Giuseppe Verdi - Falstaff (Herbert Von Karajan - His Legacy for Home Video)

Starring:Giuseppe Taddei, Rolando Panerai, Francisco Araiza, Piero De Palma, Heinz Zednik, Federico Davia, Raina Kabaivanska, Janet Perry, Trudeliese Schmidt, Christa Ludwig
Director: Herbert von Karajan
Studio: Sony
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Good theater piece
Interminable recitative
Falstaff Opera
SENSATIONAL!
An excellent DVD at a bargain price

Giuseppe Verdi - Falstaff (Herbert Von Karajan - His Legacy for Home Video)
Starring: Giuseppe Taddei , Rolando Panerai , Francisco Araiza , Piero De Palma , and Heinz Zednik
Director: Herbert von Karajan
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Verdi - Don Carlo / von Karajan, Carreras, Baltsa, Furlanetto, d'Amico, Cappuccilli, Salminen, Salzburg
Herbert Von Karajan - His Legacy for Home Video - Mozart - Don Giovanni
R. Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier / Tomowa-Sintow, Baltsa, Perry, Moll, von Karajan, Salzburg Opera
Verdi - Il Trovatore / Domingo, Kabaivanksa, Cossotto, Cappuccilli, van Dam, Zednik, von Karajan, Vienna Opera
Puccini - Turandot / Franco Zeffirelli - Marton, Domingo, Mitchell, Plishka, Cuenod - James Levine, MET (1988)

ASIN: B0000639FC
Release Date: 2002-03-26

Customer Reviews:

Good theater piece.......2006-12-13

Artful sets and costumes, excellent casting and acting = a balmy evening's theatrical event. Plus, the singers are quite well in tune, which cannot be assumed in Verdi productions. The music? Well, I can't say it's much to the point. Now if the same libretto had been set by Rossini... However, the last act, the ghostly stuff, does finally reach the level of compositional subtlety and complexity to be emotionally effective. Five stars for that act, three stars for the first and longest parts, averaging about four stars.

Interminable recitative.......2006-06-28

I am grateful for the reviews for operas on these pages. They are very helpful-especially when one is trying to decide whether to buy this opera, or that opera-and budget constraints require one to make a hard choice.
I have wound up with about $140 worth of operas that I wish I had not purchased. I am sorry to say that this is one of them. I understood that it was a kind of Swan Song for Verdi- who always wanted to do a light opera after all those years of opera seria. What I found was a very exhausting, endless recitative (" A style of vocal music intermediate between speaking and singing".) I am especially fond of reviews by those fairly new to opera -as many Are discovering them now -with their new improved home theatre sound systems and big screens, crystal clear images, and subtitles!

Producers should not lose sight of this phenomena. Opera is enjoying a considerable resurgence of interest in these peculiar things called opera.

Some serious attention needs to be paid - especially in staging opera buffa...actors thinking they are "madly amusing and cute" only serves to completely draw and quarter the very comedy they are required to limn. Comedy is not easy to pull off at all. It is important that the players take themselves dead seriously...it is the audience and the audience alone that gets to be amused.
I realize that I am leveling critical remarks at a well loved master composer in this inimitable Verdi. Yet honestly, I kept watching the darn thing thinking..."well, we are going to have some beautiful arias soon, aren't we?"...and they Never happened!!.... groan.
I do compliment the musicians, and the performers, the costume seamstresses, and set builders. Tremendously fine work there. this is a piece to buy and study for that reason alone, for any who might be interested in a well staged production.

