Rossini - La Cenerentola / Campanella, Bartoli, Dara, Houston Grand Opera

Starring:Cecilia Bartoli, Enzo Dara, RaÃºl GimÃ©nez, Alessandro Corbelli, Michele Pertusi, Laura Knoop, Jill Grove, Bruno Campanella
Director: Brian Large
Studio: Decca
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

beautiful production, magnificent performances
Magnífica 'Cenerentola'
Forget Disney
Great singing with a little twitching thrown in
Great performances, flawed production

Rossini - La Cenerentola / Campanella, Bartoli, Dara, Houston Grand Opera
Starring: Cecilia Bartoli , Enzo Dara , Raúl Giménez , Alessandro Corbelli , and Michele Pertusi
Director: Brian Large
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005BEYB
Release Date: 2002-06-11

Customer Reviews:

beautiful production, magnificent performances.......2007-01-07

I am a great fan of Cecilia Bartoli, and have been so, since this, her role as the title character, in Rossini's La Cenerentola. In my opinion, Bartoli is one of the most beautiful, dynamic and brilliant mezzo sopranos of our time. She has such a rich and beautiful tone, to her phrasing, as well as her general delivery of the songs in her repertoire.

This, the Houston Opera House production, is about as far away from Disney's Cinderella as you can get. So, before you consider seeing this operatic version of Cinderella, discount all of your preconceived notions. La Cenerentola (Cecilia Bartoli), is a beautiful, selfless and very mistreated young lady, who is regularly taken advantage of by her wicked stepfather and equally wicked stepsisters. The stepsisters (with father in tow) are invited to a the prince's ball, where he will select the lucky lady who will become his wife. Of course, La Cenerentola is not allowed to attend the ball, and is expected to sit at home while her wicked family has all of the fun. However, fate has other plans. There isn't a fairy godmother in the picture, so much as a Philosopher, who is watching out for the poor girl's best interest.

The cast is so strong here. Particularly notable is the great performance by Raul Gimenez (a great Chilean tenor, who plays the part of Don Ramiro, the romantic prince). You will laugh and maybe even shed a tear over this beautiful production. The music is absolutely soaring and lovely to listen to.

Magnífica 'Cenerentola'.......2005-07-20

Esta función procedente de la Ópera de Houston de una de las mejores óperas de Rossini es sin duda la mejor versión visual disponible hasta la fecha de esta obra.
En lo vocal, todos rinden a un nivel estupendo. Comenzando por una CECILIA BARTOLI excelente, tanto en lo escénico como en lo vocal: su pirotécnica coloratura es de impresión y su voz es bellísima. Cantar el papel mejor que ella en la actualidad es muy dificil.
Junto a la joven Bartoli tenemos al veterano ENZO DARA, un Don Magnifico cuya voz no es especialmente hermosa (nunca lo ha sido) pero con muchas tablas, y con un conocimiento profundo de su personaje. Implicadísimo en la trama de principio a fin, siempre con mucha comicidad. Un clásico que se agradece.
El Don Ramiro de RAUL GIMENEZ es un derroche de clase, conocimiento de estilo rossiniano y belleza vocal. Su trabajo es digno del más fuerte de los aplausos.
El Dandini de ALESSANDRO CORBELLI, cómico y cantado a la altura de los mejores en este papel, sigue sumando puntos a un reparto sin fisuras, que se completa con el lujoso Alidoro de MICHELE PERTUSI y unas cómicas Clorinda y Tisbe, que hacen sus pinitos en los concertantes.
La dirección de BRUNO CAMPANELLA, aunque adecuada, podría pecar de algo lenta en algun momento.
La producción de la ópera de Houston es lujosa, variada, divertida y coherente con la historia; y la realización televisiva es muy adecuada.
Todo esto redondea una gran 'Cenerentola', que no debería faltar en casa de ningún aficcionado a la ópera. Imprescindible.

Forget Disney.......2004-11-27

While this production looks (potentially) magical, there's no magic in the plot, just the singing. Get Disney's take out of your head and everything starts making sense. This is Bartoli's signature role (note the book "Cinderella & Company") and she enjoys her feisty take on the girl. An excellent light entertainment for anyone who enjoys opera or the musical theater.

Great singing with a little twitching thrown in.......2004-06-21

I love this video for the singing. As a matter of fact, I would recommend it over Bartoli's Decca cd recording because the best principal singers are the same, except in this video, you get Raul Giminez as the Prince, instead of William Matteuzzi on the cd, and although Giminez' voice is a bit lighter, it's a prettier voice, and his fioratura is much more smooth and lovely. La Cenerentola is Bartoli at her finest vocally - it suits her sound and vocal style perfectly, but the acting is another matter. Bartoli is just not funny to me, plus she does alot of odd twitching and jerking that are terribly annoying.

Corbelli is great both vocally and as an actor. Giminez is enjoyable. Pertusi is fine. Dara gives me the same feeling as Bartoli - a bit too silly, but his singing is fine. There is a serious message to this opera that doesn't come across because of the ridiculousness of some of the acting and some of the costumes: The message is that 'goodness triumphs', which is the alternate title of this opera, and I personally feel this opera needs a handful of elegance and subtley (sorely lacking in this video) to convey that message in a witty way.

Great performances, flawed production.......2004-06-07

Though I have some reservations about the production, there are such great performances on this video that I have given it four stars and recommend it. For instance, you can enjoy the talents of Cecilia Bartoli, here making her American debut, who gives a spirited and vocally dazzling performance of the heroine. Then there is the dashing Rossinian tenor Raul Gimenez, who lends impeccable elegance and vocal polish to the role of Don Ramiro. I'm sorry for the cursory way that I've treated the two leads, but I would really like to concentrate on the two buffo roles of Don Magnifico and Dandini, played by Enzo Dara and Alessandro Corbelli. Dara is a veteran Italian basso buffo who, as another revewer pointed out, bears a striking resemblence to Ed Wynn. His voice was clearly past its prime at the time of this performance and is quite weak, though his stage manner is as funny as ever. He is very endearing, but I'm not sure he adequately emphasizes the character's menacing qualities. However, his rapid delivery of the patter in his third aria (while throwing cards) is unbelievable! As the prince-for-a-day valet Dandini, Corbelli shows why he has become famous in this role: his performance is both superbly sung and hilariously acted. Just watch his aria: this is clearly a great comedian as well as a great singer! Corbelli is a fine artist, no doubt about it. Finally, there is Michele Pertusi as Alidoro, who has a fine voice but is hampered by the production's stodgy conception of the role.

As for the physical production, I find it less apt than the recent Metropolitan Opera production (telecast on PBS but not yet available commercially). The Met production was true to the surreal, zany spirit of Rossini. This prettified Houston production looks like a cross between a Disney fantasy and a French Rococo painting. The result is that Rossini's urbane, witty, realistic comedy looks too much like what he didn't intend it to be - a fairy tale. It's a beautiful, magical production, mind you - but it isn't very Rossinian. The Met production is not flawless by any means, but it is more true to Rossini's world. Consider for example how the two versions stage the famous sextet: in the Met version the participants actually get tangled in a long piece of string (as the text says); in Houston they just sit there and sing.

But this production has so many wonderful performances going for it, that any opera lover should buy it. LA CENERENTOLA is a one-of-a-kind evening's entertainment, no matter what the sets and costumes and staging look like. But please look out for that Met production, which also has Bartoli, Corbelli, and Pertusi.

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