Duetto: Concert at the Roman Colosseum [DVD] [2003] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

I was quite surprised to find this DVD to be so wonderful.

The sound and picture quality is great. The two singers put a young freshness to opera - they sing their hearts out without

too much visible strain, and they are enjoying themselves during every minute of this concert. I found it to be very pleasing and soothing, with the selections of songs to be perfect. This is now one of my favorite DVD's. I recommend this highly - you won't be sorry.

That in this generation there are numerous GREAT young tenors out there ... oh ... and by the way Spain seems to be a breeding groung for super classical talent both in song and dance ... hmmmmm must be the fish ....

OK although the temptation to compare these boys to Placido, Pavarotti and Carerras my particular take on these great DVD's is to see how manytimes I or my friends listen or watch them.

A case in point would be the Three Mo Tenors DVD .... although Parker and his gang may not have the GREAT tenor voices they are still fabulous tenors have a wide repetoir and everyone that sees the DVD runs out to buy it .....

I think Duetto fall in this vein ... oh yes I read some of the other reviews of this DVD and they are certainly much appreciated and very knowledgble .... but the most important comment always was that even though Duetto is not a 5 star special they began to listen to the DVD and CD over and over .....

Thats what places this one appart ....

I've purchased the CD version of "Duetto" when it first was released in the U.S years ago and thought it to be an interesting, if somewhat uneven attempt at showcasing two, then new, up and coming star tenors in a contemporary musical setting.

All in all the CD grew on me enough to still listen to it occasionally to this day.

Now, having said that, I was intrigued to learn recently that there exists a DVD version of this project as well, and although I've never become a fan of either Licitra or Alvarez in the years since the CD came about, I was curious about what the DVD might possibly reveal.

Well, after having received and reviewed this DVD I have a few observations to share with you.

Above all, this is an enjoyable DVD to watch if you're a lover of the tenor voice set to mostly agreeable music.

With the actual concert having been staged literally outside of the great Roman Coluseum, it recalls visual memories of the first 3 tenors concert at the Carancalla baths (also in Rome).

This; however, is where any and all comparisons with the "Big 3" stops.

On to my next point. Licitra and Alvarez have been hailed as the heirs to Pavarotti and Domingo respectively for some time now. The very beginning of the DVD even features a little commercial advertising this DVD release and using that comparison.

Well, while Alvarez does sound a little like Domingo at times, it is a far, far cry from Domingo in his prime. One thing that really bugged me while watching Alvarez in particular, was his excessive grimmacing while singing.

The guy looks like he's in some serious pain up there...kind of reminded me of Sarah Brightmann's singing facial distortions. I suppose that's how he learned to sing, or someone told him it makes for greater dramatic effect, but all this aside, he looks really silly up there.

Add to this the fact that, contrary to his publicity shots, he is quite chubby in person, and you really have your stereo-typical Opera singer caricature come to life.

To top it all off, he seems to try and "dance" to the music at times, which really looks funny because there's no real BEAT in any of these songs and as such he looks like he's trying to maintain his balance crossing a high beam of sorts.

Vocally however he is a strong tenor and he's definitvely the more gifted of the two.

On to the even shorter, vocally weaker but equally rotund tenor (what is it with all these short, fat tenors...Caruso, Gilgi, Lanza, Bjorling, Schipa and, though not short, Pavarotti?!).

Licitra has often been hailed as the successor to the now all but retired Pavarotti and how that ever came about is beyond me.

He does have a pleasent tenor of adequate size and power, but vocally he is as close to Pavarotti as Bocelli is to Corelli or Bjorling. Worlds apart is all I can say.

However, technicalities aside, Licitra gives a fine perfromance all in all.

One thing that bothered me about him was his OBVIOUS arrogance up there. Whereas Alvarez smiles, laughs and seems quite gregarious on stage, Licitra has obviously come to believe the exaggerated hype surrounging his voice and he totally acts the part of the Divo.

Not an attractive thing to see, especially form a short, fat, gray haired tenor who is not even as good as his co-star.

The program cosnsists of most of the songs off the DUETTO CD, omitting only the Pear Fischers' duet and some of the more non-descript songs on the CD. The highlites of this concert are the solo portions.

Unfortunately, each tenor only got one aria to sing alone...but one is better than none I guess.

Licitra chose "E Lucevan Le Stelle" form TOSCA and Alvarez opted for the "Lamento di Federico" form L'ARLESIANA.

I have to say that I was not in the least impressed with Licitras reading of "E lucevan...".He looked and sounded totally disinterested and as such robbed this wonderful aria of any life and passion it might have contained in the hands of a better tenor.

At the end of it all, he didn't really bother to take a bow, instead standing with his hands crossed in front of his body, arrogantly smirking into the camera as if to say "That's right! I'm da man!" Get a grip little fella!

Alvarez on the other hand did a nice job on his "Lamento..". Sung with great feeling and passion, he brought the character of Fritz to life. Again, his facial grimmacing was a distraction, but he at least put on as much of a "show" as is possible given the material.

All in all it is a good DVD to own.

What I enjoyed most about this DVD is the brief bonus section. Here we're taken backstage to when they rehearsed the material.

This is really comical because Alvarez comes across as a total spas, freaking out over a single note in the score and Licitra is just his usual arrogantly oblivious self. Watching two Divo's argue over a single section on a score is worth the price in and by itself.

Good DVD....glad I bought it.