But opera, as it has been argued for centuries, is About The Music! It really is about the music! Sadly, you will not find that here. I will have to try another production and see if there is any improvement made over this one. I owe it to anyone who has to limit his purchase to one or two operas "this month" that they may happily skip this one if you love music, and admire the beauty of the human voice.
There is, however, one great young pair that turns in a good performance in this Falstaff, and that would be Francisco Araiza who plays a fervent suitor/lover with Janet Perry, who plays the daughter of the principle Lady of the house. If I have piqued your interest at all regarding good music and glorious singing, I can enthustiastically recommend this same Francisco Araiza who plays "The Prince" in the Cinderella story by Rossini, called "La Cenerentola" staged by a most imaginative Jean-Perre Ponelle ( what a wonderful staging it is! ). There you will hear some fabulous musical score...absolutely breath-taking. It is one that I watch again and again. Not so much that one gets tired of it, but just enough...it does call to you to come and watch/ nay listen!-to a certain scene again. Of course, we are talking about Rossini, aren't we? In my view only Donizetti and Bellini compare favourably when it comes to astounding melody, duet, trio, quartet, quintet syncopation, and Rococco choral architecture, which builds and builds, til you think you can't stand anymore building- only to smile in awe and wonder as the music erupts and explodes, musically speaking, like the grand finale fireworks display at the end of a bombastic Fourth of July extravaganza....oh where are the Rossinis today?
sigh...but again, I digress.

Falstaff Opera.......2005-09-13

This DVD of a live performance of Falstaff is a good learning experience for a theater performance.

SENSATIONAL!.......2004-12-17

What a delightful experience, this video or DVD! The cast is A-One! The names GiuseppeTaddei and Raina Kabaivanska conjure up dramatic roles such as Scarpia and Tosca along with Christa Ludwig, ever dramatic as well. Yet, here they all are showing fantastic abilities with grand comedy! A highlight for this listener is the patter-type quartet of Alice Ford, Meg, Quickly, and the lovely Nanetta, daughter of the Fords. Taddei is beyond superb! The flirtatious scene between Mistress Alice and Sir John Falstaff is so cleverly done, it is almost "naughty ". Kataivanska and Taddei are marvelous together. The scene of the cloying Dame Quickly (Christa Ludwig), as she lures Falstaff to his "tryst" with Alice and/or Meg, is one of the most hilarious scenes in all comic opera! Rolando Panero, is wonderful, in frustrated anguish imagining his lovely wife planning a tryst with this buffoon, Falstaff! As for the buffoon, few, if any basso, struts and minces quite like Taddei! Shakespeare would have thoroughly appreciated the masterful music setting Verdi made of his "Merry Wives of Windsor," and parts of "Henry IV." Verdi, in turn, would have fallen in love with Maestro von Karagan and this brilliant cast of super artists! Surely there has been no more SENSATIONAL performance than this one! Opera devotee or not, if you like Shakespeare, surely you will enjoy this!

An excellent DVD at a bargain price.......2004-06-28

This is one of the best performances of Falstaff that I have seen. The singing, acting, and conducting are all first rate, and the the convential staging is very effective. And all that comes at a price much lower than other DVDs.

Verdi - Falstaff / Taddei, Carteri, Moffo, Barbieri, Alva, Serafin, RAI

Average customer rating:

Really outstanding!

Verdi - Falstaff / Taddei, Carteri, Moffo, Barbieri, Alva, Serafin, RAI
Starring: Giuseppe Taddei , Fedora Barbieri , Rosanna Carteri , Anna Moffo , and Luigi Alva
Manufacturer: Video Artists Int'l
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

( V ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore / Bergonzi, Scotto, Taddei, Gavazzeni, Florence Opera
Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor / Cillario, Moffo, Kozma
Mozart - Die Zauberflote / Gruberova, Talvela, Schreier, Cotrubas, Berry, Moser, Boesch, Murray, Mayr, Levine, Salzburger Festspiele Opera
Puccini - Madama Butterfly / Moffo, Cioni, Poli, de Fabritis, Radiotelevisione Italiana Milano Opera
R. Strauss - Elektra

ASIN: B000B5IOHU
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Customer Reviews:

