Tutto Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera (2011), 9-

2h 16min | Music | TV Movie 2011
In 1792 King Gustaf III of Sweden was shot at a masked ball, and this was the starting point for Verdi's
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Gianluigi Gelmetti
Stars: Francesco Meli, Vladimir Stoyanov, Kristen Lewis, Elisabetta Fiorillo, Serena Gamberoni.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812768/

21st Verdi opera.
Premiere 1859, Teatro Apollo, Rome

Place: Stockholm, Sweden or Boston, Massachusetts
Time: March 1792 in Sweden or the end of the 17th century in Boston (British colony)

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma

I own a 1991 Met production with L.Pavarotti as the King and L.Nucci as his killer. I didn't like it much: Verdi: Un ballo in maschera (1991), 7, and the notes help me remember more than I wrote.

This production I like a lot. This is the Boston version, so there's not so much opulent excess (although the wigs of those bringing the governor requests are really enormous. But the costumes are more Three Musketeers than at court with Louis XIV.)

As evident in the poster, the sets and costumes have a lot of substance. Hard to believe this is still Parma.

The players all sing/act really well. Only the male leads and the witch have multiple IMDb credits. Amelia and Oscar (trouser role; formally "en travesti" in Italian) have only this one. I could become a fan of all 5, but looks like I won't have much chance with some of them.

It helps that I understand the story now; the Met show above was my first, and I watched two online at Met on Demand; didn't like either of those. But today, after all the meh Verdi operas I've seen recently, this looks excellent. The plot is simple, no one is a long-lost child, although Renato's loyalty shifts quite a bit, and he puts his child in harm's way. The smaller production makes it more accessible.

I love the way the patrons keep applauding as the bows go on forever. I didn't feel they gave enough noise for the principals, though. But the bows were poorly organized, and really took too long to get to the principals. Stoyanov (baritone) in particular got a big hand for his 3rd act soliloquy, but I didn't really recognize him during the bows; wonder if the crowd had the same difficulty, and that's why he didn't get more.

There's a sameness to the diegetic party music in Verdi operas. I really think the music used at Rigoletto's party might be the same as that at the ball here. Ir doesn't sound like it comes from the orchestra pit, more backstage, and seems like the same tune both times. I think there's at least 1 more opera with the same/similar music. Ah, the lone violinist was onstage for part of this; kept playing when the king was stabbed? But she's not playing the music that sounds like Rigoletto's party.

The Great Course discusses the censorship/contractual issues in this opera's creation, and finally discusses the last act, where 3 men draw lots for the privilege of killing the king/governor. The 2 chapters with this opera's title are really about Verdi's personal life and Italy's unrest.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 7th among Verdi's operas, 26th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).

This has insufficient ratings to show an average, so I'll push it up today. I really do like it a lot better than the 3 Met perfs I've seen. It's also my favorite of the Tutto Verdi so far, although 9 may be a bit high.

Unitel, cond. Gelmetti; 9-

The Hoax (2006), 8 {nm}

1h 56min | Comedy, Drama | 20 April 2007
In what would cause a fantastic media frenzy, Clifford Irving sells his bogus biography of Howard Hughes to a premiere publishing house in the early 1970s.
Director: Lasse Hallström
Stars: Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Marcia Gay Harden, Julie Delpy.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462338/
Purchased with something else.

Enjoyable. Gere's portrayal made it very understandable why Clifford Irving did this. I got the impression that the moments where they almost got caught, and didn't, or needed to invent answers to unanticipated questions in the moment, were like a gambler's high, and CI at least was addicted, needed/wanted that excitement.

Plot point: CI was shown as a good enough forger to make at least 2 documents. His prior book was Fake, about an art forger. Orson Welles made the movie F for Fake ('73) about them and other forgers.

Fascinating to hear the details that CI & co-writer invented about HH bribing Nixon associates hit reality, and the Nixon Whitehouse ordered the Watergate breakin to see what else the DNC might have.

2 c.tracks is 1 too many. I didn't get much out of the producers' track except the desire to punch the male producer for interrupting and talking over the woman.

Rated 6.7 (15,543).

I bought this on a hunch that Gere would make this better than it sounded or the rating indicated. I was right. I wonder what else of his is worth the risk.

Miramax+, dir. Hallstrom; 8

Tutto Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (2010), 7

2h 17min | Drama, Music | Episode aired 3 December 2012
Add a Plot »
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Daniele Callegari
Stars: Leo Nucci, Roberto Scandiuzzi, Simone Piazzola, Paolo Pecchioli, Tamar Iveri, Francesco Meli.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5440938/

20th Verdi opera.
Premiere 1857, La Fenice, Venice;
1881 (second version), La Scala, Milan

Time: The middle of the 14th century.
Place: In and around Genoa.

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma

This is the 4th performance of SB that I'll rate, 3 of them from the Met on Demand voyage, 1 of those owned. I have not liked it in any of these forms. There are 16 on IMDb at the moment; only 1 has a higher rating than the one from the Met that I own, and it's only a sliver higher.

I like the sets (lots of "Dutch" angles, as they call the distorted proportions of German expressionism in film) and costumes (lots of heavy velvet, good colors, even shiny trim on Adorno's outfits), but I somehow I wish they had furniture and props to deal with. The sloped stage looked dangerous.

I ran it more than once, and was attracted to watch a couple of times in the same place, where a singer had something special to their voice/song. It may have been Scandiuzzi (Fiesco) each time; also noticed him as Banquo in the Macbeth I own. But the music is just OK compared to the better Verdi operas. Of course, like Hitchcock, his middling work is still better than most other's best.

I read the synopsis pretty thoroughly beforehand, and watched the intro video carefully. The story is complex without being interesting. It's yet another reunion of adult child (daughter) and father, who bond instantly just because they realize they must be related. Again this instantly changes the loyalty of the the daughter's love interest Adorno, who was formerly the mortal enemy of the father. Verdi seems to like this plot twist a lot, and I dislike it a lot, although in this case I'm not sure Adorno's loyalties were well-founded. I didn't absorb the reason for the antipathy of the "sides", unless it was the personal tragedy of Fiesco's daughter dying, but that might have been his own fault for barring her access to her lover (Boccanegra) and her child (Amelia, grownup by Act 1).

The Great Course mentions this, but basically dismisses it. The strange thing is, according to OperaBase, in the 2004/5 (the earliest I could access) season worldwide, this was the 81st most performed opera, with 43 performances in 7 productions. (To the right: the top 10 in 2004/5. Click to enlarge.)

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 12th among Verdi's operas, 70th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics). I think the featurette mentioned no big choral numbers, which is something that adds to a Verdi opera in my estimation.

Unitel, cond. Callegari; 7

Tutto Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani (2010), 7-

2h 50min | Music | TV Movie 4 December 2012
Not until 1855 did Verdi have a chance to try his hand at the genre of French grand opera. A setting of a libretto by Eugène Scribe, Les Vêpres siciliennes proved a success in Paris despite the problematical nature of its subject matter, which deals with the Sicilian uprising against occupying French forces in Palermo in 1282. Today, the opera is usually given in the Italian version of 1861 as I Vespri siciliani.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Massimo Zanetti
Stars: Fabio Armiliato, Daniela Dessì, Leo Nucci, Giacomo Prestia.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812274/

19th Verdi opera.
French Premiere: June 1855; Paris Opéra
Italian Premiere: December 1855, Teatro Regio, Parma
Italian libretto rewritten in 1861

Place: Palermo, Italy
Time: 1282

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma

It took several attempts for me to get through this one. It seems like a giant step backward in plot: another pair of enemies discover they are adult son & father, and loyalties shift immediately, with freedom vs. tyranny formerly dividing the pair. The love interest is also a plot-stirrer: she wants vengeance for the death of her brother a year ago. The bass/baritone intriguer tries to rally the people to revolution by encouraging some drunken occupying army men to carry off the young women for rape. Don't know if I would like it better if a favorite star or two would lead the cast.

