Fedora - likely to bore you

Fedora is second-rate as an opera - the plot is ludicrous, the music mostly unmemorable - so it needs all the help it can get. Unfortunately, Mirella Freni's acting-by-numbers doesn't supply the passion needed. At this stage in her career, she moves like a stately aunt, and the top of her voice is no longer reliable, so she ducks the high notes on the second best tune in the opera. Domingo does what he can with the tenor role; the smaller parts are decently sung, no more. The staging is dull and the sound is thin.

Fortunately, there is an alternative. Watch the film to find out what the plot is about, and then get the CD version with Magda Olivero, Mario del Monaco and Tito Gobbi, who supply all the verismo energy that this performance lacks.