Product Details

• Actors: Eva Marton, Plácido Domingo, Ludmila Semtschuk, Kurt Rydl, Margarita Lilova
• Directors: Hugo Käch
• Writers: Amilcare Ponchielli, Arrigo Boito, Victor Hugo
• Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Italian (DTS 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: July 22, 2003
• Run Time: 168 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00009Q4WL
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #122,285 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Classical > By Performer > Marton, Eva

• For more information about "Ponchielli - La Gioconda / Fischer, Marton, Domingo, Wiener Staatsoper" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Vienna State Opera's 1986 production of La Gioconda, Amilcare Ponchielli's only lasting success, was an increasingly rare event. The story--based on a long forgotten Victor Hugo drama--is an emotional roller coaster of high passion and self-sacrifice, but has fallen out of favor with the major international opera companies; instead, Ponchielli's contemporary Verdi and one-time pupil Puccini are today's guaranteed crowd-pullers. This is a shame. Ponchielli's score might be sumptuous to the point of occasional over-ripeness but it contains some marvelous arias, not least Enzo's "Cielo e mar." And whenever La Gioconda herself is on stage, it's hard not become enthralled by the richness of her suffering as painted by Ponchielli's lush, explosive music. Here is a woman who is given every opportunity to ensure the removal of her rival (Laura) for Enzo's affections, but who always does the decent thing, ultimately leaving herself with a stark choice between suicide and the repulsive paws of the evil Barnaba who has pursued her since Act I.

As La Gioconda, Hungarian soprano Eva Marton is utterly compelling. It's a role that places extraordinary emotional demands on the singer (Callas, not surprisingly, had a field day with it). Marton maintains total credibility. In voice, she is well matched by Placido Domingo's Enzo, who is at the virile peak of his vocal powers, rather suggesting a strength that the suggestible Enzo doesn't really possess. But perhaps the strongest aspect of Ponchielli's opera is the way in which the vocal jewels are distributed throughout the cast. Ludmilla Schemtschuk is an elegant Laura and Margarita Lilowa as La Gioconda's blind mother, La Cieca, sings an unforgettable "Voce di donna o d'angelo." And the ballet within the opera, the "Dance of the Hours," assumes its rightful place as a gleaming component of the whole work. --Piers Ford

Product Description

Recorded live at the Vienna State Opera, Placido Domingo and Eva Marton star in a sumptuous recording of Ponchielli's famed four-act melodrama, a story of tyranny and intrigue set in semi-historical and ever-romantic Venice. The action is projected by strong characters whose fundamentally sound instincts become distorted by raw passion. The performance draws upon both human and technical resources including a large ballet and varies in mood from the happy carnival to scenes of the darkest gloom and horror.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine performance of consistently high quality., November 17, 2003

By	Janos Gardonyi "jgarch2002" (Toronto, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This is the only DVD so far of this rather neglected opera . Its neglect is perhaps because it is formidably difficult to perform requireing six top quality singers in all vocal ranges and to paraphrase Alan Blyth,the British public's abhorrance to a strong melodrama such as this. However, it is still very popular in the U.S. , Italy and as we see,in Vienna. British neither here nor there, this is a highly satisfying work
both musically and dramatically. Strong passion is the key word: here we have everything, love, hate,evil, jealousy,gratitude,betrayal you name it. Setting:the picturesque but decadent 16th century Venice with its palazzos, islands and dead canals ,the very stuff of Romanticism. The music is very melodic in the
tradition of the great Verdi of his middle period. There definite echoes of "Un Ballo in Maschera"
and even " Otello" , but Ponchielli's music is no copy,it is original and he points forward to a new generation of opera composers.We ,of course musn't forget the excellent libretto by "Tobio Gorrio" (Arrigo Boito),Verdi's librettist in Otello and Falstaff.
This is a very fine performance, dating back to 1986, with sumptious , resplendent décor and
beautiful costumes in the traditional manner, probably best suited for this opera, not to mention the Vienna Philharmonic in the orchestra pit.
For the title role one usually thinks of the great sopranos (Tebaldi,Callas,Caballe) who tackled this role with memorable success. It is a very difficult role, encompassing a great range of range and emotion and dramatic acting. Eva Marton, though does't quite measure up to the stars mentioned, still gives a very satisfying performance especially the "Suicidio" aria. She is also great in the duets and assembly scenes, has a wonderful stage presence and passionate acting ability, which carries through her singing.
For the tenor lead, Placido Domingo is beyond praise. We are fortunate to hear a young Domingo
with a beautiful, strong , youthful and Italianate voice, magnificent throughout. The aria "Cielo e il mar" rarely sounded better.
The supporting roles are also splendid. Fortunately, Ponchelli wrote a lot of wonderful music for them. Just to mention the magnificently inspired second act with the mezzo Ludmila Semtchuk in two duets, one after the other, her voice is clear, strong and inspired - worthy of her predecessor the
great Marilyn Horne in the role of Laura. The evil, conniving Barnaba gets the famous aria "O monumento! " where we hear echoes of Jago's "Credo" in Otello. The cheated husband,
Kurt Rydl is suitably brutal and ruthless, although at this time his voice was somewhat higher than it is now. ( I saw him recently in the role of Osmin where his voice was much deeper)
It is good to see a young Adam Fischer conducting the VPO. He has since became world famous
specially with his recording of the complete Haydn symphonies. Here we see a sensitive young man working hard to bring out all the beauty of this score. He is quite successful, although an Italian conductor, like Gardelli has sounded more effortless and flowing and genuine.
By the way the famous ballet, Dance of the Hours, is beautifully danced and a treat to the eye and ear.