The leads and most of the chorus are in dark clothing, and the set is barren, so until the last moments of the opera, when the revolutionaries wave Italian flags (in 1282?), this is colorless. (Ah, one of the Sabine women was wearing a red dress, but most wore white.)

Glad I was not in the audience where the singers stood and performed. For those sequences, the camera points to them, so we're taken out of the story into reality. Meh.

Another dvd I had my eye on sounds like the same production, in the even smaller Busetto theatre, but one of the singers is someone I've liked elsewhere. Decisions, decisions.

The Great Course talks about this briefly.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 17th among Verdi's operas, 228th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).

Unitel, cond. Zanetti; 7-

Thomas: Hamlet (2004), 8

2h 56min | Drama, Music | Video 6 September 2004
Hamlet suspects his uncle has murdered his father to claim the throne of Denmark and the hand of Hamlet's mother, but the prince cannot decide whether or not he should take vengeance.
Director: Toni Bargalló
Conductor: Bertrand de Billy
Stars: Simon Keenlyside, Natalie Dessay, Béatrice Uria-Monzon, Alain Vernhes, Daniil Shtoda.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1512840/

Premiere 1868

Place: Denmark at Elsinore Castle.
Time: ?

Filmed at Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona

I know the 2 principals now from my time at Met on Demand, and they're both very good and well-suited for the roles.

The set is stark and mostly bare. The costumes post-date Shakespeare's time, and seem inconsistent between men and women: large skirts kept wide by some system, while at  least one man wore a fedora. But it's not very distracting.

Lots of stage blood used. Not sure where Ophelie's came from. Dessay does "mad" well.

The ghost was obvious from the makeup/"costume" (mostly a sheet wrapped loosely).

When I want to really study this opera, I suspect this is a good performance to have. On IMDb, 6 people give it 9.7 average. Can't imagine my appreciation ever getting that high.

LiceuOpera, cond. de Billy; 8

Rossini: L'italiana in Algeri (1986), 8

2h 37min | Music | Episode aired 1986
A typical rescue opera involves a kidnapped young woman who faces torture or death - until her heroic lover shows up. But in this one, the roles are reversed: it's a man in desperate trouble, and his clever girlfriend gets him out of it.
Director: Brian Large
Conductor: James Levine
Stars: Marilyn Horne, Douglas Ahlstedt, Allan Monk.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1214968/

Premiere 1813

Place: Algiers
Time: The past

When I ran this at Met on Demand, it was only the 26th (of 205) opera I'd viewed there, and I was discovering my love of Italian opera and Rossini. Now this sounds very same-y a lot of the time, and I didn't pay enough attention to get the humor. However, it is great to look at (audio & visual are excellent quality), and this is clearly played for laughs (but didn't hear many from the audience). Biggest applause came for Horne, for whom this had become a signature role.

So next time, be in the mood to actually watch it; it might be worthwhile.

I had gone along with the crowd (8.9 with 11 votes), but today I'm going with 8, and that still might be high for me.

DVD extras include Horne's portion of The Ghosts of Versailles ('92), which was the only good thing about that mess.

MetOpera, cond. Levine; 8

Puccini: La rondine (2009), 8-

Musical | Episode aired 2009
Magda, mistress to wealthy Rambaldo, wants romance with a younger man. She moves in with Ruggiero until his cash runs out.
Director: Brian Large
Conductor: Marco Armiliato
Stars: Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Lisette Oropesa, Marius Brenciu, Samuel Ramey.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1347918/

Premiere 1917

Place: Paris and the French Riviera.
Time: Mid-19th century.

This production places us in Art Deco/Nouveau settings, with almost-flapper women's clothing.

Since I'm a Puccini fan, thought I should have this. Saw it at Met on Demand, and liked it for the setting/sets/costumes and the stars. Gheorghiu & Alagna have been married since '96, although her IMDb trivia list 2007-11 as separation years. Their backstage interview did not give any hint about that, and their characters had to romance it up a lot. He even slapped her on the butt when she went out for her curtain call; she looked surprised.

I like Alagna a lot, but this is more of the soprano's opera. In fact, it's a lot like Traviata, without the fatal disease. The synopsis writer got it wrong: she doesn't leave him for $$, but it's related. (I also have Gheorghiu in Traviata, and gave that a good rating.)

Ramey has very, very little to do.

If I just listen, and don't look, this is another shrug-worthy composition for me, but Puccini's best is tough competition. The Met didn't run this since 1936.

MetOpera, cond. Armiliato; 8-

Verdi: Aida (2001); 9

2h 22min | Music | TV Movie 3 December 2001
Add a Plot »
Conductor: Massimiliano Stefanelli
Stars: Adina Aaron, Kate Aldrich, Scott Piper, Giuseppe Garra, Enrico Iori, Paolo Pecchioli.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3121538/

Premiere 1871, Khedivial Opera House in Cairo

Time: period of the Pharaohs’ power
Place: Memphis and Thebes

Filmed at Teatro Verdi di Busseto

I have an ongoing eBay search for anything with Zeffirelli's name attached, hoping to capture more of his opera films/productions. This is exactly what I had in mind. And now that I've watched 2/3rds of the Tutto Verdi set, I know how small the theatre in Busseto is, so I was fascinated to know what the king of spectacle did with Grand opera in a shoebox theatre (seats 300; one Amazon reviewer quipped the stage was the size of a 2-car garage.)

Well, the stage is much bigger than it looked in that production, and the theatre has patron boxes up 3-4 flights, so the stage has some height as well.

We get gorgeous period costumes, and gorgeous sets.

Even better, we get gorgeous performers with superb voices, all coached personally by Zeffirelli on their acting for these roles. How do I know that? We get a 45min doc'y (not listed on IMDb, and I don't have the desire today) showing the process. It almost seems like some of it is a pre-audition session; there are lots of young performers in the room. Not surprising: the ones sitting forward, reacting are the ones who we see in the opera.

At least the top 3 roles are sung by young Americans, 2 are African American. (I got really excited when I heard Scott Piper; he's very pale, but has a voice for Otello. Found online that he has performed that in regional operas I really want to see that role played by a man of color.) Unfortunately, he has only one other recording (Traviata), and Aida (Aaron) has no others (not even on Amazon), but she too has plenty of regional/European credits.

So what did they do with the opera in the small venue? Grand opera becomes intimate, and works really well. Aida is a love/jealousy story more than a story about war/slavery. So it absolutely works, plus we get the benefit of Zeffirelli's opulence. What we also get is a much-shortened Processional, which is portrayed happening off-stage, and we only see the backs of spectators (with Aida contemplating things downstage).

We get some dancing, mostly arm movements of 4 women dressed like my souvenir statuette (without the bird/gourd on the head) from the King Tut exhibit in '79 (online images to the right; she's named Selket). Another woman soloist dances in a bad costume for showing legs, but since she too mostly dances with her arms, maybe that was deliberate.

