Verdi - Nabucco / Carignani, Bruson, Flanigan, Teatro de San Carlo

Starring:Renato Bruson, Ghena Dimitrova, Dimiter Petkov, Lauren Flanigan, Carlo Columbara
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Nabucco was Verdi's first international success as an opera composer and his first step toward becoming a national hero in Italy. Awkward moments show that he still has a lot to learn about theatrical technique, but there is lots of vigor, abundant melody, and occasionally a flash of genius. One magnificent chorus, "Va, pensiero," expresses the homesickness of Hebrew slaves in their Babylonian captivity. It became the unofficial anthem of the Risorgimento, 19th-century Italy's struggle for freedom and unity, and was sung spontaneously in 1901 by thousands of mourners lining the streets for Verdi's funeral procession. It still brings out the best in any Italian chorus, and it is the peak moment in this production--one of the few times when the chorus deserves to be seen as well as heard. Otherwise, we have here a fairly average evening in a provincial Italian opera house. There are capable but not riveting performances by Renato Bruson as Nebuchadnezzar, who conquers Israel, proclaims himself God, goes mad, and loses his throne, and Lauren Flanigan as Abigail, his wicked daughter who seizes the throne and plans to commit genocide. Drawbacks include an uneven supporting cast, slipshod camera work, and poor recorded sound.

Amazon.com

Nabucco was Verdi's first international success as an opera composer and his first step toward becoming a national hero in Italy. Awkward moments show that he still has a lot to learn about theatrical technique, but there is lots of vigor, abundant melody, and occasionally a flash of genius. One magnificent chorus, "Va, pensiero," expresses the homesickness of Hebrew slaves in their Babylonian captivity. It became the unofficial anthem of the Risorgimento, 19th-century Italy's struggle for freedom and unity, and was sung spontaneously in 1901 by thousands of mourners lining the streets for Verdi's funeral procession. It still brings out the best in any Italian chorus, and it is the peak moment in this production--one of the few times when the chorus deserves to be seen as well as heard. Otherwise, we have here a fairly average evening in a provincial Italian opera house. There are capable but not riveting performances by Renato Bruson as Nebuchadnezzar, who conquers Israel, proclaims himself God, goes mad, and loses his throne, and Lauren Flanigan as Abigail, his wicked daughter who seizes the throne and plans to commit genocide. Drawbacks include an uneven supporting cast, slipshod camera work, and poor recorded sound.

Customer Reviews:

Verdi as it should be performed.......2005-03-20

Firstly, to the reviewers who don't get Verdi singing, perhaps a brush up-course may be in order. Lauren Flanigan, as Abigaille, gives the best vocal performance available on dvd or video. Only the divine Maria Callas does it better(and that is only available on a fair sounding cd). Madame Flanigan respects every note and marking Giuseppe Verdi indicates in the score.Her voice is in superb shape here, and her legato, coloratura, and all the other extremely difficult things that a true Verdi soprano must execute are present. Neither Dimitrova, Neves, nor the outlandish performance of Guleghina come close to this.
Bruson was a superb Nabucco, in his prime. He still has the fire here and a good part of the vocal requirements, but age and wear has begun to take its toll in this performance. Still, he is very much in command.
Visually and sonically this is a very fine example of this opera. The sets are stunning, as are the costumes and blocking.The orchestral components are adequate, but it could be wished that the conductor could have pulled a bit more ferocity from the memebers at certain critical moments.

Patrick C. Byrne

Patience.......2004-02-18

The people reviewing this version of Nabucco need to see the whole thing. The first act does have some sound muffling but acts 2,3,4 for some reason do have DVD quality sound. After seeing this I am reminded of Verdi's Macbeth which premiered six years after Nabucco. If you like Nabucco, see Macbeth, (the Sinopoli version available here on Amazon). There are a number of performances of Nabucco in the Teatro de San Carlo, one of which is with Maria Callas from 1949, a monural recording but spectacular performance.

Gee! What a bunch of soreheads making those reviews........2003-01-23

I have watched this opera three times and like it better with each showing. I also have two other VHS recordings of Nabucco and think this one at least holds its own among them. True, the fellow who plays Zachariah isn't Sam Ramey, but he still does a very respectable job. Maybe I am just a hick from the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, but I liked the opera. The chorus deserves recognition-- it was superior. Maybe those who didn't like it just don't care for Nabucco.

Nabuco.......2002-08-24

This has proved to be a very disappointing recording. The production is spectacular, but, the recorded sound quality is very sub-standard - that is poor.
Again Image is running true to form, the packaging contains virtually no imformation, no synopsis of the story, no date of production, no comprehensive list of the cast or any material relating to the cast.

all in all a very poor DVD of what should be a most spectacular event. why is there no effort to convert the sould from stero to 5.1 which maks a significant improvement. Many European productions do this most successfully.

Caution.......2002-07-26

I quit after the first act
it was that dull ,pathetic,
and lackluster
even the audience was sitting on its hands
and that is a sure indication of a sorry lemon
save yourself the dissapointment
look for another perfomance

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