 |
Puccini - Tosca by Hugo de Ana
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
DVD Cover InformationActor: Daniel Oren, Fiorenza Cedolins, Marcelo Alvarez, Marco Spotti, Ruggero Raimondi Director: Hugo de Ana DVD: Region Code 0 Audio: Italian (Original Language); Dutch (Subtitled); Italian (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled) Format: Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen Picture Format: 1.78:1 Running Time: 119 minutes DVD Release Date: 2007-09-25 Audience Rating: Unrated Studio: TDK
Movie Reviews of Puccini - ToscaMovie Review: A Sumptuous Staging of Tosca at the Verona Arena Summary: 4 StarsThe main selling point of this production of Puccini's 'Tosca' is the luxurious staging at the Arena di Verona, an outdoor theater built into the ruins of a public building dating from 30 AD. The stage is huge and the scenery needs to be huge as well for it to work effectively. And in this production it certainly does that. The stage is dominated by enormous broken statues of a noble Roman head and of its arm holding a sword and a crucifix. This is somehow transformed into the interior of the church in Act I, Scarpia's headquarters in Act II and the scene in which Cavaradossi is killed and Tosca leaps to her death in Act III. Act I features an enormous painting on which the painter Cavaradossi is working; it stands at least twenty feet high. And, without giving the coup de th??tre away, it figures in Scarpia's dramatic entrance late in that act. The costumes, too, are rich, colorful and appropriate to the era circa 1800 in which the opera is set. Tosca's and Scarpia's costumes must have cost a fortune. The stage direction is fluid and telling without interfering with the action. Both the intimate moments and the crowd scenes are packed with interesting details. Someone entirely unfamiliar with the opera's plot would have no difficulty following the stage action. There are no liberties in which some European opera directors have indulged themselves except for one small, not bothersome solecism: the shepherd boy at the beginning of Act III is, instead, a little boy with a fishing pole sitting on the bank of, presumably, the Tiber into which Tosca latter jumps.
Musically there is more to argue with. There are many DVD Toscas available, and this one is a notch below the best of them. I am particularly fond of the two that feature Pl?cido Domingo: Puccini - Tosca / Kabaivanska, Domingo, Milnes, Luccardi, Mariotti, Bartoletti with Raina Kabaivanska and Sherrill Milnes, and Puccini - Tosca (remastered) with Hildegard Behrens and Cornell MacNeil. In the present performance Fiorenza Cedolins is not in her best voice and although she portrays the drama effectively, there is a rough edge to the voice that is bothersome. Marcelo ?lvarez as Cavaradossi is in better voice but his acting is rather routine, I fear. Ruggero Raimondi has always been a very good Scarpia, but in this 2006 performance he is sixty-five years old and the voice is worn. Dramatically his Scarpia is malevolence personified, although I prefer MacNeil's dramatic portrayal. A find, for me, was Marco Spotti as Angelotti. He's a tall, good-looking man, a good actor with a baritone that rings with metal and fire.
Musical direction by Daniel Oren and both the orchestra and chorus are good. They are given excellent recorded sound. Stage lighting, difficult in an open arena like Verona, is creative and effective. Videography is expert and unobtrusive.
Sound formats: DD 5.1, DTS 5.1, LPCM stereo; Picture format: 16:9 anamorphic, NTSC; Subtitles: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish; Liner notes: English, German, French; Region code: 0 (worldwide); Disc format: DVD9; Running time: 119 mins. No extras.
Scott Morrison
|
 |
Popular Puccini [DVD Video]Release date: 2008-05-13; DVDBest price: $24.93Price in other shops: $39.98
Puccini - Tosca / Erede, Marton, Furlan, Australian OperaRelease date: 2001-11-20; DVDBest price: $13.99Price in other shops: $29.95
Puccini - Tosca / Marton, Aragall, Wixell, Oren, Verona OperaRelease date: 2005-06-28; DVDBest price: $14.95Price in other shops: $29.99
Puccini - Tosca / Olivero, Misciano, Fioravanti, Verni, RAI OperaRelease date: 2004-04-06; DVDBest price: $28.94Price in other shops: $44.98
Puccini - ToscaRelease date: 2007-09-25; DVDBest price: $22.33Price in other shops: $32.98
Puccini - ToscaRelease date: 2007-11-13; DVDBest price: $17.00Price in other shops: $29.98
Puccini - Tosca / Corelli, Caniglia, Guelfi, Pugliese, de Fabritiis, RAI Rome OperaRelease date: 2004-08-10; DVDBest price: $27.88Price in other shops: $39.95
Puccini - Tosca / Morandi, Patane, CuraRelease date: 2002-05-14; DVDBest price: $15.90Price in other shops: $29.99
Giacomo Puccini: ToscaKoch International; Release date: 2006-10-03; DVDBest price: $9.23Price in other shops: $14.99
Puccini - Tos / Dessi, Armiliato, Raimondi, Benini, Madrid OperaRelease date: 2004-08-17; DVDBest price: $26.43Price in other shops: $39.99
|
Verdi - ObertoRelease date: 2007-10-30; DVDBest price: $22.12Price in other shops: $32.98
Puccini - ToscaRelease date: 2007-11-13; DVDBest price: $18.11Price in other shops: $29.98
Jules Massenet - Manon / Dessay, Villazon, Ramey, Lanza, Henry, Perez, McVicar (Gran Teatre del Liceu 2007)Release date: 2008-01-15; DVDBest price: $16.60Price in other shops: $24.98
Verdi - Don CarlosRelease date: 2007-10-30; DVDBest price: $21.00Price in other shops: $39.98
Vincenzo Bellini - I PuritaniRelease date: 2007-12-18; DVDBest price: $18.11Price in other shops: $39.98
The Opera Gala: Live from Baden-BadenRelease date: 2008-01-08; DVDBest price: $18.11Price in other shops: $29.98
Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Fleming, Vargas, Hvorostovsky, Gergiev, Carsen [Metropolitan Opera 2007]Release date: 2007-12-18; DVDBest price: $16.43Price in other shops: $39.98
Donizetti - Don PasqualeRelease date: 2007-09-25; DVDBest price: $17.21Price in other shops: $29.98
Puccini - Il TritticoRelease date: 2007-09-25; DVDBest price: $13.38Price in other shops: $21.98
Verdi - La TraviataRelease date: 2007-10-30; DVDBest price: $18.11Price in other shops: $29.98
|