The doc'y shows Zeffirelli coaching the singers in Italian, and sometimes English. Scott Piper was interviewed in Italian, but had to ask for the word for audience. This goes a long way toward my understanding of how well do opera singers need to know the language... at least of the director/staff where you're performing.

Even though I already have 2 Met productions (one from b'cast), and the Tutto Verdi production, I'm very happy to have this in my collection. (Interesting that a more recent 2014 dvd re-issue of the performance does NOT emphasize the Busseto location on the cover as this does. I never would have bought that one.)

My rating is influenced by the inclusion of the doc'y.

Fondazione Arturo Toscanini, cond. Stefanelli; 9

Tutto Verdi: La traviata (2007), 8

2h 13min | Music | TV Movie 2007
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Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Yuri Temirkanov
Stars: Svetla Vassileva, Massimo Giordano, Vladimir Stoyanov.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812738/

18th Verdi opera.
Premiere 1853, Teatro La Fenice, Venice

Place: Paris and its vicinity.
Time: Beginning of the 19th century

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma

Really lavish costuming/sets/cast size; clearly a cash cow. Great colors. The country house is drab, a restful contrast to the Paris digs where the first party occurs, but they have a snowy backyard and glass window(s); Alfredo threw an egg at it, and then showed us where the egg hit, smearing egg and shells; not in other prod's I've seen. Her death bed room is dark/drab, but that's appropriate.

Was more drawn to papa Germont's (Stoyanov) singing than in other perf's I recall. And by that I mean the singing/vocal_acting, not the visual_acting, because he's no treat to look at (although I'm sure that face is great for other baritone:villain roles).

A nice, traditional perf.

The Great Course has ~1 chapter on this opera, then refers us to one of his other courses.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 1st among Verdi's operas, 2nd among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).

Unitel, cond. Temirkanov; 8

Tutto Verdi: Il Trovatore (2010), 8-

2h 32min | Drama, Musical | TV Movie 3 December 2012
Gypsy Azucena finally tells her adult son Manrico that he is the brother of his political and romantic rival, the Conte di Luna. The Conte strikes a bargain with Leonora (who loves Manrico): her hand in marriage for the life of Manrico.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Yuri Temirkanov
Stars: Claudio Sgura, Teresa Romano, Mzia Nioradze, Marcelo Álvarez.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812788/

17th Verdi opera.
Premiere 1853, Teatro Apollo, Rome

Place: Biscay and Aragon (Spain)
Time: Fifteenth century

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma

Now that I've seen a few productions/performances, the story is clearer, so I submitted the outline above.

But that leaves out the history of Azucena's mother being burned at the stake by the Conte's father, her kidnapping the Conte's infant brother, accidentally throwing her own infant son into the flames instead of the Conte's brother, raising the Conte's brother as her own. It also omits Leonora intending to enter a convent when she believes Manrico is dead in battle, but both Conte and Manrico intercede, with Manrico taking her with him. We get an offstage battle or two between Conte's & Manrico's armies, and the capture of both Manrico and Azucena (who Conte has sought for his brother's death). Leonora takes poison rather than fulfill her bargain with Conte, so when she dies, he has Manrico executed. Azucena is a little happy, because her mother's death is now avenged by Conte having (unknowingly) executed his own brother. Oy Vey. If the music weren't so good, would this be a story people want to see?

Marcelo Álvarez is a familiar face and international star tenor (many Met in HD telecasts on IMDb). He sings well, overacts a bit, and is not eye candy, so I'm not enthused when I see him on the cast list, but it could be much worse, of course. Sgura as Conte is good, but now I've bonded a bit with D.Hvorostovsky from Met performances, whose name I got corrected on IMDb. Both female leads are fine as well.

The anvil chorus had only 1 anvil, which was nearly drowned out by the chorus. I prefer the multi-anvil version of the Met, especially since that invokes the Marx Bros film A Night at the Opera ('35).

The costumes were appropriate to the period, but the color choices were a bit too on the nose: red for gypsies, black for the Conte's men, white for Leonora.

The Great Course has ~1 chapter on this opera.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 5th among Verdi's operas, 23rd among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).

Unitel, cond. Temirkanov; 8-

Tutto Verdi: Rigoletto (2008), 8

2h 11m | Music | TV Movie 2008
Add a Plot »
Director: Andrea Bevilacqua
Conductor: Massimo Zanetti
Stars: Francesco Demuro, Leo Nucci, Nino Machaidze, Marco Spotti, Stefanie Irányi.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812254/

16th Verdi opera.
Premiere 1851, Teatro La Fenice, Venice

Place: Mantua
Time: the sixteenth century

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma

This opera suffers from my having 2 really good versions, and having seen an "interesting" one via Met Opera on Demand. I really like the story, except for the targeting of Rigoletto's woman to punish Rigoletto. The woman is clearly not seen as a person. But the plot also characterizes her reaction as mixed, since she's "in love with" the Duke.

I don't find Nucci all that compelling as Rigoletto. He's not angry/anxious enough. But the audience loved him, and the father/daughter duet got an encore. She's a good bit of why they wanted more; her high note at the end is spectacular.

Demuro as the Duke was much less appreciated; he's not as strong a singer as might be expected of a role often performed by superstar tenors. He's young and handsome-ish, so his lechery seems more like sowing wild oats than debauchery, which helps the plot, since the Duke floats free of the havoc he wreaks. His charm/youth are what save his life; that's less easy to accept with an older Duke.

Costumes and sets are downright lavish for what I've seen of Parma in this series (and Parma is the most frequent venue by far.) I'm sure this opera is a money-maker, probably run often, so it makes sense to spend more on producing it. Colorful stuff.

Finally figured out who the suit taking bows was: the Chorus Master. Weird that he seems to take the credit for himself without throwing a lot of applause to the people onstage, as the Met chorus master does. He was missing IMDb credit for 9 of 22 titles in this box set, so I added them, and they went through very quickly.

The Great Course spends ~4 of 32 chapters on Rigoletto.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 2nd among Verdi's operas, 10th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics). They simplified badly why Gilda gets murdered.

Unitel, cond. Zanetti; 8

Tutto Verdi: Stiffelio (2012), 8-

1h 58min | Drama, Musical | TV Movie 15 August 2013
Stiffelio was based on the play Le pasteur, ou L'évangile et le foyer by Émile Souvestre and Eugène Bourgeois and was originally censored due to it involving as it does a Protestant minister of the church with an adulterous wife.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Andrea Battistoni
Stars: Roberto Aronica, Yu Guanqun, Roberto Frontali, Gabriele Mangione.

15th Verdi opera.
Premiere 1850, Teatro Grande, Trieste

Place: Count Stankar's castle by the River Salzbach, Germany
Time: Early 19th Century

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma

This benefits from my dislike of the only other performance I've seen (Met on Demand, '93 prod w/P.Domingo and a hefty soprano who stretched the plot point of being unfaithful to PD just too far for me.) Yu Guanqun as Lida and Roberto Aronica as Stiffelio were excellent, as was Roberto Frontali as her father.

Costumes were very plain (almost Quaker) but appropriate to the period, and consistent, except perhaps Raffaele's red suit. We wouldn't have been able to spot him in the crowd without it, but it seemed much too flashy for this community. But when he changed to a simpler outfit, we had to recognize his face.

Sets were also simple, but the story is in a simple community.

Lida always dressed and acted modestly, so you don't really blame her for attracting the lothario. She's young enough that you can imagine her becoming vulnerable after so many months of her husband's absence.

