Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Performance
Review: All the singers in this live recording from Chatelet, Paris, are in excellent form...to bad that the english text is too big, disturbing the screen and the set is minimalist (compared to the similar previous beautifully set of cosi fan tutte). I personaly prefer the set and singing of abbado/vienna state opera available on sony. But, for Terfel fan, this is an absolut video to see and to have.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: Although the English subtitles may be somewhat obtrusive, I found it easy to become consumed by the performance so as not to notice. Hagley is an adequate Susanna and though she may not carry the role as well as Bartoli, she was pleasing to watch. Count Almavina and Don Bartolo were well cast and Terfel is the quintessential Figaro.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a very lively Le Nozze di Figaro.
Review: Bryn Terfel, of course, as Figaro and Alison Hagley as Susanna shine in this production of Le Nozze di Figaro. (I don't pretend to be objective about Alison Hagley but the role of Susanna was tailor-made for her.) The staging is quite sparse but the singing is strong across the board, although I also disagree with the beginning of "Voi che sapete...". Countess Rosina Almaviva, as played by Hillevi Martinpelto, seems to be having too much fun with the intrigue which makes it less than convincing when she launches into "Dove sono i bei momenti..."
By the way, catch the unintentional plucking on the guitar by Hagley at the beginning of "Voi che sapete..." when Susanna is supposedly accompanying Cherubino as he sings to Rosina.
Rodney Gilfry almost manages to steal the show with his simpering Count Almaviva. (A good comparison is the Glyndebourne Fest. Opera dvd of Figaro with Gerald Finley our protagonist and...Alison Hagley as Susanna. Andreas Schmidt casts a darker shadow as the Count. Both DVDs are worth the $$ to have in your collection.) One little beef about both DVDs and opera dvds in general. The capability of the dvd technology is being wasted when Extra features are not included. How many times have you watched a production on dvd and wished you could see footage from a rehearsal or even a snippet on how certain stage or music direction decision was made? If there is someone from DG reading this, I implore you to give it some thought. Interviews with the principals about how they approached their roles and their thoughts on the production is the type of information that should be on the dvd. (Kudos for having the Italian libretto on this dvd.)
How much easier would it be to attract the younger generation if they can be made to understand the opera through comments made by people they see on the screen.
My ten year old daughter enjoys watching the Glyndebourne dvd (principally because Finley is "good looking") but she has questions about the production that I can't answer. I, for one, would gladly pay more for the extra features if thats what it takes.
Rating:
Summary: This is a very lively Le Nozze di Figaro.
Review: Bryn Terfel, of course, as Figaro and Alison Hagley as Susanna shine in this production of Le Nozze di Figaro. (I don't pretend to be objective about Alison Hagley but the role of Susanna was tailor-made for her.) The staging is quite sparse but the singing is strong across the board, although I also disagree with the beginning of "Voi che sapete...". Countess Rosina Almaviva, as played by Hillevi Martinpelto, seems to be having too much fun with the intrigue which makes it less than convincing when she launches into "Dove sono i bei momenti..."
By the way, catch the unintentional plucking on the guitar by Hagley at the beginning of "Voi che sapete..." when Susanna is supposedly accompanying Cherubino as he sings to Rosina.
Rodney Gilfry almost manages to steal the show with his simpering Count Almaviva. (A good comparison is the Glyndebourne Fest. Opera dvd of Figaro with Gerald Finley our protagonist and...Alison Hagley as Susanna. Andreas Schmidt casts a darker shadow as the Count. Both DVDs are worth the $$ to have in your collection.) One little beef about both DVDs and opera dvds in general. The capability of the dvd technology is being wasted when Extra features are not included. How many times have you watched a production on dvd and wished you could see footage from a rehearsal or even a snippet on how certain stage or music direction decision was made? If there is someone from DG reading this, I implore you to give it some thought. Interviews with the principals about how they approached their roles and their thoughts on the production is the type of information that should be on the dvd. (Kudos for having the Italian libretto on this dvd.)
