Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore / Eschwe, Netrebko, Villazon, Wiener Staatsoper

Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore / Eschwe, Netrebko, Villazon, Wiener Staatsoper | Rolando Villazon, Anna Netrebko | Great performances of a good opera

DVDs:

Donizetti - L'Elis...

	Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore / Eschwe, Netrebko, Villazon, Wiener Staatsoper Rolando Villazon, Anna Netrebko Virgin Classics, 2007 average customer review:based on 44 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A joy and delight; a perfect L'Elisir

This production is a delight, and displays the full comic and romantic potential of L'Elisir. I would especially defend Villazon against his critics: I thought his acting was perfect. You know from the moment he wags his little finger his character, personality, and motivations. It suffuses his hands and face.

Some people also recommend the DG filming of the Pavarotti/Battle/Met. It has been a some time since I saw that version; I only remember it as an excruciating bore. Pavarotti was doubtless a great singer, but Villazon had more acting ability in that little finger than Pavarotti generally displayed in his entire body. (I must also confess that Battle, and the productions she is in, generally leave me cold.)

Netrebko also inhabits her part--it doesn't hurt, of course, that she is ravishingly beautiful.

I give this my highest, unqualified recommendation. It is simply FUN.

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Great performances of a good opera

Performances are excellent. Netrebko is in beautiful voice and is beautiful to look at, a rare combination in opera. Villazon has a great time playing a young man who is a bit of a fool, as are so many young men when in love. An immensely enjoyable performance.

A lovely delight

This is a delightfully acted and beautifully sung piece. Villazon is a joy to watch with his boy-like antics and expressions, and Netrebko sang
with great beauty, to match her own physical lovliness. She would often open her mouth a bit too much, (as critics have noted,) but she has changed that habit and kept the lovely sound, and the look is more natural. She sparkles, and the couple delights...beautifully!

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brilliant if you ignore the tiny faults

This production is lovely in almost every respect. The scenery, costumes, lighting and direction all are appropriate and most of the time are very effective. The cast they assembled for this performance is about as big a name cast as you could put together for a single opera these days. Netrebko, Villazon, Nucci and D'Arcangelo are all big names in the opera world now, and in the case of Nucci for several years.

Anna Netrebko as Adina is beautifully cast, she looks the part and acts the part well, and even if her voice doesn't always have the agility required for this role she places everything well and sings as sweetly as I ever heard her.

Leo Nucci as Belcore is surprising, he is no longer a young man, but sings and acts the role with as much energy and confidence as I have seen. He doesn't necessarily look the part of the strapping, young womanising soldier but you tend to forgive this in opera.

Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as Dulcamara for me is the highlight. He has a comic genius that has shone through many productions of many operas in the past, no more so than his Leporello at the Salzburg festival. In this his voice is supple and agile, as he always is. His gondolier song with Adina and his entrance aria should be held up as examples and models for the next generation of young singers... no patter here... a perfectly placed, and sung, not spoken, performance here.

For me, the weakest link in this cast was Villazon. No one denies that the man has an amazing voice and a wonderful energetic presence on stage, but for Nemorino, his voice just isn't right. His voice at times is far too heavy, or as another reviewer stated 'muscular'. The best he sound in this opera is towards the end where Nemorino becomes forceful, knowing what he wants and knowing he can get it; Villazon's power really works here. But in the lighter moments like the beautiful aria 'Una Furtiva Lagrima' his voice is too harsh and displays little nuance or affection for the material. He also has a bad tendency to scoop to notes towards to top of his range which takes away from the purity of the performance. The encore that is done after this aria was a surprise... I didn't think the performance was good enough to get an encore... stunt? Perhaps? I would have preferred either Juan Diego Florez or Roberto Alagna (although Alagna doesn't have the voice of Villazon or Florez)... but the commercial attraction of pairing Villazon and Netrebko (who have a very obvious, powerful onstage chemistry)would be too much to turn down for a company life the Weiner Staatsoper.

The musical direction of Eschwe is fine, tight, controlled and full of life an fun... what more do you want for L'Eliser.

I love this opera and I love this production... I don't think that anyone could walk away from it without enjoying some aspect of the performance. If you get it you wont be disappointed.

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Visually chaotic; vocally first class.

I must confess that I went to sleep twice during Act I of this performance, and had to chop the entire opera into three slots to view, some thing that happens very rarely with me.
What's the distraction?
I would not call it 'unprofessionalism'. It is as clear as mud that the distractions were meant to BE there, just that I do not find them tasteful.
The first major distraction is the staging. Cannot imagine it is the Vienna Stateopera that this production was being staged. May be I have been spolt by the MET productions on DVD. It looks crowded - the stage in Act I is unduely crowded, and the chorus appear to move as if sleep walking throughout the Act.
Things turn much brighter with Dulcarmara and Nemerino's famous duet in the second Act. However, things quickly relapses into chaos when Belcore returns with Adina. However beauteous is Anna Netrebko's person and voice, the characterisation of this Adina is not served by having her twisting her body and hurling her limbs every time an emphasis of emotion is being called for. This is the second big distraction of the drama. This is a sort of 'over-acting'. Adina is supposed to be a self-righteous and heady sort of girl. This production's Adina is however a feather-headed, giddy walking doll.
Rolando Villazon characterises Nemerino in more or less the similar manner. He got his nick-name 'Mr Bean' as a result of this.
No such visual nonesense from Nucci or d'Archangelo.
There are some strong vocal performances in this production, though. D'Archangelo and Villazon gave a wonderful duet, and Villazon generally proved himself to be a true vocal talent. Netrebko's coloratura hasn't improved since her Kirov days, but the gorgeously even voice made up much for the lack of vocal technic.
This production would probably benefit a lot more if a CD is issued in lieu of a DVD.

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