I can't say I paid enough attention to get all the details. I think Raffaele and Lida's father had a pre-duel fight scene, not the actual duel. I believe it's written to have the duel offstage; at least that's what I remember it from '93. It almost feels tacked on that Raffaele dies.

The Great Course does mention this opera: censorship troubles, poor reception by the public; reworked later as Aroldo.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 19th among Verdi's operas, 303rd among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics). They claim that Verdi "invented" the dramatic tenor here(?), later using it to great effect in Otello.

Unitel, cond. Battistoni; 8-

Tutto Verdi: Luisa Miller (2007), 7+

2h 36min | Music | TV Movie 2007
The opera was based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller.
Director: Andrea Dorigo
Conductor: Donato Renzetti
Stars: Fiorenza Cedolins, Francesca Franci, Leo Nucci, Rafal Siwek, Giorgio Surjan, Marcelo Álvarez.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812316/

14th Verdi opera.
Premiere 1849, Teatro San Carlo, Naples

Time: Early 17th Century
Place: The Tyrol

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma

Nothing fancy here. To distinguish Miller's life with Count Walter's, they get extreme, making Miller's walls out of bare distressed planks, and Walter's from white geometric segments. What little furniture each has is appropriately shabby or swank. The costumes are iffy as to era, and the women's hair was too modern, but I liked the all-white costumes at Walter's party.

This has 2 oft-filmed singers: Nucci and Alvarez as Miller and Rodolfo, but Cedolins as Luisa got the star bow and at least as much noise as the other 2. With the TV closeups, she was really too old for the role.

The Great Course plays some of the music, and connects the father/son relationship with (future) Traviata, the father/daughter relationship with (future) Rigoletto.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 13th among Verdi's operas, 112nd among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics)

Unitel, cond. Renzetti; 7+

Alfano: Cyrano de Bergerac (2005), 9

2h 13min | Drama, Music, Romance | Video
An opera of the famous play.
Director: George Blume
Conductor: Marco Guidarini
Stars: Roberto Alagna, Nathalie Manfrino, Richard Troxell.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472301/

Premiere 1936 (in Italian), Rome
Alfano originally set the text in French, which is how it's performed in this video.

The Rostrand play opens in Paris, 1640. (I have not found this information for the Alfano opera.)

The opening here was a bit uncomfortable for the theatre audience, with characters coming from the back of the house down the aisles and interacting in front of the curtain. But it retreats to the a proper well-set stage fairly quickly.

R.Alagna is amazing in the role. He acts as well as he sings, and that is considerable. He clearly has great affection for the role; he instigated this production, and his brothers Frédérico & David are credited with production design and stage direction. A featurette on the disc interviews all 3 and some of the cast.

The nose was also amazing, clearly giving him room to breathe, and staying put after his lengthy swordfight cum song "composition" that generated a lot of sweat on his face. Somehow he is still handsome with the nose; something about the force of his personality and talent.

VERY glad to have this. Now I'm curious about the P.Domingo production.

Opéra National de Montpellier, cond. Guidarini; 9

Tutto Verdi: La battaglia di Legnano (2012), 7-

1h 59min | Music | TV Movie 13 August 2013
The opera is based on the play La Bataille de Toulouse by Joseph Méry. The performance is conducted by Boris Brott, who served as Assistant Conductor to the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein, and Music Director and Conductor for the Royal Ballet.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Boris Brott

Stars: Enrico Iori, Leonardo López Linares, Dimitra Theodossiou, Andrew Richards.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812340/

13th Verdi opera.
Premiere 1849, Teatro Argentina, Rome

Time: 1176
Place: Milan and Como

Filmed at Teatro Verdi Trieste.

This may have been popular in its day (amid revolution in Italy), but I find it tiresome today. I question whether someone dedicated to revolution will get so distracted by romance. Then again, it's not the positive energy of requited love, but the negative energy of perceived betrayal, and the stubbornness to believe the bad things you want to believe instead of giving the benefit of the doubt. What would it have hurt Arrigo to believe that Lida thought him dead and took her father's advice to marry Rolando?

I don't like the mixed wardrobe again. The principal men are dressed more like 1949 revolutionaries than 1176. Lida comes out in a Victorian bustle. The chorus is dressed mid-20th century. I'm too busy trying to determine what the heck it all means to appreciate the opera itself. Why do we have giant paintings being painted, seemingly of the battles that provide the context for the story. Are the principals ghosts, reenactors, tour-guides for the chorus? Just DISTRACTING.

Might have been my mistake to watch 3 Verdi's in a row. (Not enough votes on IMDb to guide my rating.) So I won't step down to a 6, but it's tempting.

The Great Course has this listed in the timeline of Verdi operas, and mentioned among others with the librettist. Otherwise, zilch.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 25th among Verdi's operas, 1443rd among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics)

Unitel, cond. Brott; 7-

Tutto Verdi: Il Corsaro (2008), 7-

1h 48min | Music | TV Movie 2008
Written in 1848, this three-act opera is based on Lord Byron's poem The Corsair.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Carlo Montanaro
Stars: Bruno Ribeiro, Andrea Papi, Irina Lungu, Luca Salsi, Silvia Dalla Benetta.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812884/

12th Verdi opera.
Premiere 1848, Teatro Grande, Trieste

Place: A Greek island in the Aegean and the Turkish city of Corone.
Time: The early 1800s

Filmed in Teatro Verdi di Busseto (booklet says Teatro Regio di Parma.)

Corsair = pirate. Our lead, the head of the pirates, is a young handsome tenor. The female leads are also young. And we get a lot of opponents sword-fighting for more than a few seconds.

Story (ending): <sigh> another pair of suicides, triggered by the mistaken notion that one of them was already dead. How old IS this trope?

Lots of sets: rigging for the pirate ship, drapes for the harem, different rigging for the Pasha's ship, etc. Did NOT get the claustrophobic feeling of previous Busseto performances.

They made a decent production out of a lesser opera.

The Great Course has this listed in the timeline of Verdi operas, and mentioned among others with the librettist. Otherwise, zilch.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 24th among Verdi's operas, 500th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics)

Unitel, cond. Montanaro; 7-

Tutto Verdi: I masnadieri (2012), 7-

2h 4min | Drama, Music | TV Movie March 2012
The opera is based on Die Räuber by Friedrich von Schiller. The story tells of how the actions of the jealous Francesco have separated his father from his brother Carlo.
Director: Annalisa Buttò
Conductor: Nicola Luisotti
Stars: Giacomo Prestia, Aquiles Machado, Artur Rucinski, Lucrecia García, Walter Omaggio.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2665638/

11th Verdi opera.
Premiere 22 July 1847, Her Majesty's Theatre, London

Place: Germany
Time: between 1755 and 1757.

Filmed in Teatro di San Carlo, Naples.

The first singer is wearing a head mic, but we're hearing his voice from afar.

I really find the set wanting. I wonder if the difference between the forest clearing/empty lot where the bandits gather and the home of the leader's father (a castle in the original time setting) is really not better delineated onstage. Sometimes we get the full proscenium, and there are graphics far overhead. But as we're seeing it on TV, the only difference is the presence of a large leather wingback chair. Either this is a very poorly designed set, or poorly coordinated with the TV director.

The synopsis on Wikipedia states that when Francesco consults a priest about his nightmare, the scene ends with F. "rushes out, swearing that he will defy the very fires of Hell." In this production he butchers his abdomen with a dagger and dies.

