
Editorial Review:
Description
Directed by silent film pioneer Abel Gance, "Lucrezia Borgia" (1935, 93 min.) blazes onto the screen with the story of one of history's most ruthlessly ambitious families. With the same high style and exquisite attention to detail that Gance demonstrated so breathtakingly in "Napoleon," "Lucrezia Borgia" has been called an exuberant display of Gance's extensive filmmaking prowess. Also included are two rarely seen shorter silent films directed by Gance: "Au Secours!" (1923, 31 min.) uses experimental editing and photography to illustrate a man's adventures in a haunted house. "La Folie Du Docteur Tube" (1916, 14 min.) is a highly advanced experimental comedy about a mad scientist who discovers a sneezing powder that can alter someone's physique. This film, which uses mirrors to create distorted images, is considered by many to be the first appearance of the avant-garde in French cinema.
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Donizetti - Lucrezia Borgia / Bonynge, Sutherland, Kraus, Royal Opera
Starring: Joan Sutherland , Alfredo Kraus , Anne Howells , Stafford Dean , and Francis Egerton Director: Brian Large Manufacturer: Kultur Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B0000640T8 Release Date: 2002-03-26 |
Amazon.com
This 1980 Covent Garden production of Donizetti's opera based on the infamous dramatic heroine was undertaken so that one of the few sopranos who would dare tackle the fearsome range of Lucrezia Borgia--Dame Joan Sutherland--could do so in a setting amenable to her talent. And tackle it she does. This might not be the definite Lucrezia (a slight nod would go to Montserrat Caballe's 1965 RCA audio recording), but Sutherland shows she has the sheer chops to overcome Donizetti's piling on of difficulty after vocal difficulty. From the prologue's "Com e Bello," Sutherland never lets up through her gripping final scene of intense anguish and melodrama. Richard Bonynge conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House with aplomb, and the supporting cast--Alfredo Kraus, Anne Howells, and Stafford Dean--performs ably in Sutherland's wake. --Kevin FilipskiDescription
Dame Joan Sutherland and tenor Alfredo Kraus star in Donizetti's tale of sixteenth century opulence and decadence. Joan Sutherland is unquestionably the unsurpassed Lucrezia of all-time, and this production at Covent Garden showcases her incomparable coloratura technique. Bel canto specialist Richard Bonynge conducts The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in this historic performance. Cast - Lucrezia Borgia - Joan Sutherland
Gennaro - Alfredo Kraus
Maffio Orsini - Anne Howells
Alfonso d'Este - Stafford Dean
The Royal Opera Chorus
Chorus Master - John Barker
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Customer Reviews:
Dreadful, though no fault of Joan Sutherland.......2007-04-03
Voice good, mask ridiculous.......2007-03-22
The One........2007-02-09
Superb Sutherland...but.........2006-08-03
Divine music performed by magnificent Singers.......2005-08-23
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Lucrezia Borgia
Starring: Edwige Feuillère , Gabriel Gabrio , Maurice Escande , Roger Karl , and Aimé Clariond Director: Abel Gance Manufacturer: Image Entertainment ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: 6305907730 Release Date: 2000-07-04 |
Description
Directed by silent film pioneer Abel Gance, "Lucrezia Borgia" (1935, 93 min.) blazes onto the screen with the story of one of history's most ruthlessly ambitious families. With the same high style and exquisite attention to detail that Gance demonstrated so breathtakingly in "Napoleon," "Lucrezia Borgia" has been called an exuberant display of Gance's extensive filmmaking prowess. Also included are two rarely seen shorter silent films directed by Gance: "Au Secours!" (1923, 31 min.) uses experimental editing and photography to illustrate a man's adventures in a haunted house. "La Folie Du Docteur Tube" (1916, 14 min.) is a highly advanced experimental comedy about a mad scientist who discovers a sneezing powder that can alter someone's physique. This film, which uses mirrors to create distorted images, is considered by many to be the first appearance of the avant-garde in French cinema.Customer Reviews:
Interesting Movie from an Earlier Era.......2001-12-17
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Biography - Lucrezia Borgia: Pretty Poison
Starring: Lucrezia Borgia Manufacturer: A&E Home Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000F6ZCAM Release Date: 2006-04-25 |
Customer Reviews:
A favorable look at one of history's most maligned women.......2004-06-26
Lucrezia's life went from bad to worse when one of her brothers was killed; the murder was never solved, but another brother, Cesare, was suspected of the crime. At 16, Lucrezia was married to a son of the king of Naples (another politically motivated marriage); this immediately became a true love affair that produced a child but ended rather quickly when an assassin murdered her husband (again, suspicion fell on her brother Cesare). A third marriage was arranged soon thereafter, and Lucrezia was forced to leave her son behind and move a considerable distance away from Rome to live with a family that shunned and disliked her. She had a platonic love affair with a poet but eventually found happiness with her husband, dying during the birth of the couple's sixth child. She was greatly mourned by her husband and the people of the area.
