Verdi - Aida
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chailly, Giorgio Giuseppini, Ildiko Komlosi, Roberto Alagna, Violeta UrmanaDVD: Region Code 0
Audio: Italian (Original Language), DTS 5.1; German (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Italian (Subtitled)
Format: Classical, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 158 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Decca
Movie Reviews of Verdi - Aida
Movie Review: Extremely Disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
I was looking for a modern replacement of my old Met Opera DVD of Aida and, as someone who likes the spectacle of Grand Opera, decided to buy this Franco Zeffirelli directed version from La Scala. I noted that a number of the reviewers had mentioned the superimposed images and fade-ins and fade-outs employed by the director and how much it had annoyed them. However, I thought they were probably being too subjective and I couldn't imagine that a video director would have been given so much of a free hand that it could detract from Zeffirelli's production. How wrong I was! In the triumphal march in Act 2 the stage is full of people, the costumes are opulent, the props are magnificent, the orchestra under Chailly is building up to a climax and yet Patrizia Carmine thinks that she can improve on all of this by adding dissolves through drapes and superimposing close-ups of trumpets; not just once, but again and again.
There is so much to like about this production and I no doubt will watch it occasionally, but it could have been so much better without the interference of the video director. I would go so far as to suggest that all might not be lost and the DVD could possibly be re-released without all the offensive and unnecessary additions. How novel that might be, a non-directors cut of the opera.
Summary of Verdi - Aida
This DVD features the high-profile new production from La Scala in Milan, filmed before Roberto Alagna's sensational departure! This is the operatic event of 2006, following Roberto Alagna's exit from the production during the second performance. Spectacular new production by veteran director/designer Franco Zeffirelli has all the luxury, theatricality and opulence one could wish for in this grandest of operas, keeping in tradition and shying away from the minimalist modern intrepretation. French tenor Roberto Alagna was filmed in early performances before his high-profile departure from the production. This alone makes it a must-have DVD for all opera fans! Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana takes on the title role, and the powerful Hungarian mezzo Ildiko Komlosi stars as her rival, Princess Amneris. Riccardo Chailly conducts this stellar cast at La Scala--The Home of Opera.This December 2006 Aida from La Scala offers some fine singing but as often happens in a Franco Zeffirelli staging, the scenery and directing vie with its purely musical aspects. Little wonder, given the sumptuous sets, spectacular crowd scenes, and the masses of scenic and acting details more common to a movie than a stage performance. Zeffirelli populates the La Scala stage with enough statuary to fill the Egyptian wing of a large museum. Huge busts of Pharaonic figures loom above the singers, a wall covering the back of the stage is full of detailed relief figures drawn from ancient Egyptian relics, and when singers, dancers, chorus, and extras populate the stage during the Triumphal March, it seems like all of Thebes turned out for the celebration. The Nile scene is relatively pared down while neatly suggesting the mystery of the scene and focusing attention on the dramatic confrontations of the principal actors. By the time we arrive at the final tomb scene, the dying hero and heroine are seen through the darkness while above them, the priests and priestesses of the Pharoah's court invoke their deity. But while the detailed stage direction and sets are important, any Aida requires four world-class singers to make its maximum impact. La Scala, as befits a season-opening performance, fields a worthy crew. Top honors go to the eponymous heroine, for Violeta Urmana demonstrates a soprano voice impressive in its evenness, her ease at the top of her range and her rich bottom notes. She won't make you forget her famed predecessors in the role, but she's definitely worth hearing. The same might be said of Roberto Alagna, the Radames. He left the production after the performances filmed here because of audience booing, but aside from a strained Celeste Aida his singing here is quite good, with sensitive phrasing and some lovely soft singing in the Tomb Scene.
The Amneris, Ildiko Komlosi, dominates the stage in her scenes as the imperious Pharaoh's daughter. Like her rival for Radames' affections, Aida, she won't erase memories of other fine Amneris' but she's a definite plus in this production. Less so is Carlo Guelphi, the Amonastro, rough of voice and generalized in his singing and acting. Smaller parts are capably done and the La Scala Orchestra is alertly led by Ricardo Chailly. He paces the opera with vigor, exposes details of the score often overlooked, and draws some ravishing playing from the strings.The ballet sequences are done with a Hollywoodish touch that fits the production, but the video direction of Patrizia Carmine will draw some boos from home viewers. There are frequent fades to swirling, out-of-focus details of stage d?cor, veils and materials, accelerating in later scenes to become annoying distractions, especially since they often occur in mid-aria, sabotaging the musical flow and diverting attention from the singers. Still, this is a worthy production of a great opera.--Dan Davis
Aida is an all-regions 2-disc set in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround. Subtitles include English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Chinese.
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