The story is not bad until the very ugly ending (consistent with the synopsis.)

This is literally the only video of this opera I can find at Amazon, B&N, eBay, Google Shopping. (Audio, yes, dvd of the antecedent Schiller play, but no opera performance.)

The Great Course has a chapter title for this opera, but that chapter is really about Verdi re-connecting with Giuseppina, revolutions in Europe, and Verdi returning to Busseto with Giuseppina.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 18th among Verdi's operas, 229th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics)

Unitel, cond. Butto; 7-

Rossini: La Cenerentola (2005), 7-

3h 7min | Music | TV Movie 27 January 2009
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Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski
Stars: Ruxandra Donose, Raquela Sheeran, Lucia Cirillo, Nathan Berg, Luciano Di Pasquale, Maxim Mironov, Simone Alberghini.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10314566/

First performed 1817

Time: Late 18th century – early 19th century
Place: Salerno (Italy)

The dvd poster is the most colorful image in this opera. No idea why everything, including the Prince's abode, must be colorless. IT'S a FAIRY TALE. It's a comedy. ARGGH. Had I known this, I would NOT have purchased this copy. Don't remember why I did. Hope it was cheap.

Singing is fine. Acting is ok. The Prince is actually young and handsome, and has the bel canto thing nailed. Cindy is pretty, but her low notes sound older than she looks. (This is a mezzo role.)

Unfortunately, the father is particularly grotesque, and even when they go to the palace, he's filthier than a pig in a muddy sty. Then the barber snatches the wig off his head, and he looks even worse.

Like the music, although there's a little too much recitative. But I suspect I wouldn't notice that if the action were livelier, the sets/costumes more colorful, and the acting more comical. (Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?)

I was confused at one point: Cindy's ball gown looked like a wedding dress. Or do we have an editing problem too? The gold gown of the poster is the last she wears; no wedding cake platform in this production.

Glyndebourne Opera, cond. Jurowski; 7-

Tutto Verdi: Macbeth (2006), 7

2h 36min | Music | TV Movie 2006
Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
Director: Andrea Bevilacqua
Conductor: Bruno Bartoletti
Stars: Leo Nucci, Enrico Iori, Sylvie Valayre, Roberto Iuliano.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812244/

Verdi's 10th opera
First performed at Teatro la Pergola,  Florence, 1847
Second version, significant alterations, premiered at Theatre Lyrique, Paris, 1865

Place: Scotland
Time: 11th century

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma.

This was well-lit for being filmed, but not for the atmosphere of the scenes.

Does Macbeth often have an onstage "audience"/chorus supplement? Why are they dressed in 1940's clothing, when the regular cast were in Elizabethan garb (which is also too modern?)

Singing/performances were fine. The lengthy "ballet" (non-balletic style) of some of the "witches"/laundresses seemed pointless, and made it clear the version performed was the second French one.

I find Lady Macbeth's mad scene too tame musically, and it may be that I have a particular staging/performance in my memory that cannot be bettered.

The Great Course credits this as a major departure dramatically from prior Italian opera.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 9th among Verdi's operas, 31st among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics)

Unitel, cond. Bartoletti; 7

Donizetti: Roberto Devereux (1975), 8

2h 25min  | Drama, Music | TV Movie
Add a Plot »
Director: Kirk Browning
Conductor: Julius Rudel
Stars: Beverly Sills, John Alexander, Richard Fredricks, John Lankston, Susanne Marsee, David Rae Smith.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0260326/

First performed 1837

Time: 1601, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
Place: London, England

Video/audio quality as expected for '75, which detracts from my enjoyment. (To be fair, they're running a tree mulcher outside, so my enjoyment is diminished a LOT by that too.) If I get another performance, I should stick with 21st century video (although if they put the Caballe/Carreras version on dvd, that would be tempting.)

Well at least I own a Beverly Sills (b. '29) opera now. Don Pasquale might have been a better choice, but that has a tiresome comedy plot.

DNFSC, but the performances seemed good, costumes suitable for the court of Elizabeth I. Although produced in cooperation with NYCO, this was filmed at a Wolftrap Festival.

Although opera may not be flourishing everywhere, we certainly have American sopranos since then who could give Sills a run for her money (comparing each in their prime). But back in her day, it seems she was touted as "the" American soprano (perhaps coloratura? or did she predate Leontyne Price? I need a timeline.) But for the past 20+ years, Renée Fleming might qualify, or Joyce DiDonato. The Time cover to the right is dated 22 Nov 1971, well before she took the helm of NYC Opera.

Maybe my assessment will improve on another occasion.

NYCO prod, cond. Rudel; 7

Update 14Sep2019
Watched it more carefully. Still frustrated by not finding the nature of the treason, but impressed esp. by B.Sills acting while singing. Her part seems esp. challenging vocally. The 4 principals have nearly equal parts, and all 4 have vocal gymnastics of some sort, plus emoting. The tree mulcher of my June viewing really skewed the results, and today I'm impressed with the video/audio quality given its '75 vintage.
Upgrading to 8.

R.Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (1961), 7-

3h 12min | Comedy, Music, Romance | TV Movie 9 Oct 1962
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Director: Paul Czinner
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Stars: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Otto Edelmann, Sena Jurinac, Erich Kunz, Anneliese Rothenberger.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056426/

First performed 1911

Time: 1740s, in the first years of the reign of Empress Maria Theresa
Place: Vienna

Really shouldn't have bought this. The box has UPC 032031468498 and says it's remastered (distr. Kultur), but the image is blurry. The colors are gorgeous, but I wonder if the blu-ray looks like this. BD costs a lot more on eBay; same release date.

Felt the need to have this because I'd seen it on YouTube (without subtitles; found it very confusing; I've learned it by now), and it's E.Schwarzkopf's only full opera on video. She's fabulous, both vocally and acting. A little old for the role, but still great. The sets and costumes are beautiful (traditional staging, although the tavern is more booby-trapped than others I've seen).

I still dislike the sing-speak. The orchestral music underneath is gorgeous. Why, oh why, is the regression to fancy, prolonged recitative considered progress? Maybe the Wagner course will explain, but I'm weeks away from tackling that.

This Baron Ochs is less grotesque than others I've seen, which makes it easier to watch.

How were they able to light this so well in '61? Were they really performing before an audience, or was that faked? (Don't think I saw any actual audience here, just hear applause during curtain calls.)

The Rank Organization & more, cond. Von Karajan; 7-

HA! This is the 3rd time I've written about this. See also:
http://bdrdiary.blogspot.com/2018/06/strauss-der-rosenkavalier-1961-6.html
http://bdrdiary.blogspot.com/2018/08/strauss-der-rosenkavalier-1961-7.html
I didn't look at their contents today.

Tutto Verdi: Attila (2010), 7

1h 58min | Music | TV Movie October 2010
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Conductor: Andrea Battistoni
Stars: Giovanni Battista Parodi, Susanna Branchini, Sebastián Catana, Roberto de Biasio.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812864/

Verdi's 9th opera.
First performance at La Fenice in Venice, 1846.

Time: Mid-5th century
Place: Aquileia, the Adriatic lagoons, and near Rome

Filmed at Teatro Verdi di Busseto.

This performance is back to Tutto Verdi: Oberto's house: Busseto, the shoebox. But that constrained feeling is felt less hear because of use of (likely rear) projection. We get motion pictures during transitions to set the new location for a scene. Very well done; wondered if it was animation or models.