The DVD sound somewhat favours the singers, and this is not quite fair to Adam Fischer.
All in all, a highly recommendable DVD. One last thing: the shoddy presentation by IMAGE is
deplorable. We are given one sheet of chapter headings in italian, no translation, no mention of who sings. For the price, we pay this DVD is treated like third rate Hollywood movie. For this I deduct a star.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eva Marton Is Captivating!!, October 22, 2003

By	Mr. Robert E. Brittain "[e-mail]" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Eva Marton's voice is in fine form here. Yes, opera mavens, she does have a vibrato, which at the upper reaches of her voice, when sustained, would later turn into something like a wobble, but her voice is under control here and she commits a THRILLING vocal performance. She always sings with emotion and I believe she is a fine actress in this role and many others. As Gioconda, she tempers her feelings of betrayal and rejection with pathos and delivers a knockout in Act 4, starting with an unforgettable rendition of "Suicidio!" that's not to be missed.

The mezzos who portray Laura Adorno and La Cieca are FANTASTIC!! These parts are usually not well sung and here it is a joy to hear them. Domingo is, well, he's the GREAT Domingo...and he does not disappoint here either. One might wish to see a bit more of the lyric qualities of a Pavarotti in the role of Enzo Grimaldi, but Domingo makes it his own and never looks back.

Manuguerra is wonderfully devilish and vocally secure. He leaves one with an impression of having more of the bel-canto in him than this fellow-cast members, so he seems a bit out of place at times in this production. Nonetheless, he does a fine job and saves himself for the big moments. Kurt Rydl is probably the weakest link in the cast--he left me wishing for a deep, ripe basso voice for his role...

The production is one of those quasi-historical looking sets that does not distract nor particularly add to the production and the conducting by Fischer is admirable.

If you love this opera and have heard the Callas recordings, Arrangi-Lombardi, Milanov or Anita Cerquetti, you will probably enjoy this...Marton gives a full-force interpretation in the same vein as her predecessors. This has never been my FAVORITE opera, but this performance with Marton and Domingo makes it worth owning and enjoying again and again.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice performance -so was this really neccessary?, September 21, 2005

By	jgri "jgrimm19" (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This is a solid performance with a very good cast and orchestra throughout. But there is one curiosity: At the very end of Enzo's aria in the 2d act ("Cielo e mar") the music and the video do not fit together - in the video Domingo's phrasing is different from what you hear, the last note is also shorter than he actually seems to be singing it on stage. When I saw it the DVD the first time I was surprised by the seemingly delayed applause of the audience but it seems that the end of the aria was edited for the DVD, it is even possible to hear where the editing starts (a little clicking sound). I can only assume that the artist was not satisfied. But was editing really necessary, especially if it is so obvious? It seems somehow not honest on a DVD, showing a "live" opera performance. It would be interesting to hear the "original version"... But this should not keep you from choosing this recording which is otherwise very convincing.