Verdi - Luisa Miller / Jacques Lassalle · Maurizio Arena · June Anderson · Opéra de Lyon

Rating:
Summary: Not Donizetti
Review: Despite some glaring faults, this was a beautiful opera. Verdi followed (and stole from in other operas) Donizetti, but his imitations of (or, more kindly, attempts at) coloratura weren't as good, still I love beautiful soprano voices sing high and acrobatic, so I liked it. The plot was pure melodrama, and the father's coercion, manipulation of his daughter disgusted me. It's a beautiful opera beautifully sung, and needs no apologies or qualifications. The only real objection I felt was the actually silly chorus singing in unison (as choruses usually do) to Luisa as though it were one person. Oh yes. And in the last act, these hoards of people kept coming in and out of Luisa's bedroom with her in her nightgown sitting on her bed writing a letter. But despite these things (and others), the plot was adequate (particularly tne ending) and the music was sublime.

Rating:
Summary: A Flawed But Very Good Performance
Review: Luisa Miller is a transition work. The first 2 acts are"early Verdi", but the third act is musically and dramatically more intense, previewing the maturity expressed in Rigoletto and subsequent works. It is an opera that is not frequently performed, so for those of you who do not live near a performing opera center, this may be the only chance to experience a very good performance of a really lovely opera. The performances of June Anderson (Luisa), Paul Plishka (Count Walter) and Romuald Tesarowicz (Wurm) are all first rate. Anderson portrays the emotional impact of the villanous Walter's and Wurm's machinations extremely well, and Tesarowicz is really effective both vocally and dramatically in his role. Plishka's resonant bass, with its ringing top notes make up for some lagging acting. Susanna Anselmi as Frederica makes you wish that her part was greater than it is. She is vocally talented and an extremely lovely woman to boot! Less exciting are Taro Ichihara as Rodolfo. His tenor voice is not warmed up at the beginning, and is tired at the end. Admittedly, the third act makes enormous demands on the tenor, but others (Bergonzi on RCA)sing it without showing fatigue. Even when not tired, his voice is OK, but not great. Baritone, Edouard Tumagian (Miller)also has vocal problems at the top, but is very believable in the role of Luisa's father. Maestro Arena conducts well, but his hair stylist should have been fired, because he is frequently seen with his too long hair plastered accross his face. The tape to disc transfer is good, and so is the recorded sound. Another DVD of this fine work is unlikely, so if you are, like me, a devotee of Verdi, it's a must have. If you haven't yet tried opera on DVD,you should buy this disc, because opera on DVD really is the next best thing to a live performance. The producer, Kultur, has a nice lineup of opera on tape, waiting to be released on DVD. I think that you will find Luisa Miller to be a satisfying operatic experience, as long as you recognize that the plot, with great emphasis on paternal authority, is dated. But the music! Ah! An entirely different matter, with the wealth of melody that one expects from Verdi.

Rating:
Summary: A Flawed But Very Good Performance
Review: Luisa Miller is a transition work. The first 2 acts are"early Verdi", but the third act is musically and dramatically more intense, previewing the maturity expressed in Rigoletto and subsequent works. It is an opera that is not frequently performed, so for those of you who do not live near a performing opera center, this may be the only chance to experience a very good performance of a really lovely opera. The performances of June Anderson (Luisa), Paul Plishka (Count Walter) and Romuald Tesarowicz (Wurm) are all first rate. Anderson portrays the emotional impact of the villanous Walter's and Wurm's machinations extremely well, and Tesarowicz is really effective both vocally and dramatically in his role. Plishka's resonant bass, with its ringing top notes make up for some lagging acting. Susanna Anselmi as Frederica makes you wish that her part was greater than it is. She is vocally talented and an extremely lovely woman to boot! Less exciting are Taro Ichihara as Rodolfo. His tenor voice is not warmed up at the beginning, and is tired at the end. Admittedly, the third act makes enormous demands on the tenor, but others (Bergonzi on RCA)sing it without showing fatigue. Even when not tired, his voice is OK, but not great. Baritone, Edouard Tumagian (Miller)also has vocal problems at the top, but is very believable in the role of Luisa's father. Maestro Arena conducts well, but his hair stylist should have been fired, because he is frequently seen with his too long hair plastered accross his face. The tape to disc transfer is good, and so is the recorded sound. Another DVD of this fine work is unlikely, so if you are, like me, a devotee of Verdi, it's a must have. If you haven't yet tried opera on DVD,you should buy this disc, because opera on DVD really is the next best thing to a live performance. The producer, Kultur, has a nice lineup of opera on tape, waiting to be released on DVD. I think that you will find Luisa Miller to be a satisfying operatic experience, as long as you recognize that the plot, with great emphasis on paternal authority, is dated. But the music! Ah! An entirely different matter, with the wealth of melody that one expects from Verdi.

Rating:
Summary: SO BAD, so primitive, so amatorish .......
Review: This production is the bag jock, it is the flat humiliation of Verdi music. It is gloomy, no fantasy, completely boring performance. Thanks to Verdi music this goes somehow but honestly, this production perfectly explains why many reject to hear to opera.
Do not waste you money for that. Really French masterpiece: a lot of talk about and few to listen to.

Rating:
Summary: AN OPERA LOVER'S NIGHTMARE COMES TRUE.
Review: THIS RECORDING IS ESSENTIALLY UNWATCHABLE. THE VIDEO QUALITY IS SO POOR THAT I SENT IT BACK TO THE DISTRIBUTOR WITH A BLISTERING CRITIQUE. I NEITHER EXPECTED NOR RECEIVED A REPLY.
I USUALLY GIVE UNWANTED AUDIO & VIDEO RECORDINGS TO MY LOCAL LIBRARY BUT I COULDN'T PASS THIS DOG OFF ON AN UNSUSPECTING PUBLIC.
THE SINGING IS WRETCHED, WITHOUT EXCEPTION. THE ACTING IS WORSE AND THE DIRECTION, SETS AND EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT IT WOULD BE BETTERED BY YOUR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL.
ONE STAR IS FAR TOO GENEROUS A RATING FOR THIS RECORDING. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED RATHER THAN RELEASED FOR SALE.