My reaction to first watching the other production I have was "this is a love story?" Here it's clearly one-sided, and Odabella wants to run Attila through with any blade that's handy, so long as it's a fatal blow. Attila foolishly gives his sword to her, and she bides her time (so we can get plenty of singing). (This is historical fiction; Attila died from a spontaneous hemorrhage, choking him.) Attila does not act as though he thinks her fierce nature is cute. He seems drawn to her strength, and (probably) thinks she'll reciprocate in time. Ooops.

I wonder if it was a translation issue, but the Romans kept referring to themselves as Italians. Perhaps it was a deliberate ploy to/for the audiences back in 1846.

Singing/acting/staging (given the small theatre) was good. Audience appreciated them.

The Great Course mentions this opera, but basically jumps from Ernani to Macbeth.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 14th among Verdi's operas, 136th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics) The featurette also states that this is Verdi's departure from the style of Rossini/Bellini/Donizetti, and the beginning of his own style. Apparently the Italian people really identified with this story, as well as Oberto and I lombardi prior, because they were readying for revolt for independence in 1848.

Unitel, cond. Battistoni; 7

Tutto Verdi: Alzira (2012), 7-

1h 55min | Drama, Music | TV Special 25 September 2012
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Gustav Kuhn
Stars: Francesco Facini, Thomas Gazheli, Ferdinand von Bothmer, Junko Saito.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812846/

Verdi's 8th opera.
First performance at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, 1845.

Place: Peru
Time: 16th century

Filmed at Grand Hotel Centro Culturale, Dobbiaco

Performed here in concert only; would've been nice to get some Inca costumes onstage. The story is of Alzira, daughter of an Inca leader, desired for marriage to Gusmano, the Spanish governor of Peru, but beloved Zamoro, leader of a rebellious Peruvian tribe. Special plot twist: when Gusmano has Zamoro under arrest, Peruvians are about to attack the Spaniards, and Gusmano releases Zamoro so he can kill him in battle instead of executing him as a prisoner now.

I don't really understand why this is so denigrated as an opera. Wonder if I'll get more sophisticated about opera, and be able to say this is truly not a good opera (as Verdi himself proclaimed). To me, it's on par with some of the other earlier ones. But my rating would be only 6 because it's a concert performance, but these singers were fine, and did quite a bit to act their roles. Nice big chorus and orchestra.

There is a 1991 Teatro Regio di Parma performed version out there (UPC 8018783040504), but a bit pricey especially given its poor video/audio quality. Hopefully someone will mount and film a production soon.

The Great Course mentions this opera, but basically jumps from Ernani to Macbeth.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 26th (last) among Verdi's operas, 1445th (after Aroldo, the adaptation of Stiffelio, not on the 1-26 list) among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics). The featurette also mentions Verdi wanted to work with the then-famous librettist Salvatore Cammarano. Note: he had severed his relations with La Scala after they performed Giovanna D'Arco out of sequence.

Unitel, cond. Kuhn; 7-

Massenet: Manon (2001), 8

2h 44min | Music, Drama, Romance | TV Movie
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Director: François Roussillon
Conductor: Jesús López Cobos
Stars: Renée Fleming, Marcelo Álvarez, Jean-Luc Chaignaud, Alain Vernhes.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411627/

First performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, 1884

Place: France
Time: the reign of Louis XV

I would really need to study this and Puccini's Manon Lescaut pretty closely to tell them apart. They're from the same source material.

Here I noticed that Manon did not actually leave town, but died in Grieux' arms on a barren stage nonetheless.

I think the opening credits claimed this was a comic opera. Don't remember it as such, and the ending sure ain't funny.

Fleming is fabulous, as usual. I have (and have seen) several recordings with this tenor, but he's not a standout. Serviceable, especially when the soprano is gonna steal the show anyway. (He's in 2 forthcoming Tutto Verdi's. It'll be interesting to see if he stands out there.)

Weird ballet with male dancers in short-skirted costumes that echoed the women's side-bustles.

Opera National de Paris, cond. López Cobos; 8

Tutto Verdi: Giovanna d'Arco (2008), 8

1h 55min | Music | TV Movie October 2008
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Conductor: Bruno Bartoletti
Stars: Evan Bowers, Renato Bruson, Svetla Vassileva.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2813088/

7th Verdi opera.
First performed at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, 1845.

Time: 1429
Place: Domrémy, Reims and near Rouen, France

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma.

In this version, she does not get burned at the stake. Here the future king Charles VII (Carlo) falls in love with her, but Joan listens to her voices, and forsakes earthly love, preferring instead to fight battles and win. Unfortunately, her father thinks her voices are the Devil, but realizes his mistake when he hears her prayers, and frees her from the stake before the fire. She succumbs to battlefield injuries.

Would be interesting to experience the Teatro Regio di Parma in person. 1200 seats (Met is 3800) and looks gorgeous. But the TV version is much better at getting faces.

Since all these have been staged at Teatro Regio di Parma (except the first, which was in a much smaller venue, but was produced with the Parma team), I've gotten used to their spartan tastes. The costumes are good, and we get interesting iron bars when Joan is imprisoned (more like a tiger cage or perimeter boundary of a wealthy estate than a prison cell), but otherwise it's decorated walls, sometimes stairs, and little else. Here we got some trees shedding flower petals, and gnarled roots that could be boulders, and plenty of spears and armor, but furniture seems rare.

Joan's father, Renato Bruson, is another veteran of opera recordings, with video credits on IMDb back to the '70s. And he's in the top 4 cast on most of them, sometimes the first, meaning the star, not just in order of appearance/alphabetical nonsense.

I like the singing & acting here. DNFSC.

The Great Course mentions this opera, but basically jumps from Ernani to Macbeth.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 21st among Verdi's operas, 343rd among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics)

Unitel, cond. Bartoletti; 8

Pavarotti (2019), 9

PG-13 | 1h 54min | Documentary, Biography, Music | 7 June 2019
A look at the life and work of opera legend Luciano Pavarotti.
Director: Ron Howard
Stars: Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Nicoletta Mantovani, Adua Veroni, Madelyn Renée Monti.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6964076/
Watched the Fathom premiere event 4Jun at Irvine Spectrum 21. Theatre was not small and not full; most of the first 4 rows were empty, as were 2 seats to my right, which looked occupied when I bought my tickets. Unfortunately, the audience was mostly gray-haired.

Really a feel-good film, with plenty of singing for opera-lovers, and plenty of talking for those not so sure of that opera thing.

Covered a lot of his best roles, including footage from dvds that I have, and archival footage I've not seen. (Started with a really grainy clip. Interesting way to set our expectations, and it was the worst quality of what was included.)

I didn't realize how much he did for charity. Or how handsome he was when young, beardless and almost slim. Plus he might have died as a child (b. '35), but received one of Italy's first batches of penicillin.

His first wife and 3 daughters all were interviewed, as was his former assistant/protege/girlfriend, and his widow. Carreras and Domingo appeared to be interviewed for this project, but are listed as "archive footage" on IMDb. The cast list is incomplete, because a current opera tenor and a soprano were interviewed, and I don't see their names. Plus, it's ludicrous to list Spike Lee first; he's in 1 silent clip late in the film.

