Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent performances, DVD transfer could be better, April 6, 2002
I agree with the other reviewers here who have praised the performances of Kabaivanska, Domingo, and Milnes. All three sing well and are convincing as actors. Shooting the opera on location is effective and adds to the dramatic power. The DVD transfer, however, is not the best I have seen. There are frequent white spots and "dirt", as well as places where the picture seems to skip a frame or two. Considering the relatively recent date of the original filming, it is hard to believe that the DVD transfer came from the best source available. I have a DVD of Furtwangler's "Don Giovanni" which was filmed in 1954, and the transfer is much cleaner than this. However, the sound is excellent, with the wide dynamic range one would expect from a DVD, and the slightly substandard video quality is not enough to give this anything less than a full 5-star rating.
|
|
|
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite opera movie, August 16, 2005
Tosca is not one of my favorite operas, but this dvd is definitely my favorite opera-made-movie. Kabaivanska's Tosca is dramatic, and Domingo and Milnes are spectacular as usual. But what makes this dvd shine above a host of other dvd's with equally stellar casts is the setting and direction. The scenery is constantly beautiful--you're in a church, a palace, a castle--and the director makes great decisions in how he places and films his actors within them. You see faces when you want faces; group shots when you want group shots; scenery when you want scenery. This dvd has two highlights for me, both in act I (but the other acts are done well too). The first is 'recondita armonia'. The director captures visually the spirit of the aria--the duality of a single beauty reflected in these two, so different women--without distractinig you with *too* many changes on the screen. And of course Domingo's clear voice is just perfect for the aria. The second highlight for me is Scarpia's aria at the end of act I. Milnes is terrifying in voice and visage, and the director accentuates this by filming him walking through the church as he sings during mass. It's an effect you couldn't close to achieve on stage, and it's perfect. As he paces along, rooms, church, people and camera swirl around, and all you see is Scarpia, Scarpia, Scarpia, making his mark on the world. Brilliant!
|
|
|
30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From 1975: The Best Toca On Film, September 3, 2005
Deutsche Grammophone has outdone themselves with the release of this 1975 Tosca starring Placido Domingo, Raina Kabaivanska and Sherill Milnes. It is largely considered the greatest opera film ever made. The singing/music was recorded in a studio and then transferred on to the film to synchronize with the action of the film. The cinematography is top-notch, authentic Napoleon Era costumes are used and the film is shot on location in the settings Puccini wrote for in the opera- Act 1 The Church of San Adrea De La Valle, Act 2 Scarpia's Palace Farnese and Act 3 The Tower/Rooftop of the Castel San Angelo in Rome. Visually and acting-wise, it looks brilliant. There are tiny things I noted that do disturb me but they can be overlooked once you realize we are treated to great opera by singers who know their stuff and provide passionate portrayals.
The Hungarian diva Raina Kabaivanska is known as the soprano who sang the most number of Toscas in her career. She knew the role down to a "t." She is in her best voice in this performance and her acting is convincingly intense and emotional. She has genuine chemistry with Placido Domingo, who makes the best Mario Cavaradossi in that he provides the role with passion and idealisic spirit. Domingo knows that Mario is not only an artist but a lover of liberty (though a blind one since he believes that Napoleon is pro-liberty). Likewise, Kabaivanska subdues the diva-esque character of Tosca, making her a woman who is real and experiencing real intense feelings in diverse situations - unreasonable jealousy in Act 1, torture, horror and murderous rage in Act 2, love and suicidal despair in Act 3. Sherill Milnes' Scarpia is a little too weak for me. I prefer a more in-your-face Scarpia, a real nasty piece of work so I have preferred the interpretations of Tito Gobbi, Justino Diaz, Cornell McNeill and Samuel Ramey. Vocally, Sherill Milnes is superb. He captures the character's wickedness, power and lust with flair. He even acts the part well, but for the reason that I still feel nothing when seeing him as I do with the other baritones I mentioned I cannot praise Milnes. Milnes has worked a lot with Domingo on record for the RCA label - Aida,Otello, Trovatore, Tosca and Forza Del Destino. Milnes is a top ranking baritone but in this production his Scarpia is very bland to me. I would have liked it if Justino Diaz had been cast (Diaz has done other opera films including the Grace Bumbry/Karajan Carmen, and the Domingo/Ricciarelli/Zefferelli Otello.
Little things that bothered me were some of the things perhaps people rarely notice. In certain scenes, when I NEEDED, JUST NEEDED to see faces or close-ups to see reactions, I got nothing. In the infamous scene in which Tosca stabs Scarpia, we mostly get Scarpia's perspective camera-wise, and are seeing Tosca through his eyes. It is filmed with graphic intensity and the blood on her hands is a little too much. Further, in the end of Act 1 during the Te Deum Procession Scene, a brief glimpse of ceremonial guests reveal what appear to be men in Ku Klux Klan white robes and hoods! What was that ? Does anyone know who those men are ? What do they have to do with the Te Deum Scene ? When Tosca throws herself from the Castel San Angelo tower in the finale, we see her limp body bleeding in the street and steps below. Not a pretty sight. This film intended to shock as I can see. Also, the little annoyances included the looks of the characters and or their costumes. Raina Kabaivanska is a beautiful woman and quite young in this film, but her modern haircut is not to my liking and feel she comes off as a modern woman from the 70's stepping back in time to the 1800's for a visit. Placido Domingo, usually a well-dressed, shaven and handsome looks absolutely grisly in this film. He is chubby, hairy (hairy chest) and bearded. He does not make the same romantic impression he would later do in the 1982 Zefferelli La Traviata or even the Trovatore conducted by Karajan and also starring Kabaivanska. He would lose weight and take on dashing leads in the 80's but in this film he is just not doing it for me as Cavaradossi. But other than these things, the film is a must have. It leaves you breathless, has a dramatic impact and is musically excellent.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
DVD ~ Eva Marton
DVD ~ G. Verdi
DVD ~ Aprile Millo
DVD ~ Teresa Stratas