Really outstanding!.......2006-01-09

Those who enjoyed the Salzburg's 1982 production conducted by Karajan, will be delighted with this Falstaff from Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI). This is a studio production which in spite of being filmed in black and white in 1956, is far superior to most of the more recent versions now available in DVD, both from a visual and a musical point of view. The list of reasons why a Falstaff lover should buy this DVD is endless. Just to begin we have the presence of the legendary Tulio Seraffin conducting the RAI orchestra, in his usual brilliant style. You will also appreciate a young and fresh Giuseppe Taddei at the prime of his career, singing in a way that can only be compared with Tito Gobbi. Opposite to most modern productions where Falstaff is portrayed as the caricature of a dissolute man, here you can see a human person who morally is neither inferior nor superior to most of us, extraordinarily played by Taddei. Additionally, Rosanna Carteri and Anna Moffo in the roles of Alice Ford and Nanetta, respectively, are a real pleasure not only for the ears but for the eyes. It is hard to see pair of gorgeous women playing those roles and singing like only angels can do. Another attraction is the Peruvian tenor Luigi (Luis) Alva at the very beginning of his career, playing Fenton as nobody else has done until present, not even the also Peruvian Juan Diego Florez. If you compare this DVD with the 2001 Mutti's version you will see the differences between Alva and Florez both in singing and acting. It is worth to remind that Alva, as well as Moffo, also sung in the legendary 1957version conducted by Karajan, beside Tito Gobbi, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and Rolando Panerai. Scipione Colombo and Fedora Barbieri are also great in the roles of Ford and Mrs Quickly.

Average customer rating:

Verdi without fear
When you're in the right mood...
R rating says it all
Terfel is unique in Covent Garden hilarious 2001 production
Incredible Falstaff!

Giuseppe Verdi: Falstaff
Starring: Bryn Terfel
Director: Humphrey Burton , and Graham Vick
Manufacturer: BBC / Opus Arte
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Music Video & Concerts | Genres | DVD | Video

( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Verdi - Falstaff / Muti, Maestri, Frittoli, Florez, Frontali, Antonacci, Busseto Teatro Verdi
Verdi - Otello / Domingo, Fleming, Morris, Croft, Levine, Moshinsky, Metropolitan Opera
Puccini - Turandot / Franco Zeffirelli - Marton, Domingo, Mitchell, Plishka, Cuenod - James Levine, MET (1988)
Verdi - Luisa Miller / Renata Scotto, Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Bonaldo Giaiotti, James Morris, James Levine, Metropolitan Opera
Leoncavallo - I Pagliacci / Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana / Domingo, Stratas, Pons, Bruson, Obraztsova, Pretre

ASIN: B00005Q783
Release Date: 2001-11-20

Description

The spectacular opening of London's newly restored Royal Opera House brings a riot of color to Verdi's great Shakespearean masterpiece. Bryn Terfel as Sir John Falstaff and Barbara Frittoli as Alice Ford lead a star cast with the orchestra and chorus of the Royal Opera House under the direction of Bernard Haitink, in a spectacular new production by Graham Vick with vibrant medieval designs by Paul Brown.

Customer Reviews:

Verdi without fear.......2005-12-25

Falstaff is G. Verdi's hardest nut to crack. The main reason is a noticeable lack of long flowing melodies and arias commonly present in Italian opera tradition. Another is that, more than any other operas, the theater is as essential as the music.

This BBC presentation is a true marvel. It is a feast for the eyes. The young cast can sing and act. The stage direction is flawless, capturing the energy and humor of the piece. If you are curious but hesitant about Falstaff, give this DVD a try.

When you're in the right mood..........2004-06-25

Is the other reviewer serious about the "R" rating in the USA? In Australia this film has been rated PG - which means children can watch it but it is recommended that parents guide them. That's the same rating as "Home Alone" and other such innocuous Hollywood comedies. Weird.

Anyway, this production certainly is colorful. In the right mood I find it a riot. In the wrong mood I find it unsubtle and overdone, even gauche.