Ran an errand after, and by the time I got home I wanted to see it again. (So spoiled by streaming & dvds!)

distr. CBS Films, dir. Howard; 9

Tutto Verdi: I Due Foscari (2009), 8

2h 5min | Music | TV Movie 2009
From the Tutto Verdi Series-I due Foscari was Verdi's sixth opera and based on Lord Byron's play The Two Foscari. Rich in intrigue, the plot tells of the final days of the famous Venetian doge, Francesco Foscari, and his illegal overthrow in 1457.
Conductor: Donato Renzetti
Stars: Roberto De Biasio, Leo Nucci, Tatiana Serjan, Roberto Tagliavini.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812242/

also
1h 57min | October 2012 (USA)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4625300/
(will try to sort that out later)

6th Verdi opera.
First performed in Rome's Teatro Argentina, 1844

Place: Venice
Time: 1457

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma.

Jacopo Foscari, son of the Doge of Venice, has returned from exile, and faces trial for murder. When he's convicted, his wife Lucrezia tries to generate clemency from his father, but he reluctantly abstains. His sentence is exile, and his family cannot go with him. Jacopo dies on the departing galley ship, evidence is uncovered that he's innocent, and the town removes Foscari senior from his office of Doge, who promptly dies as well. (Sounds like a setup for a revenge-filled sequel - if the wife wants to lead a band of vigilantes.)

Having read the synopsis beforehand, I was worried that this would be a lot of sturm und drang, Italian-style, and it is. One celebratory dance sequence felt strange, as though the town was dancing on the graves of the people about to die. But they were either celebrating something else, or the fact that this "murderer" was about to be exiled. Otherwise, it's a lot of people feeling very badly about the situation, and singing their guts out about it. The soprano gets a bit shrill at times, but the music may have been written that way.

I liked the simpler plot, and the men were good in their roles. The costume designs were era-appropriate (see the ermine cape in the poster), although the chorus wore some translucent coats which stood out as not possible for the time. The sets were minimal, but had steps for the players to be staggered on different levels.

The Great Course mentions this opera, but basically jumps from Ernani to Macbeth.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 16th among Verdi's operas, 213th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics)

Unitel, cond. Renzetti; 8

Tutto Verdi: Ernani (2005), 7

2h 6min | Music | Video January 2007
The première of Ernani at Venices' Teatro La Fenice in 1844 failed to come up to Verdi's expectations, primarily because of the poor health of some of the singers. Both critics and audiences, however, soon warmed to Ernani. The opera contains some of Verdi's most successful, impassioned arias (first and foremost Elvira's cavatina and Silva's cantabile) and clearly denoted an evolution in terms of dramatic structure, more cohesive and with lesser use of blocks of closed numbers. Despite a turbulent 'premiere', Ernani became a real international success, beginning with the felicitous Vienna productions of May/June 1844. The cast of this Teatro Regio of Parma production features some of today's best singers for this type of repertoire.
Director: Matteo Ricchetti
Conductor: Antonello Allemandi
Stars: Marco Berti, Carlo Guelfi, Giacomo Prestia, Susan Neves

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2707076/

Verdi's 5th opera, based on a Victor Hugo play.
First performed at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, 1844.

Time: 1519
Place: Aragon, Aachen, and Zaragoza

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma.

Summary (see Simon's 100 Great Operas): Ernani, a nobleman turned bandit ala Robin Hood, who wants to kill/dethrone King Don Carlo (usurper of Ernani's land), loves Elvira, who is betrothed to Silva; he enlists his bandits to kidnap her. King Don Carlo wants Elvira too; Ernani interrupts his attempted seduction/rape; Silva arrives too. Silva and Ernani sometimes act together, as when the king later takes Elvira as hostage. Ernani has pledged to kill himself if Silva wants. When the king develops ambition to succeed Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, he mends his ways and gives Elvira to Ernani, despite Ernani's plan (with Silva) to murder him. After Ernani & Elvira marry, Silva calls in the fatal pledge; Ernani complies. (Yes, this Don Carlos is father/grandfather to characters in the 1867 Verdi opera, Don Carlo.)

While Simon explains that Silva protects Ernani from Carlo because of some rules of hospitality, he does not explain why Ernani offers his capture as a wedding present to Silva, nor why this is extended to a suicide promise. Is it just because he's distraught thinking Elvira agreed to marry Silva (she believed Ernani dead)? I did not read through the entire duet between Elvira and Ernani. Nor do I find an explanation in Simon. But more than once I read some line about the serious nature of promises in that place.

The singing is fine. We get plenty of arias, duets, trios, quartets, choral pieces. The staging is dull, with very little action. When dancing is clearly intended by a lengthy instrumental piece, the "dancers" merely walk around the stage in pairs. Perhaps they're being faithful to what we understand was dancing of that age, but it's boring to watch. The sets are only walls (no furniture, no variety of levels). Everything is slanted, as are the camera angles: an expressionist vision in color.

Per the Great Course: 1st of many collaborations with librettist Francesco Maria Piave:
1844 Ernani
1844 I due Foscari
1846 Attila
1847 Macbeth (first version)
1848 Il corsaro
1850 Stiffelio
1851 Rigoletto (also from Victor Hugo)
1853 La traviata
1857 Simon Boccanegra (first version)
1857 Aroldo (revision of Stiffelio)
1862 La forza del destino (first version)
1865 Macbeth (second version)

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 15th among Verdi's operas, 415th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics)

Unitel, cond. Allemandi; 7

Tutto Verdi: I Lombardi (2009), 7

2h 24min | Music | TV Movie 5 January 2013
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Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Daniele Callegari
Stars: Roberto de Biasio, Michele Pertusi, Cristina Giannelli, Dimitra Theodossiou, Roberto Tagliani.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2651762/

4th Verdi opera.
First performance at the Teatro alla Scala, 1843

Time: 1096 - 1097
Place: Milan, in and around Antioch, and near Jerusalem

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma.

The star again is D.Theodossiou. I ran this at least 3 times, and was only compelled to watch when she did a compelling aria about 2/3rds in.

I was distracted by her "father" looking younger than she. They needed to grey his hair. He also looked too similar to her beau, although he had a different voice.

I could not tell you what the story is about, despite watching the introduction a couple of times. Something about the Crusades. I was confused by the pairing of a lovely violin portion with the wounded Crusaders walking home; was that a modern decision, or did that come from Verdi?

From the Great Course: this was well received, solidifying Verdi's status as the new composing star in Milan (La Scala).

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 22nd among Verdi's operas, 415th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics) Verdi's only work based on an Italian text.

Unitel, cond. Callegari; 7

Tutto Verdi: Nabucco (2009), 7

2h 27min | Music | TV Movie 28 January 2013
Nabucco was Verdi's third work for the stage and proved his first great success when performed in 1842. It deals with the Hebrew's attempts to break free from the yoke of their Babylonian oppressors and is nowadays numbered among Verdi's most popular works, not least on account of its famous Chorus of Hebrew Slaves, which has one of the best-loved melodies in the whole history of opera.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Michele Mariotti
Stars: Leo Nucci, Bruno Ribeiro, Riccardo Zanellato, Dimitra Theodossiou, Anna Maria Chiuri, Alessandro Spina.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2651808/

(I'm using the year (2009) in the title from the set's booklet, the year this performance was captured. I'm not going to try to update IMDb, which is using the video premiere as the release date, probably according to their rules.)

3rd Verdi opera.
First performed at Teatro alla Scala, 1842.

Time: 587 BC
Place: Jerusalem and Babylon

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma.

