Product Details

• Actors: Cheryl Studer, Chris Merritt, Giorgio Zancanaro, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Riccardo Muti
• Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Subtitles: 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: BBC / Opus Arte
• DVD Release Date: November 16, 2004
• Run Time: 211 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00030EQXY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,888 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Verdi’s 1855 Paris opera which followed Rigoletto, Il Trovatore and La Traviata is treated to a performance of blazing energy and intimate refinement with a superb cast which includes Cheryl Studer and Chris Merritt. The rarely-seen third act ballet is included complete, with the internationally-acclaimed dancers Carla Fracci and Wayne Eagling. This is the eighth release in the La Scala Collection. The DVD includes a wonderful 28 page booklet with the full libretto. Picture Format: 4:3 • Subtitles: GB • Sound Format: Dolby Stereo

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What an amazing opera, December 19, 2004

By 

Comer JEFFREY Wayne (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Verdi - I Vespri Siciliani / Merritt, Studer, Furlanetto, Zancanaro, Musinu, Banditelli, Gavazzi, Muti, La Scala Opera (DVD)

I've been living in Asia for many years and I somehow missed hearing of Cheryl Studer. A few years back a friend played a cut from this DVD for me- Studer's singing of "Merce, diletti amiche," and I was hooked. What incredible singing- the voice radiant, the coloratura nearly flawless, the diction clear and clean.(Compare her singing with the very strange sounds that Martina Arroyo made in this aria in the 1974 recording with Levine). Studer's singing throughout just makes you glad to be alive.

Muti's conducting is also another reason to treasure this disc.The music is so beautiful and he approaches the score with delicacy and energy at the same time.The ballet is wonderful evidence of how fine his conducting is. Some have complained that this dance episode is too long but I can't hear it often enough.

For me Chris Merritt is the one fly in the ointment. I find his singing dry and colorless; but, at the same time, you sense that he is giving his all for Muti and this gorgeous music.(Domingo for Levine, in his early prime, is golden voiced). The rest of the cast and the staging are very fine.

I'm not a judge of sound but the transfer sounds great to me (better than the EMI disc). And it is very reasonably priced. Not to be missed, especially by Verdi lovers.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Vespri, July 30, 2009

By 

Operafilly (Fallbrook, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Verdi - I Vespri Siciliani / Merritt, Studer, Furlanetto, Zancanaro, Musinu, Banditelli, Gavazzi, Muti, La Scala Opera (DVD)

This is one Verdi role Merritt can handle beautifully. He and Zancanaro work beautifully together and both sound wonderful.

This is a pretty tuneful opera for such a macabre story. Rarely doe it have a soprano who can get thru the bolero beautifully and this is no exception. But Studer does as well as most.

As usual I fast forward thru the ballets......but thats just me. It would take the Bolshoi to keep me on play.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another La Scala Stunner!, June 30, 2007

By 

Maggie McQuigg (the 831) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Verdi - I Vespri Siciliani / Merritt, Studer, Furlanetto, Zancanaro, Musinu, Banditelli, Gavazzi, Muti, La Scala Opera (DVD)

My goal in viewing/listening to opera is to keep in touch with Italian language and get in touch with Italian opera culture in preparation for an upcoming trip. Someone with rudimentary Italian (io) could easily understand (without subtitles, but following the libretto and referring to the synopsis) this production of "I Vespri Siciliani" because it had communicative staging and costuming, decent (Furlanetto) to superior (Zancanoro) acting, and numerous closeups of the interactions of the main characters. One example of make-it-accessible stagecraft: The costumes of the male Sicilian chorus were probably historically inaccurate but expressive of place and station, showing the locals in clear contrast to the occupying French. I fast-forwarded through the (overly-long, not very interesting) ballet in Act III but was otherwise fully engaged throughout. Like other La Scala productions I've seen that were filmed by RAI TV, a first-rate theatrical performance made into a top-class home viewing experience.