But Terfel's Falstaff is tremendous in spite of absurdly unrealistic stomach padding. Frittoli's Alice is beautifully sung and acted, and Mistress Quickly's motif was still impressed on my mind the day after watching it, such is Bernadette Manca di Nissa's fruity tone.

Fenton (Kenneth Tarver) and Nannetta (Desiree Rancatore) make an enchanting pair physically and vocally, flirting with the kind of extrovert style encouraged by the production.

I've never heard anything badly done by Haitink - he is a reliably excellent conductor and this is no exception. The Covent Garden orchestra articulate the shifting motifs of Verdi's score splendidly.

In the right mood, a very enjoyable night at the opera.

R rating says it all.......2004-03-13

Honestly I didn't think you needed to look at the parental guidance rating of an opera. I'm sure Verdi would have been "proud". Luckily I took it out of the library and didn't buy it. Since there are so few opera DVD's and so many other oppurtunities to see lewd behavior on the screen, I hope the opera DVD producers will produce more traditional approaches for old "stick in the muds" like me. Also other BBC productions have had suggestive or violent approaches in other operas. I probably won't view any more of their productions.

Terfel is unique in Covent Garden hilarious 2001 production.......2004-03-08

English people have a special affinity to this opera being based on a Shakespeare play (Merry Wives of Windsor). So it is small wonder it was picked for a special new production at the newly renovated Covent Garden. And it is certainly a very good production and probably the best one available in a visual format.
Specifically, the direction is highly innovative(dir. Graham Vick) and the sets by Paul Brown are very imaginative and brilliant with primary colors (there is something of a circus about it) which introduces the necessary lightheartedness and humour, so often missed in other productions. Just to mention a few examples: the first act scene 1. takes place on a huge red bed tilted towards the audience and there are several trapdoors opening in and out.(The bed is like a huge trampoline upon which people bounce up and down, while Falstaff is sitting or lieing on it, drinking wine -absolutely hilarious.) The second act scene 2. is also very colourful with a big yellow baldachine over the bed and the third act scene one with several hunting trophies in a row used as a hiding places and taking a life of their own at a most unexpected moment, is truly inspired humour.The elements of surprise here are remarkable.
Musically, this is Bryn Terfel's finest hour in the role of Falstaff. His voice and characterisation are beyond comparison. Barbara Frittoli's youthful soprano voice , terrific acting and good looks as Alice Ford, are worthy foil to Terfel. Roberto Frontali as Mr. Ford is a strong baritone; his duet and famous aria in the 2nd act comes off well. The other, supporting, roles are no less creditable.Manca di Nissa as Mrs Quickly should probably require a special mention.
Haitink is definitely up to the task in this contrapunctal score (again I am referring to the Meistersinger which is no less contrapunctal). Verdi must have learned something from Wagner, but his synthesis has an Italian quality and this points to his genius.
Haitink does well with the 'a capella' ensembles in the first act and in the final fugato finale. These are a real tests for a good conductor.
This performance should be very satisfying to most viewers. There are of course stick- in- the mud pedants, who cannot relate to anything but the traditional, but I am sure there will be many listeners who would welcome a change. Most enjoyable.

Incredible Falstaff!.......2003-12-19

Please, don't listen to the reviewer below who says the production is disgusting. He must be a person scared of everything original or slightly different, please don't listen to him.

First, the cast. No need to say anything save that it's great, spearheaded by Bryn Terfel and Barbara Frittoli. Second, the music, just incredible, with the RPO conducted by Bernard Haitink, just amazing! Now, the sets: This part may be the most controversial, if anything just because of it being original (and very clever, I'd say). The sets are very colorful and cartoonlike, which only adds to the comic feeling of this greatest of comic operas. David McVicar is I think, the greatest set designer of our time.

Trust me, you can't go wrong with this one.

DVD:

DVD

All I Want For Christmas [1991]

DVD: Angel on My Shoulder

Riddick - Chroniken eines Kriegers