Those are Nabucco and Abigaile (Nucci & Theodossiou) on the poster, and they illustrate my first gripe: the costumes. She's wearing a gown that might be of ancient design (although that one looks more medieval Europe than ancient Babylon to me), but he's dressed to work in a sweatshop in early 20th century New York. But the problem is bigger: the entire chorus is dressed in sweatshop-ready garb, complete with neckties of middle-20th century design. It's as though to get a job in the chorus, you had to provide your own drab black dress (women) or black suit, white shirt, black daytime tie (men). I'd like to have gotten over it, but I ran this opera several times, and every time I saw those clothes, I winced. The primary characters were all dressed for ancient times; the chorus modern.

L.Nucci (b. 1942) is a long-established star with an huge discography, mostly of audio recordings, with some of the biggest stars of the last 40 years. Apparently this is one of his signature roles, and the audience gave him an appropriate response. But D.Theodossiou (Abigaille) was the superstar, and the notes she hit, and her acting, justified that. The audience roared and showered her with individual roses during curtain calls.

The story has some similarity to Aida (premieres 1871), in that royal princess is being held captive as a slave, is in requited love with a dignitary of her captors, and has a bitter rival (Abigaille) who does bad things in part to blackmail the love interest to switching to her team. But here, the rivals are sisters, both daughters of King Nabucco... until Abigaille finds out she's really not his daughter, but the child of slaves brought up to believe she's part of the family. The biggest plotpoint, however, is that Nabucco goes crazy, and Abigaille is able to seize power, for a while.

From the Great Course: writing Va pensiero, the great choral song, and the workmen's reaction during rehearsal, is what hooked Verdi back into composing. It's well-done here, but the acting and training of the Met Opera chorus (see video linked above) is vastly superior.

The video director got cute, and showed off some video trickery that was inappropriate: overlaying one camera angle atop another. So we got 2 views of a soloist blended together for several seconds. It was NOT just a transition, but a gimmick to make things "fresh", or something. Just made me aware there was a director mucking with my experience.

Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 4th among Verdi's operas, 17th among all operas. (On the other hand, I found another source-less list of the top 100, and Nabucco was absent. Operabase Statistics)

Ran this multiple times, and never got pulled into watching it well.

The conductor is adorable: young, energetic, humble.

Unitel, cond. Mariotti; 7

Tutto Verdi: Un giorno di regno (2010), 7

1h 59min | Drama, Music, Musical | Episode aired 10Sep2012
The rare case of a musical comedy by Verdi. But his second stage work proved a complete fiasco when unveiled at La Scala, Milan, in 1840, and more than half a century was to pass before he attempted a second comedy with his final opera, Falstaff. Today, conversely, Verdi's early melodramma giocoso enjoys increasing popularity thanks to its wellspring of musical ideas and effervescent melodies.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Donato Renzetti
Stars: Guido Loconsolo, Andrea Porta, Anna Caterina Antonacci.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2651886/

Translation: One day of reign.
2nd Verdi opera.
Premiere performance at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, 1840


Time: 1733
Place: Baron Kelbar's castle near Brest, France

Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma.

Well, the synopsis writer dodged the issue of summarizing the story, eh? It goes something like this: The heir to the throne of Poland must return home to claim his birthright, but must appear to still be in France to catch his enemies off-guard. So Belfiore pretends to be the prince, and cannot acknowledge his true love (Marchese) when they interact. So she gets miffed, picks a bridegroom and gives Belfiore a deadline. But he must honor his promise to the prince AND help Giulietta marry her beloved instead of the Treasurer that her uncle (Baron Kelbar) arranged for her to wed (she's just chattel to him, after all.) Two weddings end the tale, but are they the right two?

Yeah, that's too long. And the story's a little too complicated for the 2hr length.

The history of this opera is far more interesting than the work itself. Verdi suffered the death of both his infant children and his childhood sweetheart/wife in a short time (less that 2 years), all by unrelated causes. The worst & last blow of his wife's death occurred while he was composing this. He quit and vowed never to compose again, but the impresario who commissioned it insisted he fulfill the contract, so he did.

I don't know if he composed it in sequence, but it seems to start brightly, but gets very melancholy after a while. This performance does not try to make it funnier than it is, but does try to capture what fun there is. Costumes are bright primary colors, but singers don't mug or use comedic vocals much. Let it run 3 times to see if it would draw my attention. It didn't, but the music is very pleasant.

Per the 2012 video introduction, ranking Verdi operas by most-performed worldwide, this is 20th. Among all operas most-performed, 342nd. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics)

Sets: Teatro Regio di Parma (where this was staged) & Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Costumes (Rome), Props (Florence & the 2 teatros above), footwear (Rome), Wigs (Turin)

Unitel, cond. Renzetti; 7

Tutto Verdi: Oberto (2007), 8-

2h 5min | Music | TV Movie 25 September 2012
(Verdi's first opera.) In 1228, defeated and in exile, Oberto returns to duel with Riccardo, who seduced and shamed Oberto's daughter Leonora, then proposed to Cuniza, the daughter of Oberto's rival.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Antonello Allemandi
Stars: Mariana Pentcheva, Fabio Sartori, Giovanni Battista Parodi, Francesca Sassu.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2651874/

1st Verdi opera.
First performance 1839, Teatro alla Scala, Milan

Time: 1228
Place: Northern Italy, Bassano, at Ezzelino da Romano's castle and nearby

Filmed at Teatro Verdi di Busseto.

The use of hands is distracting in this production, and the video director emphasizes it. As seen in the poster, cast members, including the chorus, pose with hands in distinctive poses. They don't move so much as change position to a new pose. If they are supposed to convey extra meaning, I don't speak the language.

Other than that, this is charming. Lots of good compositions for ensemble, arias, duets, trios, etc. Really clear that Verdi was off to a good start. It's not a great opera, but during a time when medium-sized towns in Italy would get 50 new operas a year (yup, just like the 30's and 40's US film studios), this one was performed for a while.

The Teatro Verdi di Busseto (his home town) is the venue, and seats 300. So even with a full house, when the audience applauds, it barely registers, but enough to hear they had decidedly different reactions to the leads during the curtain call (and I don't know why). They also seemed more patient to offer their appreciation longer than what we see at the Met (or is that edited?)

The stage is small (described by a reviewer as the size of a 2-car garage; looks a bit bigger to me), and they don't do much on it besides pose and sing. The duel is conducted off-stage: in 1 scene we have a quartet expounding on the duel about to happen, the contestants have swords in hand, but in the next scene one duelist is lamenting his deed.

So this first entry is living up to the description by the reviewer who convinced me I wanted the Tutto Verdi set: the cast does not have to project far to reach the rafters, and they're not too full of themselves. But they're not local yokels; Parodi is in a couple of other operas I have.

Fun fact from credits: the costumes came from Rome, the wigs from Turin, props and footwear from Florence (2 different providers). I wonder if this little opera house always does that. I wonder how intrusive the cameras were/not. We get plenty of variety of angles, distances, all pretty well executed/directed.

Very nice video synopsis/introduction provided with the title; I think that happens for the whole set. They included some background on its creation, and that Ricordi bought the score for "only" 2,000 Austrian lira. Also, in a ranking of Verdi operas most-performed worldwide, this comes 23rd (only 27 total, and I think that includes Requiem, which is not an opera per se.). Among all operas, 499th. Date of the featurette: 2012. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics)

Enjoyed the chapter in the Great Course about this opera before watching it. Took a lot of persistence and overcoming obstacles for Verdi to pursue this career and to get this mounted. But his luck turned and it debuted at La Scala!

Unitel, cond. Allemandi; 8-