Semiramide - Rossini details
| Format: | Ex DVD |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Marilyn Horne, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Stanford Olsen, Samuel Ramey, June Anderson, Metropolitan Opera Chorus |
| Director: | Michael Hampe |
| Genre: | Music/Musical - Opera/Operetta |
| Studio: | ARTHAUS MUSIK |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
Semiramide - Rossini |
Ex Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 3 hours 43 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | Not available for rental |
| Main languages: | Italian |
| Subtitles: | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish |
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Most helpful review
Forget realism and wallow
By dspatchio (41 reviews) from Chelmsford , 20 Aug 2009[Highly rated reviewer]
The plot is typical nineteenth century tosh spiced up with a bit of latent incest, and it is hard to believe in Marilyn Horne as June Anderson's son - indeed, as anyone's son. Once you make this leap of faith, then this is utterly irresistible. The singing, first and foremost, is simply the finest you will hear in these roles today. Marilyn Horne's excellence is predictable, as is the exposure of Sam Ramey's chest, but in addition the tenor, Stanford Olsen, is quite magnificent, the finest Rossini heroic tenor I've ever heard. The sound is very good, and with the Met Opera orchestra in the pit, the playing is of the highest order. The edition they play is far fuller than the CD issue with Joan Sutherland - the first act, for example, has nearly half an hour of extra music. The set and costumes scream out opulence, the money that is poured into opera in New York. Although the opera is slow moving, the subtly varied camera work consistently involves the viewer. The music is Rossini at his most breathtaking. If you like live opera on DVD, this is unmissable.- Was this review helpful to you?
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(3)Very good singing but a rather stilted production
By a customer , 25 Jun 2011The singing, as you might expect is excellent. June Anderson if no Sutherland was at her peak here and really impressive, and Marilyn Horne stiil had it! Samuel Ramey had no trace of the awful wobble that he has now acquired.
But the story is rather silly and the acting is rather rudimentary. Colourful staging but not very imaginative.
Worth it for Marilyn Horne as there are not many DVDs of her available- Was this review helpful to you?
- (1) Yes |
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Forget realism and wallow
By dspatchio (41 reviews) from Chelmsford , 20 Aug 2009The plot is typical nineteenth century tosh spiced up with a bit of latent incest, and it is hard to believe in Marilyn Horne as June Anderson's son - indeed, as anyone's son. Once you make this leap of faith, then this is utterly irresistible. The singing, first and foremost, is simply the finest you will hear in these roles today. Marilyn Horne's excellence is predictable, as is the exposure of Sam Ramey's chest, but in addition the tenor, Stanford Olsen, is quite magnificent, the finest Rossini heroic tenor I've ever heard. The sound is very good, and with the Met Opera orchestra in the pit, the playing is of the highest order. The edition they play is far fuller than the CD issue with Joan Sutherland - the first act, for example, has nearly half an hour of extra music. The set and costumes scream out opulence, the money that is poured into opera in New York. Although the opera is slow moving, the subtly varied camera work consistently involves the viewer. The music is Rossini at his most breathtaking. If you like live opera on DVD, this is unmissable.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (4) Yes |
- No (0)
Semiramide
By a customer from Harrogate HG1 4SR , 18 Jan 2005This seemed a fascinating opera by one of my favourite opera composers with very good performances re singing and acting and its production. There were 2 discs as the opera lasts some 230 mins. There were gaps in the subtitles in disc 1 but these occurred with repetitive sections and so were probably deliberate. Unfortunately, there were no sub titles on disc 2 as when the 2nd disc was inserted there was no setting session. The setting for sub-titles on disc 1 was lost. This may be due to faults in my player or its operator but it partly ruined the opera after an initial 2 hour investment in time. Any help for future such double discs?.- Was this review helpful to you?
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