How much easier would it be to attract the younger generation if they can be made to understand the opera through comments made by people they see on the screen.
My ten year old daughter enjoys watching the Glyndebourne dvd (principally because Finley is "good looking") but she has questions about the production that I can't answer. I, for one, would gladly pay more for the extra features if thats what it takes.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent performance
Review: Despite of what the critics say about this performance, Bryn Terfel performed superbly! 10 out of 10!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Joy from Start to Finish
Review: I am a great fan of the 1973 Glyndebourne DVD of this opera starring Kiri Te Kanawa and Ileana Cotrubas, and thought that I would never find another video version of "Figaro" that might rival it. But here is a more recent performance that is in many, many ways just as good. First of all, there simply cannot be a better Figaro than Bryn Terfel. The voice is magnificent, which goes without saying, but his acting is absolutely superb. Equally excellent is Alison Hagley's Susanna, sadder and wiser than Cotrubas, but delightful in every way. Rodney Gilfry and Hillevi Martinpelto make a fine, young Count and Countess (you can really imagine them as the Almaviva and Rosina of Rossini's "Barber"), although Martinpelto doesn't quite have the stamina to sustain her set pieces. In spite of a truly bizarre first few minutes and an Act IV set that doesn't quite work (or make much sense), this is a clever, minimalist production for which the director and John Eliot Gardiner have worked most successfully with the singers to create indelible, three-dimensional characters and performances. All in all, this is a significant "Figaro," one that you will find yourself watching over and over.
Rating:
Summary: Good singing, shame about the visuals
Review: I bought this opera because it has Italian subtitles, 10 points here. Its great to be able to follow the singing. I thought the singing was really good, clear, and there were nuances that I had'nt heard before. I've seen and heard Figaro many times so this was good. Orchestra is great too. The big problem with this one was the visuals. They are pretty poor. The film quality is poor, and the stage minimalist. Unfortunately Brian Terfel as Figaro ends up looking like a smurf in a nappy, with a strangely contorted face. The whole set along with the cast looks like a cheap cartoon. I'll have to watch it more to to hope it grows on me. This is a pity because there is alot of emotional content to Figaro and the ludicrous set/makeup/costumes means this production loses the emotive force that in other Figaro's have brought me to tears.
Rating:
Summary: Great Performance!
Review: I really belive in the title of my review. Musically the performance of the orchestra and the singers is first-rate; technically sound and in the spririt of Mozart and the play. Theatrically the production of the opera is also excellent: The minimalistic staging is imaginative and well suited to the comic plot and all the soloists are acting very good.
Technically the production of the DVD doesn't match the production of the opera but its not that bad; the sound is great (I prefer LPCM since my stereo equipment are far better than those of the home theater)with good stereo image and dynamics and the picture is at good VHS level (soft with some "artificial" colour feel).
Generally I think it is a very enjoyable disc and a must have for any opera lover.
Rating:
Summary: Great Performance!
Review: I really belive in the title of my review. Musically the performance of the orchestra and the singers is first-rate; technically sound and in the spririt of Mozart and the play. Theatrically the production of the opera is also excellent: The minimalistic staging is imaginative and well suited to the comic plot and all the soloists are acting very good.
Technically the production of the DVD doesn't match the production of the opera but its not that bad; the sound is great (I prefer LPCM since my stereo equipment are far better than those of the home theater)with good stereo image and dynamics and the picture is at good VHS level (soft with some "artificial" colour feel).
Generally I think it is a very enjoyable disc and a must have for any opera lover.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointed
Review: I sold it for half of what I spent the second day after I watched this DVD because I was expecting a better performance when I saw all actors/actresses wearing old-fashioned costumes on the cover of the disc. However, all the soloists, except Rodney Gilfry (Count Almaviva), are just too annoying in the whole play. I wish DG would release James Levine's Metropolitan version sometime.
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