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Donizetti: L'Elisir D'Amore (The Elixir of Love) [DVD] [1996] [NTSC]
 
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Donizetti: L'Elisir D'Amore (The Elixir of Love) [DVD] [1996] [NTSC]

DVD ~ Angela Gheorghiu
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Price: £19.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this item with Verdi: La Traviata -- Royal Opera House [DVD] [1994] [NTSC] DVD ~ Angela Gheorghiu

Donizetti: L'Elisir D'Amore (The Elixir of Love) [DVD] [1996] [NTSC] + Verdi: La Traviata -- Royal Opera House [DVD] [1994] [NTSC]
Price For Both: £31.47

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Donizetti: L'Elisir D'Amore (The Elixir of Love) [DVD] [1996] [NTSC]
60% buy the item featured on this page:
Donizetti: L'Elisir D'Amore (The Elixir of Love) [DVD] [1996] [NTSC] 4.4 out of 5 stars (5)
£19.99
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Product details

  • Actors: Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Roberto Scaltriti, Simone Alaimo, Elena Dan
  • Directors: Brian Large
  • Writers: Eugène Scribe, Felice Romani
  • Producers: Colin Wilson, Neil Mundy, Nina Freund
  • Format: Anamorphic, Classical, Colour, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Language Italian
  • Subtitles: English, Spanish, German, French, Chinese
  • Region: All Regions
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: Exempt
  • Studio: Decca
  • DVD Release Date: 11 Mar 2002
  • Run Time: 125 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005V15Q
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 27,842 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #6 in  DVD > Musicals & Classical > Opera > Composers > Donizetti

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

It's hard to think of a couple better suited to play the romantic leads in Donizetti's comedy L'Elisir d'amore than husband-and-wife team Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu. Both are charming on stage, and both have voices to die for: Gheorghiu's dark liquid tones are particularly spine-tingling, and her coloratura abilities awe-inspiring, and though Alagna has mainly concentrated on the more spinto (powerful) roles of the tenor repertoire, in 1996 when this live production was recorded his voice was just a little fresher and lighter and thus perfect for the bel canto gracefulness of Donizetti's writing. His performance of "Una furtiva lagrima", for example, is meltingly sung and free from all temptation to overplay the high notes.

Frank Dunlop's 1920s-set production doesn't quite produce the belly laughs some stagings manage (in Dulcamara's patter song, for example), but has a certain small-town wistful charm nonetheless. The orchestral accompaniment under Donizetti expert Evelino Pidò is spot on, and never falls into the banal "oom-pah" trap that such simple writing can often lead to. Overall, it's a production of great charm.

On the DVD: L'Elisir d'amore comes to disc with a 52-minute film on the history of the opera and its recording, with contributions from Alagna and Gheorghiu, and subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese. The Lyon opera house is particularly well set up for video recording, and Brian Large does a sophisticated job of capturing a live performance: it's hard to believe at some points that the cameras aren't actually on stage in the middle of the action. Just occasionally this leads to the singers not knowing where to look and seeming a trifle lost, but generally the performances work superbly well on the small screen. --Warwick Thomson

Video Description

DVD Special Features:

Bonus feature -- "Love Potion" -- a film by Derek Bailey
Menu screens: English/Chinese
Aspect ratio: 16:9 anamorphic
Format: NTSC
Region code: 1,2,3,4,5,6
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Stereo
Subtitles (opera only): English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese

See all Reviews

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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Donizetti at His Best, 3 May 2002
By Brian Wrangham (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Decca's new DVD release of Donizetti's perennial favourite is an exuberant production with a marvelous cast and a sensitive musical direction. Filmed in a 16x9 format before a live audience, the opera is indeed a joy to behold in every way. The pairing of the husband-and-wife team of Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorgiu works beautifully and the contributions of the other principals leaves nothing to be desired. The work has been updated into the 1920s and the results are satisfying although not quite so colourful as traditional presentations. The staging appears a little cramped and I would have liked to see more space for everyone to move around. The production was by Frank Dunlop and he has captured the light-hearted mood of the work very well. Video direction by Brian Large is exemplary as usual. My one criticism concerns the audio tracks available on the DVD. Soundtrack formats are listed as Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Stereo. Neither of these is entirely satisfactory because both produce a narrow left-to-right soundstage with nearly all the sounds emanating from the middle. The absence of a good 2-channel PCM audio track is regrettable. The balance between voice and orchestra is fine however. For years Decca had a top-notch reputation for superlative sound in its opera recordings. On this occasion however, they fell noticeably short of the mark, inspite of the first-class recording team. The overall quality of the picture is excellent. The inclusion of an excellent 52-minute documentary of the making of the video and CD is to be commended as is the comprehensive booklet.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting singing, particularly by Angela Gheorghiu, 15 Dec 2007
By KazM (London) - See all my reviews
This is a delightful, if a rather light, pastoral comic opera, balancing comedy and sentiment. It is full of sparkling tunes and emotional melodies. The setting of this production by Lyon Opera is moved from the 19th century to the 1920s. There are some oddities in the staging. For instance, in Act 1, Gheorghiu (Adina) is in a riding outfit, brandishing a riding crop for no apparent reason. I suppose the idea is that she (a young and rich landowning woman) belongs to the ruling class in the area, and is superior to the peasants.

Anyway, Gheorghiu's singing throughout is most enchanting. She tackles difficult coloratura passages with complete ease. She has such a beautiful voice and her acting is exemplary. Roberto Alagna is a youthful Nemorino. He is a lyrical tenor here.

At the request from the conductor who studied the composer's manuscript score carefully, the famous aria in Act 2, "Una furtiva lagrima ..." (One secret tear welled up in her eyes) is sung in a revised version made by the composer ten years after the opera was premiered in 1832. It is set in a lower key and there are some variations. I am not sure if I prefer it. Still, Alagna sings it most beautifully. These two lovers' successive duets and arias in Act 2 are beautifully sung.

Roberto Scaltrini is a young and virile Belcore (sergeant). Simone Alaimo (Dulcamara, a trevelling "doctor"), who arrives in a vintage Rolls-Royce drawing a caravan, sings the buffo's role vigorously and impressively.

Evelino Pido conducts alertly. The recorded sound is very clear, while the video direction by Brian Large is very good. All in all, despite the odd staging, this is an enjoyable production.

As a supplement, there is a special feature documentary, "Making Elisir", showing the recording sessions at the Lyon Opera House for the CD version, with interviews with the four principal singers as well as the conductor and the producers. It is most interesting to watch.


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6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Charming and funny - the kids loved it!, 10 Aug 2004
By Shantimar (Greece) - See all my reviews
It's a really fresh production, and staged as if it was real theatre, not the stilted thing that opera often is. Of course, none of this would have worked without Alagna's natural gifts as a comic actor - all this while singing in perfect belcanto style: he's funny and touching at the same time. Gheorghiou is not comparable to him as an actress, but still she's got charm and humour, and they are a joy to behold together.
The singing was superb - as would be expected by the talented cast, and I was intrigued by the changes made to arias such as "Una furtiva lacrima": supposedly it's more faithful to the way the composer wanted it, and on the documentary there is plenty of explanation on that. The fact that it was great theatre made sure it will be a DVD viewed again and again. See, when you see an opera on the stage, and there are great voices, you may forget that they can't act, or that everybody tends to stand still and deliver. But on DVD it's even more painfully obvious, and you certainly will shelve it after one viewing. Not this one!!!
Yes, I missed the original time setting for the costumes. I found it completely unnecessary. Gheorghiou's costumes were not really faithful to 1920, though, as her blooming petticoats reminded one more of the 50's. And having her in riding pants for all of the first act was not a good idea, in my opinion, given the severity of her face, which needs to be offset by very feminine clothes to give a good result. My son spontaneously and rightly commented that she looked like a schoolmistress. Both kids (11 and 7) loved it, because it has a happy ending, because it has romance coupled with laughs and they saw it twice in less than a week's time. I also enjoyed Dulcamara, who does not go for farcical belly laughs but is credible throughout.
The documentary was very good - if only they didn't show again all those extensive scenes we just saw in the full film.
A very good buy. Recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A joyous production
With opera's golden couple, Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu as the lovers Nemorino and Adina, Simone Alaimo as the quack doctor Dulcamara and Roberto Scaltriti the swaggering... Read more
Published 7 months ago by mrs pisaroni

4.0 out of 5 stars Charming
You can't forget you are watching a stage production here - but it's none the worse for that. I agree the costumes added nothing but confusion to the story, but the music sounded... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Louise Armstrong

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