Amazon.co.uk Review
Not only did 1999 mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Johann Strauss Sr., but the centenary of the passing of his son, Johann Strauss, "The Waltz King". To commemorate, on the evening of May 29, 1999 in Vienna's grand Heldenplatz almost 8,000 people gathered for a gala concert. This Wiener Philharmoniker performance was conducted by Zubin Meta (who had previously conducted the The Three Tenors, one of whom, José Carreras is here joined by soprano Andrea Rost for two duets from Strauss operettas). At 103 minutes this DVD offers 19 selections, but either there was an interval after just six pieces, or considering how rapidly it gets dark between "Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka" and the "Overture" from Die Fledermaus, there has been some cutting. Given such a great orchestra and the wonderful setting, it would have been nice to see people dancing to what is after all, real dance music. Despite the static nature of the event, the music is still uplifting, moving even the staid Vienna audience to clap along by the finale of the rousing "Radetzky March".
On the DVD: Other than some useful booklet notes there are no special features, and unlike most other Arthaus titles the sound is offered only in stereo Dolby Digital and PCM stereo. This is presumably due to the difficulties associated with outdoor acoustics and live recording which nearly prevented the concert going ahead. The anamorphically enhanced picture generally makes the most of the spectacular location, having a clarity in the close-ups such that it is virtually possible to count the hairs on the musicians heads.--Gary S. Dalkin
Amazon.co.uk Review
In March 2001 some of the world's greatest lyric voices assembled in the cavernous Teatro Padiglione Palacassa in Parma for a Verdi Gala to commemorate the centenary of the composer's death. The works included in this concert are generally taken from his most famous operas, but there are one or two surprises too: it's not often you get the chance to hear the gorgeous "Dieu nous separe" from the Parisian grand opera Jerusalem (1847), for example, or arias from Il Corsaro (1848). The singing is mostly of a very high standard: Barbara Frittoli uses her glorious voice with intelligence in the excerpt from Il Trovatore, and Daniela Dessi is stunning in "Pace, pace" from La Forza del Destino.
Older singers like Carreras and Domingo are also still on superb form, too, and both men manage to sound heavenly while packing a mighty dramatic punch. But there are also some weak links: Mariella Devia is a little too slippy-slidy in her coloratura to be a convincing Violetta, and Leo Nucci simply shouts his way through Il Trovatore. Despite the familiarity of the material, Zubin Mehta conducts with a beguiling freshness of approach and plenty of warmth and wit: the playful phrasing in "La donna e mobile" is simply charming
On the DVD: Verdi Gala comes with fine picture quality, but the recording balance favours the singers over the orchestra and leaves some details of the ensemble inaudible. Each number is introduced with a personal comment from the singers, leading to some old ham from Jose Cura and some silly journalese from the others: "And thus La Traviata was born overnight", is one particularly vacuous example. The DVD also includes a slide-show of stills from the rehearsals, and subtitles in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. --Warwick Thompson
Customer Reviews:
A Grand Verdi Gala from Italy.......2005-03-14
In March 2001 a grand Verdi gala commemorating the 100th anniversary of the composer's death and featuring some of the best-known singers in world was presented at the Teatro Padiglione Padacassa in Parma. Zubin Mehta conducted the orchestra and chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and accompanied such singers as Plácido Domingo, José Cura, José Carreras, Marcelo Álvarez (what is it with the current and former dominance of Hispanic tenors?--and this list doesn't even include Rolando Villazon!), the glorious sopranos Daniela Dessì and Barbara Frittoli, and stalwarts such as Ruggero Raimondi and Leo Nucci as well as relative unknowns (in the US) Elisabete Matos, Luciana D'Intino, Mariella Devía, Gloria Schalcchi, Cinzia Rizzone, Riccardo Zanellato, Konstantin Gorny, Rossana Rinadli and Gianluca Floris.
The program was arranged with selections from Verdi operas in the order in which they were written, beginning with 'Va, pensiero' from 'Nabucco,' and then, in order, selections from Jérusalem, Il corsaro, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Don Carlo, Aïda, Otello, and Falstaff. Three hours of glorious music! Each selection was introduced (in Italian, of course, but with idiomatically translated subtitles) by various of the singers, with some sometimes witty and other times trivial commentary about the piece to be heard next. (One funny bit, in the second half, had the line-up of singers illustrating from an 18th-century textbook on acting various methods of portraying emotions such as 'love' (Ruggero Raimondi and Barbara Frittoli hamming it up), 'hypocrisy,' 'jealousy, etc.)
At the time this review was written Amazon had not yet included the contents of these two DVDs and I will not do that as it is too lengthy. But I will comment on some of the highlights. On the first CD, which takes us through 'Ballo,' I was particularly impressed with Cura singing 'La donna è mobile' from 'Rigoletto' followed by the Quartet with Mariella Devía, Gloria Schalcchi, Marcelo Álvaro and Leo Nucci, although I must say that Nucci was barking a bit. The entire finale of 'Trovatore' was terrific (Domingo, Schalcchi, Frittoli). Mariella Devía sang 'Ah, fors' è lui' and 'Sempre libera' thrillingly but with some approximate coloratura. Leo Nucci's 'Eri tu' from 'Ballo' was fairly humdrum, I have to say, but the final scene with Carreras as Riccardo, Nucci as Renato, Matos as Amelia, Rizzone as Oscar, and Zanellato and Gorny as Tom and Samuel was moving.
The second CD's music begins with what for me is the most exciting singing of the evening, Daniela Dessì's 'Pace, pace, o mio dio' from 'La forza'--simply stunning! And this is followed by another thrilling performance, Luciana D'Intino's 'O don fatale' from 'Don Carlo.' Mio dio! And then--get this!--another blockbuster: Barbara Frittoli singing 'Ritorna vincitor'...'Numi, pietà' from 'Aïdo.' Holy moley! These three performances are followed by the entire finale (Triumphal Scene) of Act II of Aïda with Dessì, D'Intino (Amneris), Cura, Nucci (Amonasro), Raimondi (The King), Zanellato (a young basso to watch as Ramfis) and, of course, the chorus.
The huge Aïda scene is followed by the quiet, rapturous 'Già nella notte densa' from 'Otello' sung by Cura and Frittoli. (This is a good place to put in praise for the cello section of the Maggio Musicale orchestra, since the love duet has that gorgeous celli divisi introduction. The principal's solo for 'Ella giammai m'amo' was also marvelous.) Cura sounds a bit callow at the beginning of the duet, but when Frittoli comes in things get better and Cura's voice begins to bloom. I was weeping by the end. This is followed then by the 21-minute Act IV finale of 'Otello' from 'Ave Maria' (after the Willow Song) through a glorious 'Niun mi tema' to the end, the heart-breaking 'Un altro bacio' and Otello's death. In this segment the Otello is Domingo, a signature role if ever there was one, and the thrilling Desdemona is Daniela Dessì. What can I say? By the end I was weeping again. I was thankful that the next piece was 'Tutta nel mundo è burla' from 'Falstaff' (with all the evening's soloists participating) which serves to lighten the atmosphere and allow me to dry my tears. Thunderous applause, richly deserved, followed by an encore, ending as we began with 'Va, pensiero.'
2 CDs. TT=182 mins. Sound: DD 5.1 or PCM stereo. Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian. Extra: A slide show of stills from the concert. Crisp visuals, expertly edited. Sound is good, but tends to favor the singers so that one sometimes misses some things going on in the excellent orchestra.
If you're a Verdi fan, you are going to want this set. Trust me on this.
Scott Morrison
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