Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden
by John Vernon
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carol Neblett, Francis Egerton, Plácido Domingo, Robert Lloyd, Silvano CarroliDirector: John Vernon
Brand: Kultur
Writer: Carlo Zarigarini
Writer: David Belasco
Writer: Guelfo Civinini
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 140 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-11-18
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Kultur Video
Movie Reviews of Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden
Movie Review: Fairy-tale West
Summary: 5 Stars
Fanciulla holds a special place in my heart and is probably my favorite of Puccini's operas. His loving, if quaint, portrait of the Wild West never fails to touch this Californian. After all, WE romanticize our history, why shouldn't Puccini? This charming Covent Garden production is the one I turn to for a cozy, old-fashioned treatment. This is my fairy-tale Fanciulla and the '92 Met my verismo version- both indispensable. And now that I've added the '91 Scala I love it, too- Domingo giving and amazing and heartbreaking performance.
I freely admit that my attention tends to focus on Domingo when watching any of these. He is so perfect for this role- probably the most interesting character Puccini wrote for tenor. Here, in his younger days, Domingo plays Ramirrez/Johnson with plenty of bravado and an ample dose of swagger. This newly made bandit is arrogant and impetuous but also insecure and bitterly ashamed of his occupation, such as it is. I think he desperately wants a way out but feels trapped. When dragged onstage in Act III, he shows the terror of the hunted and the exhaustion of his condition but it's his own miserable guilt that really weighs him down. He vehemently protests the false accusations yet he shrinks before the threats of the mob and almost seems to feel he rather deserves what's coming.
This is perhaps my favorite 3rd Act, overall. From the lugubrious opening chords it builds steady tension- one swell rising over another as it sweeps along. I always feel I can almost see the chase as it is narrated. And then the wonderful Sonora (Rawnsley) bursts in with such a lusty "E preso!" you can be sure Johnson can look for no mercy here! I prefer the movement of the Covent chorus, too. There is more milling around and groups coming and going whereas at the Met they mainly march up and down the street a couple times. And while they use no outright violence in their assault upon Johnson their menacing hatred is palpable and the whole sequence effectively chilling. And then we come to that lovely, closing farewell that always draws a contented sigh from me. I feel this production best captures that beautiful nostalgia for the Sierras. A nostalgia I myself feel, for they are MY Sierras, too, and I cherish memories of those `bei monti' from many a camping trip.
(But the Met DVD is also excellent,Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Daniels, Domingo, Milnes, Croft, Laciura, Fitch, Slatkin, Metropolitan Opera with Daniels, Milnes as THE definitive Sheriff, a wonderful Nick in Laciura and Domingo using his great maturity to touch the heart in that special way unique to his later years. Be sure to take a look at Domingo's searing Scala performance, too Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Zampieri, Domingo, Pons, Bertocchi, Maazel, La Scala Opera You can read my reviews on their product pages.)
Subtitled in English, German, Spanish. 1982
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Summary of Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden
LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST - DVD MovieThis 1983 Royal Opera Covent Garden production looks right and Plácido Domingo sounds right. So do the chorus and orchestra, though they could have been subtler here and there. Silvano Carroli makes a superbly villainous sheriff. Carol Neblett looks good and acts reasonably well as Minnie, the amiable barmaid and surrogate mother to a camp full of lonely minors. Unfortunately, her voice is not quite competitive with that of Mara Zampieri, who shared the La Scala production with Domingo nine years later.
Those who prefer this Fanciulla will probably be attracted by Domingo's youthful vitality, but the whole production is quite attractive if one makes allowance for Neblett's tonal shortcomings. The music has color and subtlety, and the story will bring nostalgia attacks to anyone who spent childhood Saturday afternoons nibbling popcorn and watching horsemen in 10-gallon hats galloping across the screen. --Joe McLellan
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