Rating: 
Summary: This is what opera should be
Review: I found this performance truly exciting. The singing is great, the acting is superb, the singers are young and sexy, so the whole spirit of this opera is so well conveyed. It is a truly enjoyable performance and I can only wish that modern opera production continue with this degree of professionalism, passion and realism.
Rating:
Summary: This is what opera should be
Review: I found this performance truly exciting. The singing is great, the acting is superb, the singers are young and sexy, so the whole spirit of this opera is so well conveyed. It is a truly enjoyable performance and I can only wish that modern opera production continue with this degree of professionalism, passion and realism.
Rating:
Summary: Glorious production of a Mozart masterpiece!
Review: I had great expectations for this Nozze di Figaro, and after my first viewing, my high expectations have all been exceeded. This is a Nozze to treasure, as it is a magnificent performance from start to finish. Giovanni Furlanetto's singing and acting are superb as Figaro--yet I have nothing but admiration and praise for everyone in the cast. The singers have a real understanding of Mozart's characters, and they truly bring them to life in a way that I have rarely seen. There are absolutely no weak links in the cast despite many names that may be unfamiliar to most viewers. This DVD is truly a jewel, and its visual and sound quality are excellent. It preserves a beautiful and very special performance of one of the greatest operas ever written. I cannot imagine any fan of Mozart or opera not being greatly pleased with this DVD, and without reservation I rank it among the best I have ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: Glorious production of a Mozart masterpiece!
Review: I had great expectations for this Nozze di Figaro, and after my first viewing, my high expectations have all been exceeded. This is a Nozze to treasure, as it is a magnificent performance from start to finish. Giovanni Furlanetto's singing and acting are superb as Figaro--yet I have nothing but admiration and praise for everyone in the cast. The singers have a real understanding of Mozart's characters, and they truly bring them to life in a way that I have rarely seen. There are absolutely no weak links in the cast despite many names that may be unfamiliar to most viewers. This DVD is truly a jewel, and its visual and sound quality are excellent. It preserves a beautiful and very special performance of one of the greatest operas ever written. I cannot imagine any fan of Mozart or opera not being greatly pleased with this DVD, and without reservation I rank it among the best I have ever seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Uniformly well done!
Review: I had only seen one other performance of "Le Nozze" and that was live in San Francisco. That performance was perhaps perfect in every way! Unfortunately for the DVD production, it thus was viewed against rather high expectations.
The other reviewers do not slight the singing and I agree that it is superb. Similarly, the acting is quite good, especially for an opera. In two ways I was a bit disappointed: the sets were somewhat unimaginative and the overall spirit of the performance was slightly lacking -- the San Francisco performance had me smiling broadly throughout the performance and its stunning aliveness is not often found in opera (of course, it featured the incomparable Sylvia McNair, who has it all!)
I can therefore imagine that this may not be the definitive "Le Nozze." But watch it anyway!
Rating:
Summary: Uniformly well done!
Review: I had only seen one other performance of "Le Nozze" and that was live in San Francisco. That performance was perhaps perfect in every way! Unfortunately for the DVD production, it thus was viewed against rather high expectations.
The other reviewers do not slight the singing and I agree that it is superb. Similarly, the acting is quite good, especially for an opera. In two ways I was a bit disappointed: the sets were somewhat unimaginative and the overall spirit of the performance was slightly lacking -- the San Francisco performance had me smiling broadly throughout the performance and its stunning aliveness is not often found in opera (of course, it featured the incomparable Sylvia McNair, who has it all!)
I can therefore imagine that this may not be the definitive "Le Nozze." But watch it anyway!
Rating:
Summary: Uniformly well done!
Review: I had only seen one other performance of "Le Nozze" and that was live in San Francisco. That performance was perhaps perfect in every way! Unfortunately for the DVD production, it thus was viewed against rather high expectations.
The other reviewers do not slight the singing and I agree that it is superb. Similarly, the acting is quite good, especially for an opera. In two ways I was a bit disappointed: the sets were somewhat unimaginative and the overall spirit of the performance was slightly lacking -- the San Francisco performance had me smiling broadly throughout the performance and its stunning aliveness is not often found in opera (of course, it featured the incomparable Sylvia McNair, who has it all!)
I can therefore imagine that this may not be the definitive "Le Nozze." But watch it anyway!
Rating: 
Summary: a flat performance
Review: I was quite suprised to read the very positive reviews of this video. I have 6 versions of Le Nozze and this comes a distant last in that pile. In my opinion, the performance lacks charisma, subtlety and musical beauty. Furlanetto is certainly a great singer but he fell flat here in every scene for me. Perhaps this was the artistic direction or the transfer from the stage to the small screen but the affect was a uniform disappointment.For a contrast, in my collection, the Glyndebourne production with Finley, Hagley and Fleming reigns supreme not only amongst Le Nozze but over all comers...
Rating:
Summary: The Art Of Comedy: Opera Lessons In Laughter
Review: Mozart's "Le Nozze Di Figaro" is really the sequel to Rossini's "Barber Of Seville". Chronologically, the story takes place in the time after Figaro the barber has helped the Count win the hand of the fair Rosina. Figaro is now a man servant to the Count (which if you really think about it puts the Count in an ungrateful and unfriendly light). Rosina, simply called "the Countess" in this particular opera, is facing a crisis. Her husband the Count is turning his affections to the maid Susanna Figaro's fiancee!(what a rotten apple the Count is!). But Figaro, Susanna and the Countess devise a great scheme to deceive the Count, to punish his roaming eye and to reconcile him with his wife. What follows is a four act opera that is regarded by many as Mozart's most brilliant romantic comedy. At its time in the late eighteenth century, in the wake of French revolution, the opera was controversial, as was the French novels by Beamarchais, from which the opera was based. The bedroom comedy deals with class struggle, society and the fickle human nature. The Count is put to shame in the last act when he serenades the Countess in disguise as Susanna, only to discover it is his wife all along. "Contessa! Perdono!" the Count sings in a supplication of forgiveness, in music that expresses emotion and deep feeling. The Countess forgives her husband and all is forgivened. The rest of the characters join in a sublime chorus announcing a happy finale- Figaro will marry Susanna as planned and the Count and the Countess renew their love.
Rating:
Summary: Figaro a Mess
Review: Mozart's best opera is done almost no justice with this poorly staged, boring mess. The set is sparse and uninteresting and the perfmormers lack the spontenaeity and vim that Mozart/DaPonte's characters require. Furlanetto is terrific as Figaro, and Szymtka is a charming Susanna, but neither the countess (played like an amateur) nor the count (simply boring) hold our attention. The actual blocking looks as if it were done by a first-year directing student. It is often imbalanced and, again, because it rarely enhances the dramatic tension of the (admittedly tense) situation, it is boring. Simply put, this opera needs to be put up by a cast of talented actors (singing isn't enough for -Figaro-) and a director sensitive to the subtlties of Mozart's complex and emotionally nuanced score.
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