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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally, a full recording available,
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This review is from: Chess In Concert [DVD] [2009] [NTSC] (DVD)
After the mixed reviews the concert received, I purchased this with a little trepidation. However, I can say the criticisms of Idina Menzel are very unfair. She has a different kind of voice to other Florences in the past (particularly Elaine Paige and Judy Kuhn), but she was still very good. Her acting in the role was also strong. As for the rest of the cast, they were superb. Marti Pellow's voice was a little weak, but he carried off the role. Josh Groban, Kerry Ellis, David Bedella and Clarke Peters just can't be faulted, though, and not forgetting the unfairly-maligned Menzel. The orchestrations of Benny and Bjorn's great music were wonderful and the production values topnotch, despite some questionable dancing. Add in a chorus who were really getting into the fun of the piece, especially during the early numbers such as Merano, and this is an amazing concert DVD.
Some extras would've been nice. The history of the show has been chequered, to say the least, so it would have been worthwhile to give some background to Tim's introduction onstage. But it's great to have a full recording finally. This is said to be a libretto that Tim Rice would consider definitive and it's the best so far. I love having copies in an official form of songs such as The Soviet Machine and The Deal (No Deal), both done brilliantly here. It'd be great if this sells well enough to show the interest in a revival of the stage show. It deserves a much better legacy than the one it has right now. And if it goes ahead, please get Kerry Ellis as Florence. I'd love to hear her in the role. A highly-recommended DVD.
28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Chess - a great musical - dependent on the version!,
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This review is from: Chess In Concert [DVD] [2009] [NTSC] (DVD)
Chess is a strange beast. The musical, like Rice's earlier collaborations with Lloyd Webber, began life as a concept album then transferred to the stage in the West End. Dramatically rewritten for Broadway, it was savaged on its opening and ran for very few performances before closing. However, it lived on in various guises - amateur productions, concert performances and multiple rewrites of the complex but ultimately flexible plot, to the point that you can see a different take in any single production. Rice says in the sleevenotes that Chess in Concert is back to the original concept - and it works very well in this format. The sound quality is excellent, with a fantastic chorus belting out the songs. Josh Groban, though not one of my favourite singers, is excellent as the tortured Russian champion, Sergievsky, with equally enthusiastic singing from his opponent Freddie Trumper, played by Adam Pascal. The secondary roles are filled well, with Marti Pellow in the role of the Arbitor and Kerry Ellis as the Russian's wife, Svetlana. The one big let down in the main roles is that of Idina Menzel. She is hopelessly miscast in the role of Florence, Trumper's lover and later the lover of Sergievsky. Her voice sounds forced in the higher registers, with the result that her big duet with Groban "You and I", is uncomfortable to listen to. He effortlessly outmatches her at every turn. Her facial expressions as she strains for her notes is also disappointing to see - this is where the video performance, as opposed to a live show, is a disadvantage, especially in closeup. However, overall this is a wonderful production of a very underrated show, and will do very nicely until the restaging in the West End (or perhaps a video production a la Jesus Christ Superstar) comes along.
32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chess In Concert DVD,
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This review is from: Chess In Concert [DVD] [2009] [NTSC] (DVD)
Like so many Chess fans, I have been waiting for this DVD after attending the Royal Albert Hall last year (May 2008) I ordered it thinking it was the 'PAL British' version and then found out that it was the 'NTSC' version! As I then thought it would only play on American DVD machines, I cancelled the order! .....But it arrived anyway...Their mistake not mine!
It plays perfectly on my 'British' DVD player and my computer! Anyway you will be pleased to know it is a wonderful recording of that famous event. In fact,it's BRILLIANT!..Go buy it! and if you are ardent Chess fan like me, you cannot afford to be without it! It's GREAT!...Go on treat yourself! Dave
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