We also got to see the seeming effortless capabilities of her incredible technique.
The remainder of the film was a let down and there was very little to enjoy. It was good to hear the orchestra & choir practicing & they sounded great. However the camera spent way too much time on images of Abaddo conducting...it would have been great to have seen close-ups of the orchestra & choir.
I didn't find the (plentiful) footage of Terrani,Ramey, Gasdia & Merritt very exciting for some reason.
Finally the most annoying thing was the very trite intercutting across the film of images of statues of grave- flagstones juxtapositioned with images of 'beautiful' young men & women from advertising billboards around Milan, together with a very intrusive intermittent narration in German of the text. Once when I was listening intently to the one few mins of Caballe singing, this same narration starter to blather on drowning out the singer.
Overall a surprisingly disappointing release from Arthaus

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look at Abbado in Rehearsal in 1985, November 17, 2010

By 

Jacqueline Jernigan "jackie" (US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Verdi - Requiem / Montserrat Caballe, Peter Dvorsky, Lucia Valentini Terrani, Samuel Ramey; Claudio Abbado, La Scala (DVD)

Such an enriching experience to spend an afternoon immersed in the 1985 rehearsal of Verdi's Missa da Requiem as conducted by a youthful Claudio Abbado!

What an intimate way to experience the Requiem: the soloists work with Abbado and full orchestra as well as with piano; his sensitive conducting is fascinating to watch, and the soloists' interaction with him makes for a unique and instructive hour and a half.

I was particularly taken with the very fine interpretation of mezzo soprano Lucia Valentin Tarrani (who, tragically, was to die in about ten years from leukemia), and with the beautiful bass voice of Kansas native Samuel Ramey, born in 1942, who is still performing today.

The orchestra and chorus are superb, and the ensemble is simply thrilling to watch-- and what a lovely setting! The German voiceovers are nicely done and are not instrusive. Subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish.

Photography is not fine but is not a problem, and the use of the camera works very well. I so enjoyed the close-ups of the soloists.

Sadly, I was unable to find a DVD of the actual 1985 performance, but this rehearsal features almost the entire Requiem.