Rating: 
Summary: Milnes and Zajick steal the Troubadour's Bravi's!
Review: Agree that this is a Travatore with many flaws and Pavarotti is just stand and sing as usual. Eve Marton (whom I adore usually) is credible but not up to her usual standard. (Her Turandot, Met video, Tosca, Verona video and Hungarian concert video are incredible!) Not being a fan of Pav's but of all the other singers, I still have this in my collection as there aren't many good videos of this opera. I do have 3 or 4 others that I like as well, if not better. However, due to the outstanding performances of Milnes and Zajick, as other viewers have also said, makes this worth owning. The production is not one of the Met's best either. I can still recommend this for an opera lover, especially if you are a Pav fan; then he really can't do too much wrong. If you ever can pick up the Verona performance with Bonisoli & Plowright; it's a kick! She isn't good but he performs an encore of "Pira" and sings it even better the 2nd time. A true Italian tenor! Makes Pav look like an amateur. I've shown this video to people who loved it, so opinions certainly vary. If you like this opera, (or want to see it for the first time) the cast, the overall quality of The Met and the lack of videos make this worth buying.
Rating: 
Summary: Promete pero no cumple
Review: Cuando uno vee este Trovatore en una tienda y mira el cast, francamente muy bueno a primera vista, lo compra y espera una gran version, al menos en lo vocal de esta obra verdiana...
Al verlo llegan las decepciones una tras otra. Primero con una puesta en escena oscura, poco atractiva y aburrida, que cansa ya en el primer acto. Luego vienen las decepciones vocales: comenzando por la chillada Leonora de EVA MARTON, aqui francamente mal, continunado por un SHERRILL MILLNES que ya no puede con el papel de Conde de Luna, siguiendo con una DOLORA ZAJICK que se mueve solo en una discreta suficiencia, muy lejos de lo que se podria esperar de ella y terminando por un equipo de secundarios de lo mas discreto. Por si fuera poco, la direccion de JAMES LEVINE no aporta nada a la partitura, y solo LUCIANO PAVAROTTI como Manrico rinde realmente a la altura debida para este espectaculo.
En resumen, no se lo compren.
Rating:
Summary: Eva Marton?
Review: Dolora Zajick is amazing and blows the roof off the house as Azucena. Pavarotti's voice rings like a bell. Sherrill Milnes is incomparable. If you could only delete Eva Marton this would be 5 stars. But it is still worth purchasing just to Dolora Zajick sing "Nostre Monte" and the final scene with pyrotechnics and all.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Il Trovatore I have ever seen!
Review: Eva Marton didn't get the phrasing right and she was flat on her high notes. Luciano Pavarotti was not there! Jeffrey Wells did a good job. His role as Ferrando was difficult, but he did a tremendous job. Sherrill Milnes. What can I say. It's the worst Il Trovatore I can remember seeing.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Il Trovatore I have ever seen!
Review: Eva Marton didn't get the phrasing right and she was flat on her high notes. Luciano Pavarotti was not there! Jeffrey Wells did a good job. His role as Ferrando was difficult, but he did a tremendous job. Sherrill Milnes. What can I say. It's the worst Il Trovatore I can remember seeing.
Rating:
Summary: Cuts and Traspostions and Leonora bad; Milnes good.
Review: I agree with one of the other reviewers that the choice of Eva Marton for Leonora wasn't the best. You notice right away in her first cabaletta, which is pretty bad. The first act trio, though, rocks the hiz-ouse. Sherill Milnes demonstrates much vocal bad-assery. "Il balen" is great. Pavarotti is okay too. Warning, though: This performance has cuts and transpostions. The cabalettas don't have repeats, and Di quella pira is transposed down a half step. So if you're looking for the high C, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: only one question: why?
