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Over 140 minutes of highlights from 47 critically acclaimed Opera, Ballet & Documentary productions on Blu-ray Disc!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
If I had been in the audience of the Arena di Verona for the recording of this performance I would have been very happy indeed. OK so it isn't the best Tosca ever but it is a very good one. Considering the restraints placed on the recording by the venue I think the production crew did a very creditable job to bring us a recording of such good quality.
The cast led by Fiorenza Cedolins and Marcelo Alvarez give good performances bringing the characters of Floria and Mario to life. I have only heard Alvarez a handful of times and in this recording he is the best I have heard him. I have never heard Cedolins sing before and while good enough, Alvarez is a notch above her. Recondita armonia, Non la sospiri, la nostra casetta, Vissi d'arte and E lucevan le stelle are the highlights as you would expect but I really enjoyed O dolci mani
There is no problem with the sound quality either stereo or 5.1, both sounded fine to me. The quality of the blu-ray is also good and for less than £7 I cannot imagine you getting a better value Tosca anywhere especially when the DVD version of this performance is being sold for £25 elsewhere.
If you are looking for a better Tosca then you should track down a copy of the 1978 Met recording staring Luciano Pavarotti, Shirley Verrett and Cornell Macneil. Unfortunately not available on Amazon UK but like several othe Opera DVD's it is available from amazon.fr which is where I ordered my copy from. You can login with yor UK username and password and all your address and card details appear just the same as the UK. Even if you are a Prime customer you will have to pay shipping of around 7 Euro's. My total bill was for about 20 Euro's.
The cast led by Fiorenza Cedolins and Marcelo Alvarez give good performances bringing the characters of Floria and Mario to life. I have only heard Alvarez a handful of times and in this recording he is the best I have heard him. I have never heard Cedolins sing before and while good enough, Alvarez is a notch above her. Recondita armonia, Non la sospiri, la nostra casetta, Vissi d'arte and E lucevan le stelle are the highlights as you would expect but I really enjoyed O dolci mani
There is no problem with the sound quality either stereo or 5.1, both sounded fine to me. The quality of the blu-ray is also good and for less than £7 I cannot imagine you getting a better value Tosca anywhere especially when the DVD version of this performance is being sold for £25 elsewhere.
If you are looking for a better Tosca then you should track down a copy of the 1978 Met recording staring Luciano Pavarotti, Shirley Verrett and Cornell Macneil. Unfortunately not available on Amazon UK but like several othe Opera DVD's it is available from amazon.fr which is where I ordered my copy from. You can login with yor UK username and password and all your address and card details appear just the same as the UK. Even if you are a Prime customer you will have to pay shipping of around 7 Euro's. My total bill was for about 20 Euro's.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
I have very mixed feelings about this recording. As an affordable introduction to Tosca, it is excellent: the singing and the music are very good, and the English subtitles are well done and avoid most of the unfortunate translations that on some recordings make one want to laugh at inappropriate moments. I hadn't heard either Cedolins or Alvarez before, and thoroughly enjoyed their singing performances. Unfortunately, I find Alvarez' appearance (slightly chubby, somewhat gap-toothed and with protruding eyes) detracts from his performance. I know this is purely my problem, but it is an unwelcome distraction. Also, often both of them were concentrating too much on the conductor; perhaps this is a consequence of the acoustics of the huge arena, but again it is a distraction (nearly 50 years ago I was watching Tito Gobbi in Othello at Covent Garden when I first became aware that it is possible to sing an aria while running down a staircase and apparently taking no notice whatever of the conductor!). Raimondi's Scarpia was, I thought, very well portrayed, and free of these mannerisms.
The sets are on a large scale, probably a necessity in this arena with little opportunity to change sets between acts. It is a challenge to fill the stage with a relatively small cast, and I think the production succeeded in this. But the massive crucifix and the gigantic head of a statue don't seem to tie in well with the drama. Perhaps I was missing something symbolic here.
A minor annoyance with the packaging. The synopsis is printed in a small font on the back of the cover label, so is stuck behind the plastic of the BluRay case - and virtually illegible. This would be a nuisance for someone coming to the opera for the first time. And although the release claims 147 minutes of additional operatic extracts, my player could only access the first of the five pages of extras.
But overall, especially at this price, I am glad that I added this to my opera collection.
The sets are on a large scale, probably a necessity in this arena with little opportunity to change sets between acts. It is a challenge to fill the stage with a relatively small cast, and I think the production succeeded in this. But the massive crucifix and the gigantic head of a statue don't seem to tie in well with the drama. Perhaps I was missing something symbolic here.
A minor annoyance with the packaging. The synopsis is printed in a small font on the back of the cover label, so is stuck behind the plastic of the BluRay case - and virtually illegible. This would be a nuisance for someone coming to the opera for the first time. And although the release claims 147 minutes of additional operatic extracts, my player could only access the first of the five pages of extras.
But overall, especially at this price, I am glad that I added this to my opera collection.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have owned a few video presentations of this opera and this, for me, is the best option among the more modern versions. I also bought it before the price was reduced to the current bargain range (depending on the Arthaus version advertised) so it seems to me to offer terrific value.
The venue at Verona is spectacular with everything being presented on a large scale. This produces a situation of swings and roundabouts. The voices can get somewhat submerged, but not inaudible, at the big moments - and there are many. However, with the aid of the subtitles, it is easy enough to precisely follow the words being sung without any guesswork.
At the same time there is also conveyed a degree of required effort which I personally find appropriate to the scale of the drama being portrayed. The crucial death of Scarpia must equally be conveyed with an overwhelming passion and hatred and in this respect we are fully catered for. Several otherwise fine performances fall at this hurdle. The singers here are all up to the task vocally and as actors. The orchestra are well recorded especially when considering the demands of the venue.
This is a red-blooded Tosca writ large. Tosca is all about passion, larger than life characters and events supported by music conceived on a large scale. That, for me, is what we get here and I for one, am very satisfied. Highly recommended.
The venue at Verona is spectacular with everything being presented on a large scale. This produces a situation of swings and roundabouts. The voices can get somewhat submerged, but not inaudible, at the big moments - and there are many. However, with the aid of the subtitles, it is easy enough to precisely follow the words being sung without any guesswork.
At the same time there is also conveyed a degree of required effort which I personally find appropriate to the scale of the drama being portrayed. The crucial death of Scarpia must equally be conveyed with an overwhelming passion and hatred and in this respect we are fully catered for. Several otherwise fine performances fall at this hurdle. The singers here are all up to the task vocally and as actors. The orchestra are well recorded especially when considering the demands of the venue.
This is a red-blooded Tosca writ large. Tosca is all about passion, larger than life characters and events supported by music conceived on a large scale. That, for me, is what we get here and I for one, am very satisfied. Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Real value and quality for the money
For an open air production of Tosca, you cant get better than this. I am impressed with the way that the producers and audio recording personnel have gone about their job. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Satish Kamath
Puccini;Tosca(blu-)ray
Well, the first time I've watched opera, I bought this one for my partner, but,FANTASTIC, I loved it, the production was incredible, fantastic open air theatre,wonderful set,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by peter66
Ok but not outstanding production
The Arena di Verona is a spectacular venue seating an audience of 15,000 but its open air situation makes any musical ambience near impossible. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2009 by Mr. John A. Coulson
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