Rating: 
Summary: Old-Fashioned Night at the Opera
Review: As an opera fan who doesn't get crazy about phrasing and tessitura (sp?), perhaps I approach DVDs and CDs with different criteria than the rabid operaphile who's constantly comparing this singer with that one, this production with that one etc. Here's what I look for: Good singing, good acting, good production values. This "Fancuilla" is a bit of a mixed bag in those respects. This is an old-fashioned, no frills production, conducted and directed moderately well. Neblett, singing a signature role, is a bit melodramatic at times, and hits some of her high notes by what seems to be the force of sheer will. A not particularly pretty sound. Domingo, on the other hand, is magnificent. Dashing in appearance, passionate and sexy, he sings gloriously throughout. The DVD's overall sound is not all that good -- it was filmed, after all, way before the digital age. That said, I'm enjoying it very much, and can see myself happily pulling it out whenever I need a comforting Puccini/Domingo fix. This is a favorite opera of mine, and I'm not at all unhappy with the purchase.
Rating: 
Summary: Carol Neblett looks Horrible but Sings Beautifully
Review: I wouldn't reccommend this as a first La Fanciulla del West(looks of the Minnie wise) but singing wise I would. Carol Neblett sings beautifully but she looks so horrible that I can't bare to see a Minnie who looks even worse than she. There are more beautiful looking Minnies, perhaps one of them is in the La Scala video. But Neblett's voice is excellent. Placido Domingo is a good-looking Dick Johnson/Ramerrez and also sings really well. Juan Pons doesn't look anything like someone who would play Jack Rance, he looks more like The Flying Dutchman, but his voice is excellent. In my opinion, the lookwise flaws are for Carol Neblett and Juan Pons, otherwise, good-looking. I have no complaints about Nello Santi's conducting, though. The director should've hired Kiri Te Kanawa or Renata Tebaldi to play Minnie and either Sherrill Milnes or Giuseppe Taddei for Jack Rance instead of Juan Pons. For a first reccommendation, get the La Scala set, and tell me if you see a beautiful looking Minnie or a more normal looking Jack Rance, because I've never saw that filmed version of the opera. I care about the looks too besides the voice, and when or if I become a director I'll hire someone who's more like Kiri Te Kanawa to play thwe role of Minnie. Jack rance shouldn't have long hair at all.
Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Second La Fanciulla
Review: If you only want to own one DVD of La Fanciulla, then the La Scala production is clearly the one to buy. If nothing else, its cinematography is vastly superior to this Covent Garden production, and its sound recording is better, too. But for those of us who can't get too much Puccini, this production makes for an interesting exercise in compare and contrast.The two productions are similar in terms of the stature of the principal singers, the orchestra and chorus (which is very important in La Fanciulla), and the sets and costumes. This Royal Opera production is, as far as I can tell, the only DVD opera that features Carol Neblett. It's of interest, therefore, if only to see her portray Minnie, one of her signature roles. Also interesting are some of the decisions the director made in this production. It is played with very broad gestures -- Silvano Carroli, for example, plays Jack Rance as a swaggering Snidely Whiplash. He and Neblett wrestle several times as he attempts to impose his affections on her and she resists. Juan Pons and Mara Zampieri are restrained by comparison at La Scala. Placido Domingo plays Johnson/Ramirez in both productions, so you can see how his interpretation changes over time and in response to the different direction. He too has toned it down a bit in the later production. Somewhat amusingly, this production is at times politically incorrect, as in Act 1 when it repeatedly has Indians stealing whiskey when the white man turns his back. And Gwynne Howell turns up as Jake Wallace wearing blackface! I guess that's what you get when you have a British opera company in 1983 interpreting how an Italian composer in 1910 portrayed California in the 1850's.
Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Second La Fanciulla
Review: If you only want to own one DVD of La Fanciulla, then the La Scala production is clearly the one to buy. If nothing else, its cinematography is vastly superior to this Covent Garden production, and its sound recording is better, too. But for those of us who can't get too much Puccini, this production makes for an interesting exercise in compare and contrast. The two productions are similar in terms of the stature of the principal singers, the orchestra and chorus (which is very important in La Fanciulla), and the sets and costumes. This Royal Opera production is, as far as I can tell, the only DVD opera that features Carol Neblett. It's of interest, therefore, if only to see her portray Minnie, one of her signature roles. Also interesting are some of the decisions the director made in this production. It is played with very broad gestures -- Silvano Carroli, for example, plays Jack Rance as a swaggering Snidely Whiplash. He and Neblett wrestle several times as he attempts to impose his affections on her and she resists. Juan Pons and Mara Zampieri are restrained by comparison at La Scala. Placido Domingo plays Johnson/Ramirez in both productions, so you can see how his interpretation changes over time and in response to the different direction. He too has toned it down a bit in the later production. Somewhat amusingly, this production is at times politically incorrect, as in Act 1 when it repeatedly has Indians stealing whiskey when the white man turns his back. And Gwynne Howell turns up as Jake Wallace wearing blackface! I guess that's what you get when you have a British opera company in 1983 interpreting how an Italian composer in 1910 portrayed California in the 1850's.
Rating:
Summary: I'm In The Minority Here
Review: Overall I loved this performance, especially the performances of Domingo and Neblett. Yes, she may have been overtaxed in the role at times, but for me the chemistry between the two of them was wonderful. He with a soft edged machismo and she as the tough woman in the wild west but with an obvious feminine side. I found both the characters very believable. Carolli was acceptable but not great. Wish it had been Milnes as in the recording on the DGG CD. The production values are good but the age of this recording shows. It definitely does not have the sharpness of more modern recordings. I've not seen the La Scala DVD mentioned here but I've heard it on CD and while Domingo is as good as always, I find Zampieri's voice just plain ugly.
Rating:
Summary: I'm In The Minority Here
Review: Overall I loved this performance, especially the performances of Domingo and Neblett. Yes, she may have been overtaxed in the role at times, but for me the chemistry between the two of them was wonderful. He with a soft edged machismo and she as the tough woman in the wild west but with an obvious feminine side. I found both the characters very believable. Carolli was acceptable but not great. Wish it had been Milnes as in the recording on the DGG CD. The production values are good but the age of this recording shows. It definitely does not have the sharpness of more modern recordings. I've not seen the La Scala DVD mentioned here but I've heard it on CD and while Domingo is as good as always, I find Zampieri's voice just plain ugly.
Rating:
Summary: Domingo is Terrific and production A-OK.
Review: The best video of this opera is the Met's but this is a good second one for your collection. I can't stand the soprano in the La Scala version and as much as I like Domingo, I can't listen to that version at all. I recommend this and have it on VHS as well as laser. It's not at the level of the Met's production with Milnes and Daniels, however. That's the best on video. Worth owning!
Rating:
Summary: Domingo is Terrific and production A-OK.
Review: The best video of this opera is the Met's but this is a good second one for your collection. I can't stand the soprano in the La Scala version and as much as I like Domingo, I can't listen to that version at all. I recommend this and have it on VHS as well as laser. It's not at the level of the Met's production with Milnes and Daniels, however. That's the best on video. Worth owning!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Visuals, Abysmal Singing
Review: The Girl of the Golden West is almost funny in its use of a Western (as in USA) as an operatic vehicle. The real strength of this production is that looks like a western and the men and Minnie, the important female, look like characters from a western. The sets are excellent. The acting was also good. However with the exception of the male lead, Ramirez (alias Dick Johnson), played by Placido Domingo, the singing is extremely wobbly and, in the case of Minnie, the singing was so inaccurate that I could not even imagine what the musical intent was.
La Fanciulla. . . is a good opera that anyone could enjoy. You should not buy this version when an musically excellent La Scala production is available on both DVD and VHS.
Rating:
Summary: Great Visuals, Abysmal Singing
Review: The Girl of the Golden West is almost funny in its use of a Western (as in USA) as an operatic vehicle. The real strength of this production is that looks like a western and the men and Minnie, the important female, look like characters from a western. The sets are excellent. The acting was also good. However with the exception of the male lead, Ramirez (alias Dick Johnson), played by Placido Domingo, the singing is extremely wobbly and, in the case of Minnie, the singing was so inaccurate that I could not even imagine what the musical intent was.
La Fanciulla. . . is a good opera that anyone could enjoy. You should not buy this version when an musically excellent La Scala production is available on both DVD and VHS.
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