Review: I couldn't believe it; this looked so promising, and I was so shocked when I watched this. Only the bare minimum was delivered. Let me start off positively (which is rather hard to do here). let's see... sound quality was good. As for Levine and the orchestra - this is all you need to realize that it's the best orchestra in the U.S. (although in the 1983 Ernani, they are also fantastic). Dolora Zaijk is fabulous in this performance; her terror, her obession for revenge were brilliant here. Jeffery Wells is an excellent Ferrando, perhaps the best one I've ever heard. unfortunately, that's about it. these two singers are the only reasons I added an extra star.entering the negatives now: Pavarotti sounds just like Pavarotti; flawless intonation and diction, and he still sounds much in his prime. but for heaven's sake, his acting (if you can call it acting) ! I've seen children express more sadness over fallen ice cream than Pavarotti does when his mother is captured! His eyes are dead frozen on the prompter (didn't he learn the part beforehand?), and it looks like he's going to trip and fall down the stairs any second. The terror on his face, and his immobility overshadow the beauty in his singing. This is terribly distracting, unless you just close your eyes and listen (or get the Decca recording with Sutherland, which was recorded in the peak of his career). Eva Marton - oh, dear. 0 stars for her. She screams, barks, shouts... you get the picture. she also goes terribly flat on high notes, esp. at the end of her duet with Di Luna in Act 4. she looks hideous in her wig also. Sherrill Milnes is the best actor, no doubt, but the vocal difficulties that occurred in the 80's are clearly visible here; strained, flat high notes, and some cracks. Sure, the audience goes crazy for him, but here, he is a complete shadow of his former self. what a shame. also, Di Quella Pira is transposed down a half-step. If you want a Golden-Age high C, then get the Pavarotti/Sutherland recording I mentioned above. as for the production - dark, dreadful, insipid, whatmore. that's all (thank goodness!) . you're better off getting either the Pavarotti/Sutherland version, or just any of the dozen better versions that are available. It is easier that way.
Rating:
Summary: A Pretty Mixed Bag
Review: I have to say that Il Trovatore is one of my favourite Verdi Opera's, with a great mix of drama and suspense, twinned with the most unlikely of story lines! There are ample opportunities for the musicians and artists to shine, and some did in this production! In particular, Dolora Zajick, much the best actor on the stage, gave a passionate and inspired performance as Azucena. She has a wonderfully resilient voice, and carried the role off superbly. I also enjoyed Sherrill Milnes' performance as the "evil" Count Luna. Milnes wouldn't be out of place as the baddy in one of those silent films twiddling his moustach! I found his powerful Baritone extremely convincing. Pavarotti's voice is as agreeable as ever, but as usual his acting lets the overall performance down. He spends most of his time rooted to the spot with a perplexed look on his face! Mind you, I suppose if you've escaped death by fire at the hands of your mad gypsy mother at the age of 1, you'd look worried too! Jeffrey Wells got better as he warmed up, but Eva Marton seemed totally out of place here with her "the louder you sing the better" approach. She was decidly flat in places, and didn't even attempt to sing some of the high notes, most noticeably at the end of act 1! The D'amour sull'ali rosee in scene 1 of act 4 is one of the most lovely solo's written by Verdi, however I'm afraid it was somewhat "brutalised" by Eva here, more subtley needed! The sets were quite atmospheric, although everything obviously happened at night as it was so dark throughout! The Met orchestra were well controlled as usual by James Levine, although it was difficult to hear the singers at times - you often find this with some of Verdi's more dramtic moments!
Rating: 
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: I just love this video. Pavarotti is great nothwithstanding his acting abilities. His singing is the tops. Marton has a big pretty voice of course, but she is a bit miscast here, as she just doesn't quite have the agility for Leonora. I would still call her performance quite acceptable. Zajick is the star, in my opinion. Her singing and acting are absolutely riveting. Milnes is great - the voice seems to have started it's downturn at this point, with some small amounts of struggling on the high notes, but it's not too noticeable. There is something about his voice in this video, which I actually like better than his recordings of Count di Luna from earlier times. He sounds less perfect for sure, but more human. And still, there are many times, when the sound coming forth from his lips is absolutely gorgeous, and additionally, some incredibly thrilling singing issues forth from him in the video - a beautiful and touching voice, in my opinion. For me, Milnes is the star here, but for perfect singing, I would hand the crown to either Zajick or Pavarotti.
Rating:
Summary: What a great performance...
Review: I truly admire this performance. Pavarotti is wonderful, as well as Eva Marton. i think she was wonderful, as well as her looks and singing. Sherril Milnes was great in voice. Di quella pira is one of my favorite Verdi arias. There is a big cut in the middle and it is transposed half a step. Is it THAT HARD TO SING? I can sing it adding 2 extra high C's. So for Qi quella pira, I sit on the fence. But this is truly a wonderful DVD. Please buy it if you want. But if you like Pavarotti as the King of the High C's, keep looking!
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