According to this video, there is basically no truth behind any of the awful scandals and accusations that have tainted the name of Lucrezia Borgia all these many years; the historians interviewed here identify her as an extraordinarily unfortunate but by no means an evil woman. Unfortunately, the documentary does not cover as much material as it could have. The dark deeds committed by her brother Cesare and the lascivious nature of her father, Pope Alexander VI, are not explored in detail, there is no mention of charges that Lucrezia had incestuous relationships with two of her brothers, and not a hint is dropped about a rumored pregnancy during Lucrezia's time in a convent after the end of her first marriage (of course, there seems to be little truth to the charges of incest and early pregnancy). Frankly, from what I saw here, I cannot understand why this woman has been treated with such malevolence over the years; any search for evil in the Borgia family should focus on her brother Cesare and, to some degree, her father, Pope Alexander VI. It is a credit to Lucrezia that she remained loyal to family members who used and abused her for their own selfish reasons. With so much information left unexplored, this interesting look at the life of one of history's most maligned women seems, in the end, to be a little less than definitive.
Pretty Poison, it must be good........2000-11-05
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Young Lucrezia Borgia / Lucrezia giovane PAL DVD
ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD ASIN: B000RW7O00 |
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Joan Sutherland Collection (La Fille du Regiment/Les Huguenots/Lucrezia Borgia/Merry Widow/Dialogues of the Carmelites/Adriana Lecouvreur) - Amazon.com Exclusive
Starring: Joan Sutherland , Anson Austin , Heather Begg , Gregory Yurisich , and Gordon Wilcock Director: Peter Butler (IV) , Virginia Lumsden , and Brian Large Manufacturer: Kultur ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD ASIN: B00007C665 Release Date: 2002-11-12 |
Description
La Fille Du Regiment
Les Huguenots
In tradition of grand opera, Dame Joan Sutherland's farewell perfromance to the operatic stage in Les Huguenots is a gala triumph of spectacle and drama. This technically complex production captures the tragedy of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, as well as the splendor and romance of 16th century France. Sutherland's glorious soprano voice is just one of the many brilliant highlights of this acclaimed performance, a revival of director Loft Mansouri's highly praised 1981 production. Often referred to as "The Night of the Seven Stars," Les Huguenots is a demanding production that requires the presence of seven major talents to sing the lead roles. For this reason, it is not often performed, but it is a most fitting end to the career of "La Stupenda," one of opera's brightest stars.
Lucrezia Borgia
Dame Joan Sutherland and tenor Alfredo Kraus star in Donizetti's tale of sixteenth century opulence and decadence. This Royal Opera production showcases Joan Sutherland's incomparable coloratura technique. Bel canto specialist Richard Bonynge conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in this historic performance.
The Merry Widow
Joan Sutherland sparkles in the lead role of Lehar's delightful operetta in this Opera Australia production from the Sydney Opera House. Turn of the century Paris provides the glittering setting for this operetta, first performed in Vienna in 1905 and here given by the Australian Opera in the English version by Christopher Hassall, with Sutherland as widow Anna Glawari. The face of Pontevedro, her native country, hangs perilously on her marriage plans - if she weds a foreigner, the state will lose the benefit of her enormous wealth and will be left bankrupt. An Embassy plot to marry her off to the debonair Count Danilo Danilovitch is complicated by the secret affair which has developed between the French Attache, Camille de Rosillon and the Ambassador's wife, Valencienne. This light hearted tale of political and amorous intrigue unfolds amidst the gaiety of Parisian high society. Ronald Stevens sings Danilo, with Anson Austin as Camille and Anne Maree McDonald as Valencienne. The Elizabethan Philharmonic Orchestra is conducted by Richard Bonynge.
Dialogues of the Carmelites
Poulenc's only full-length opera is firmly rooted in the post World War II era. Based on the historical events of the time of the French Revolution, this story of a community of Carmelite nuns who go to the guillotine rather than renounce their calling can be received in many ways. Poulenc's warmly melodic and lyrical score is wholly dramatic and gripping, and Joan Sutherland, recreating the role she sang at the opera's British premiere in 1958, sings the second prioress with commanding moderation. This production serves the inspiration of Poulenc in every important particular of style, economy and theatrical force. Richard Bonynge conducts the Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra. Sung in English.
Adriana Lecouvreur
Cilea's romantic opera, based on the story of the renowned French actress Adrienne, is given here in a live recording of a lavish production by John Copley, which features the great Dame Joan Sutherland. Her luminous singing and dramatic power are finely matched by a strong cast, including Austin Anson, Heather Begg and John Shaw. The innate lyricism of the score is beautifully captured by conductor Richard Bonynge and enhanced by sets and costumes recalling the late nineteenth century.
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